This fashion industry icon built a multi-billion dollar fashion label after leaving Gucci. Find out how he pulled this off!

Monday: MicroBusiness and Marketing Marvels FROM THE DESK OF MILES EVERSON: Happy Monday, everyone! We hope all is well in both your personal life and work life. Let’s start the week strong by talking about one of our “Marketing Marvels.” Every Monday, we feature outstanding people in the fields of business and marketing, and highlight their experiences, contributions, and insights in their respective industries. Today, we’ll focus on a fashion icon who created and built a multi-billion dollar brand in less than 2 decades. To know more about this “Marvel” and what he can teach us about marketing and business, continue reading below. CEO, MBO Partners Chairman of the Advisory Board, The I Institute

This fashion industry icon built a multi-billion dollar fashion label after leaving Gucci. Find out how he pulled this off! Tom Ford: Founder of the Tom Ford Luxury Brand Tom Ford, a luxury fashion brand that sells high-end men’s and women’s clothing, eyewear, watches, cosmetics, and fragrances, has been one of the most recognizable names in the fashion industry for almost 2 decades now. Due to the brand’s success, cosmetics giant Estée Lauder acquired it on November 15, 2022 for USD 2.8 billion. If you want to understand how and why Tom Ford achieved that valuation in less than 2 decades, it’s important to examine the business and marketing strategies that enabled the brand to attain the success it currently enjoys. One of the ways to do that is to look into the person responsible for those implementing those strategies in the first place. His name? Thomas Carlyle Ford! Thomas Carlyle Ford, a.k.a., Tom Ford, is an American fashion designer and filmmaker. Before starting his career in the fashion industry, he enrolled at New York University, initially attending courses in art history. Later on, he transferred to The New School’s Parsons School of Design in New York to pursue a degree in architecture. After working multiple jobs in the fashion industry in 1990, Ford joined Gucci as the brand’s womenswear designer. Subsequently, he became a design director in 2 years and in 1994, he was appointed as the creative director of the firm. As creative director, Ford was responsible for overseeing the design of all of Gucci’s products ranging from clothing to perfumes. Additionally, he was in charge of the brand’s corporate image, advertising campaigns, and store designs. During his tenure at Gucci, the brand’s sales went from USD 230 million in 1994 to nearly USD 3 billion in 2003. Because of this, the fashion house became one of the most profitable brands in the world with a valuation of over USD 10 billion in 2004. Despite helping Gucci achieve such a feat, Ford left the company to pursue other things on his own based on his visions and career goals. He then took some time off to consider his next career move. After taking a break, he decided to establish a brand that bore his own name in 2005. Building the Tom Ford Brand In the beginning, Ford only focused on selling eyewear and beauty products like makeup and fragrances in his new business. Eventually, he decided to make a return to the fashion industry, adding menswear and womenswear in his company’s product portfolio in 2007 and 2010. Since its founding, Ford’s business has become an industry powerhouse. Throughout the years, his company has enjoyed success in the market segments it competes in. In fact, the designer label recorded USD 1.7 billion in sales in 2021. So, how did Ford build a multi-billion dollar brand in less than a decade? Here are a few answers to that question: Identifying and targeting the right customer In an interview with CNBC International TV in 2015, Ford explained that his target customer is cultured, well-traveled, and has disposable income. By having a clear vision on who he wants to sell products to, he was able to create offerings that best reflect the needs, taste, and sensibilities of his clientele. Moreover, having a clear grasp of who his target market is helped him create a strong brand identity that allowed his company to carve out a place in the highly competitive fashion and beauty industry. Partnering strategically After establishing his own brand, Ford needed to manufacture the products he wanted to sell. He had to come up with another way to produce the luxury goods he wanted to offer to his customers since he wasn’t flush with capital To solve that challenge, he entered into a licensing deal with eyewear giant Marcolin and beauty company Estée Lauder in 2005. Once Ford expanded his offerings to include men’s clothing in 2007, he partnered with renowned menswear brand Zegna. Through these agreements, Ford was able to produce the luxury goods he wanted to sell at a lower cost since his partners were in charge of advertising, manufacturing, and selling products. Additionally, these partnerships expanded his reach to his customers. Establishing his brand’s footprint through retail Even though Ford secured partnerships that enabled him to bring his products to his customers’ hands, he still needed to build brand awareness. To do that, he opened his brand’s first flagship store in New York in 2007. Subsequently, he set out to create a chain of retail stores around the world. To accomplish this feat, Ford partnered with retail giants in Asia, United Arab Emirates, Russia, Canada, U.S., and U.K. At present, there are 110 Tom Ford stores and shop-in-shops around the world. Aside from these strategies, part of what made Ford successful is because as a leader and creative visionary, he understands the importance of learning from past failures and avoiding making the same mistakes in any business or creative venture. According to him: “I thrive on failure. I thrive on things that are not perfect. It sends me back into the ring to get it right.” Through this mindset, Ford was not only able to build a multi-billion dollar business, but was also able to establish a brand that’s widely recognized for fulfilling its customers’ sensibilities and needs. By knowing your target market and partnering strategically to achieve your business or marketing goals, you’ll also be able to do what Ford did—build a brand that his target market actively remembers and patronizes. Hope you’ve found this week’s insights interesting and helpful.     Stay tuned for next Monday’s Marketing Marvels! Nowadays, marketers have a tendency to focus on the newest and buzziest ideas, and look at the “giants” upon which the industry stands. The thing is, these marketers sometimes miss out on what is truly beneficial for their brands because they’re too focused on keeping up with the hype. Learn more about Claude Hopkins and The Scientific Advertisin on next week’s Marketing Marvels!