The Errant Æsthete

Tory Burch and her husband Christopher have “a business plan more in line with strategy in the packaged goods industry than in the design world” and are “redefining how to run a fashion business today,” reports Teri Agins in The Wall Street Journal (2/5/08). The Burches brand started with the premise “that there weren’t many choices when it came to casual, fun clothes that didn’t cost a lot.” That’s quite different from most designers, who “try to make their names as creative innovators in the top-tier world of $2,500 ensembles.”

Tory Burch, who is a socialite and mother of three, instead offers designs ranging from $195 to $600 — and, by the way, she does not design the goods herself. She simply takes note of certain trends and exploits them — for example, “the popularity of $300 ballet flats introduced by designers such as Marc Jacobs.” In this case, and her venture-capitalist husband formed a joint-venture with Nine West, which designed the shoe and arranged its manufacture at low cost in Brazil. The result is the Reva Flat, $195, with 250,000 pairs sold since 2006.

So, using their own money, other people’s designs, and overseas manufacture, the Burches have now created some 1,000 items and a 150-person company doing about $115 million in sales. To maintain control, they do not license their designs and use their own chain of 12 boutiques as their primary distribution channel — although they also have wholesale accounts at Saks, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom and Bloomingdale’s. “We want to take care not to overdistribute because our customer doesn’t want to see herself coming and going,” says Tory. The Burches are planning six new boutiques in the U.S. in 2008 … and a divorce. [via Link]