Joseph Nakash
| Joseph Nakash | |
|---|---|
| Born |
1942 (age 73–74) Mandatory Palestine |
| Residence | New York City |
| Nationality | United States |
| Ethnicity | Jewish |
| Occupation |
businessman; real estate investor |
| Known for | co-founder of Jordache Enterprises |
| Religion | Judaism |
| Children | Steve Nakash |
| Family |
Rapheal "Ralph" Nakash (brother) Abraham "Avi" Nakash (brother) |
Joseph Nakash (born 1942) is an American businessman, real estate investor, and co-founder of Jordache Enterprises.
Early life and education
Nakash was born to a Syrian Jewish family in Mandatory Palestine.[1] In 1962, he immigrated to New York City[1] where he worked as a stock boy and saved enough money to bring his brothers Raphael (Ralph) and Abraham (Avi) to the United States in 1966.[2]
Career
In 1974, pooling their $20,000 in savings, they purchased an appliance store called V.I.M. and opened a retail store in Bushwick, Brooklyn selling irregular jeans latching onto the newfound popularity of designer jeans.[2][3] By 1978, they had four stores[2] and after their largest store was burned during the New York City blackout of 1977, they took the $120,000 policy settlement and started to manufacture their own brand of upscale jeans under the Jordache label.[4] A successful advertising campaign funded with $300,000 of their own money and $250,000 from Israel's Bank Leumi[2] made the brand a resounding success with teenage girls[4] with Brooke Shields serving as the company’s in-house model.[4] In 1979, Jordache had $72 million in sales.[5] In 1981, they started licensing the brand which added $100 million to their $200 million a year in wholesale revenue for its jeans and expanded their line to include children's clothing, makeup, handbags and suitcases.[4] In 1983, revenues grew to $400 million and they founded Yama Maritime Inc. which owned eight cargo ships.[5]
In 1983, they acquired a 50% stake in Guess Jeans[4] from the Marciano Brothers (Paul, Georges, Armand and Maurice) of Los Angeles.[4] The joint venture soured[6] and in 1989, a California superior court jury found that the Nakashes had fraudulently lured the Marcianos into the transaction.[3] In 1990, the Nakash brothers settled for $66 million of $106 million escrowed profits and the ownership of the brand name “Gasoline” while the Marciano brothers received the brand “Diesel.”[4][7] In the 1990s, the Jordache brand lost some of its luster due to new competition[4] and in 1995, they took the brand down market and started selling Jordache jeans at the discount chain Wal-Mart while higher end retailers such as Macy's dropped the brand.[3] Their efforts were successful and in the first year with Wal-Mart, they sold $100 million in jeans which made up 30% of Jordache Enterprises total sales.[3] They then moved into contract manufacturing - making jeans and clothing for Tommy Hilfiger, the Gap, American Eagle, and Abercrombie & Fitch.[3]
Using profits from their apparel business, they diversified and started investing in banking and real estate primarily in New York, Miami, New Jersey and Israel.[4] Nakash also purchased Arkia, a money-losing discount airline flying between Israel and Europe which they returned to profitability.[4] In 2004, they brothers purchased AMPA Real Estate of Israel and expanded into the purchase of hotels and development of residential projects in Israel.[4][8] They own the Park Plaza Orchid Hotel in Tel Aviv and the Kineret Orchid Vacation Resort on the Sea of Galilee.[4]
In 2006, they invested in Israeli agriculture establishing an oil press for $2 million in partnership with Kibbutz Revivim which produces olive oil under the Halutza brand; the Nakashes have invested about $5.5 million in olive groves, olive oil production, and vineyards.[4] In 2013, via their investment company Nakash Holdings, they purchased a $100 million office building in Washington, D.C.[5] In 2013, they purchased the Versace Mansion in Miami Beach with Eli Gindi (of the Gindi family which founded the Century 21 department store)[9] where the Nakashes own five hotels.[10][11] In April 2013, they purchased for $105 million[11] - via their shipping company Papo Shipping Company - the exclusive right to operate the Port of Eilat in Israel[5] for 15 years.[11] In April 2013, he and his brothers purchased the Isrotel Tower in Tel Aviv for $150 million.[11]
Personal life
Nakash is married and practices Judaism.[5] He is considered the patriarch of the Nakash family.[5] His son Steve Nakash works in the family business.[3] Nakash is a founding member of the Sephardic Community Alliance.[12]
References
- 1 2 The Real Deal: "Clans with plans" By Adam Pincus February 01, 2011
- 1 2 3 4 People: "Topless Ads Mean Bottomless Riches for the Three Israeli Brothers Behind Jordache Jeans" By Anna Stewart December 3, 1979
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 BusinessWeek: "Whatever Happened to Jordache?" By Matthew Boyle and Lauren Coleman-Lochner July 26, 2012
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 "The Nakash Bros. – small clothes shop transformed into $2 billion empire" By Yehudit Haspel Ben-Dak, Jewish Business News, February 20, 2013
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Jewish Voice: "Nakash Bros. Purchase of $100M D.C. Building Sheds Light on Vast Jordache Expansion" By Boruch Shubert April 4, 2013
- ↑ New York Times: "WHEN THE HONEYMOON ENDED" by LISA BELKIN May 1, 1986
- ↑ Funding Universe; "Jordache Enterprises, Inc. History" retrieved January 12, 2013
- ↑ Hareetz: "Nakash brothers buy Leumi New York HQ - Jordache owners join U.S. investor in $100 million purchase" By Michael Rochvarger September 30, 2013
- ↑ "Gianni Versace Mansion Sold to Nakash Brothers and Eli Gindi for $41.5 Million – Outbidding Donald Trump", Jewish Business News, September 18, 2013
- ↑ Yahoo News; "Firm with Jordache tie top bidder for Versace home" By JENNIFER KAY September 17, 2013
- 1 2 3 4 South Florida Business Journal: "How much are new Versace mansion owners worth? by Paul Brinkmann September 23, 2013
- ↑ The Sephardic Community Alliance: "Building our Future by Preserving the Past" September 2009