Tommy Hilfiger (company)

This article is about the company. For the American fashion designer, see Tommy Hilfiger.
Tommy Hilfiger Group
Subsidiary
Industry Fashion industry, textiles
Founded 1985
Headquarters New York City, New York, US, USA, ), UA[1]
Areas served
 Global
Key people
 Tommy Hilfiger (founder)
Daniel Grieder (CEO)[2]
Products Fabrics, designer wear, denim, cosmetics & toiletries, home furnishings
Increase US$6.7 billion[3] (2014)
Owner Murjani International (1985-1989)
Apax Partners (2006-2010)
PVH (2010-present)
Number of employees
 10,001+[4] (2015)
Website Tommy.com

Tommy Hilfiger, formerly known as Tommy Hilfiger Corporation and Tommy Hilfiger Inc., is an American multinational corporation that designs and manufactures apparel for men, women and children, and a wide range of licensed products such as footwear, accessories, fragrances and home furnishings.[5] The company was founded in 1985,[6] and today is sold in department stores and over 1400 free-standing retail stores in 90 countries.[7] In 2006, private equity firm Apax Partners acquired Tommy Hilfiger for approximately 1.6 billion,[8] and in May 2010, PVH Corp. (NYSE: PVH) (then known as Philips van Heusen) bought the company.[9] Daniel Grieder was appointed CEO in July 2014, while founder Tommy Hilfiger remains the company’s principal designer, leading the design teams and overseeing the entire creative process.[5] Global sales in retail through the brand in 2013 were US $6.4 billion,[5] and $6.7 billion in 2014.[3]

History

Background and founding (1960s-1990s)

Tommy Hilfiger’s career in fashion began in 1968, when he co-founded a clothing and record store named People’s Place in upstate New York. Using $150[10] he'd saved from working at a petrol station as startup money,[10] he oversaw the expansion of the company into a chain[11] of ten stores. Despite meeting with initial success,[10] People's Place filed for bankruptcy in 1977.[10] In 1979 Hilfiger moved to New York City to pursue a career as a fashion designer,[12] working on several different labels including Jordache Jeans.[11][13] In the early 1980s he met Mohan Murjani, an “Indian textile magnate” hoping to launch a line of men’s clothing. With Murjani’s backing[11] in 1985 Hilfiger debuted his first signature collection,[6] which featured modernized versions of button-down shirts, chinos, and other classic preppy styles. The casual youthful attitude of these first designs would remain a trait of the Tommy Hilfiger Corporation's later collections.[5] The new clothing line made its debut with a high-profile marketing campaign, which included a large billboard in Times Square[6] by advertiser George Lois.[14] The Tommy Hilfiger brand left Murjani International in 1989, with Silas Chou instead providing financial backing.[15] That year Lawrence Stroll and Joel Horowitz, both former executives of Ralph Lauren, were hired as executives of the newly formed company Tommy Hilfiger, Inc., which had an initial focus on casual male sportswear.[16]

Growth of popularity and product lines (1990s)

Freja Erichsen at Tommy Hilfiger Spring 2009
Tommy Hilfiger designer glasses

The Tommy Hilfiger Corporation went public in 1992.[11] After licensing Pepe Jeans USA in 1995, in 1996 Tommy Hilfiger Inc. began distributing women's clothing.[15] By the end of the next year Hilfiger had opened his first store in Beverly Hills, which was followed by a store in London in 1998.[15] The company launched its bed and bath line in 1998.[11]

Throughout the 1990s the company's marketing division worked in tandem with the popular music industry, and as early as 1993 Hilfiger was an official sponsor for Pete Townshend's Psychoderelict tour. In the early 1990s a baggier, less tailored menswear look came into fashion, and Hilfiger gave his clothes a more relaxed fit.[17] As roomier styles with oversized logos became popular with hip-hop artists in the mid-to-late ’90s,[18] Hilfiger's style of clothing became both increasingly popular with the American "preppy" scene and as hip hop fashion,[6] and when Snoop Dogg wore a Hilfiger sweatshirt during an appearance on Saturday Night Live in the 1990s, it sold out of New York City stores the next day.[19] Moreover, Hilfiger courted the new hip hop market, and rappers like Puffy and Coolio walked during his runways shows.[19] With collections often influenced by the fashion of music subcultures, The clothes are also marketed in connection with the music industry,[20][21] and American R&B icon Aaliyah became the much-publicized spokesperson for Tommy Hilfiger Corporation in 1997.[22] The company would later sponsor Sheryl Crow’s “If It Makes You Happy” tour in 1997,[23] Britney Spears 1999 ...Baby One More Time Tour,[24][25] and Lenny Kravitz's 1999 Freedom tour.[26]

PVH acquisition and recent years (2000s)

Women's intimate apparel was introduced in 2001.[11] After sales and net income faltered in 2001,[11] the company's sales in 2002 totaledtotaled $1.87 billion.[11] Overall between 2000 and 2009, sales slipped from around $1.9 billion[27] to $700 million.[18] During the same time period, however, Hilfiger’s European sales steadily rose to $1.13 billion. In 2003, Hilfiger executive Fred Gehring and Hilfiger decided to further invest in the brand's growing overseas audience by re-focusing on the brand’s original style, “classic American cool,” and designing the clothes out of New York City.[27] Gehring also adapted the business model to suit European retail culture, pursuing partnerships with European department stores and with smaller boutiques, signing 4,500 of them in 15 countries.[27] Hilfiger also strove to retain the designer brand exclusivity of the Hilfiger label by signing a deal to distribute the best-selling Hilfiger lines at Macy's only.[6]

Tommy Hilfiger storefront inside a mall in 2014

Hilfiger has endorsed products such as True Star is a fragrance, which was released in 2004 with Beyoncé Knowles as poster girl.[28] True Star would go on to win a FiFi Award for Best New Commercial Fragrance.[29] By 2004, the Tommy Hilfiger Corporation company had revenues of $1.8 approximately billion and 5,400 employees.[13] In 2006, Tommy Hilfiger sold Tommy Hilfiger Inc. for $1.6 billion,[8] or $16.80 a share, to Apax Partners, a private investment company.[30] After the acquisition Gehring assumed control of the American headquarters of Tommy Hilfiger as well as Europe. Gehring and Hilfiger narrowed their focus in the United States to the profitable core sportswear line, and U.S. sales began to rise in 2010.[18]

In March 2010, Phillips-Van Heusen (PVH Corp.) bought the Tommy Hilfiger Corporation for $3 billion,[31][32] in a deal that was nearly seven times what PVH had paid for Calvin Klein in 2003.[9] Fred Gehring, who launched Hilfiger’s European division in 1996, assumed the role of Hilfiger's CEO.[9] Global sales in retail for the brand in 2013 were US $6.4 billion,[5] and $6.7 billion in 2014.[3] Daniel Grieder was appointed CEO of Tommy Hilfiger Group in July 2014. Former CEO Gehring was made executive chairman of Tommy Hilfiger Group[33] and was appointed vice chairman of PVH.[33] In January 2015 Tommy Hilfiger debuted a digital sales showroom at its New York City headquarters, which the publication WGSN opined would "transform the traditional buying process."[34] With plans to open showrooms in other cities,[35] Hilfiger described the showroom as "an innovation of the order process with cost saving potentials along the whole value chain."[36] Gehring stepped down as Tommy Hilfiger Group’s chairman in August 2015, though he retained his role at PVH.[37] Tommy Hilfiger remains the company’s principal designer, leading the design teams and overseeing the entire creative process.[5]

Product lines

Tommy Hilfiger delivers its products worldwide under the Tommy Hilfiger and Hilfiger Denim brands,[38] and also has a breadth of collections including Hilfiger Collection, Tommy Hilfiger Tailored, men’s, women’s and kid’s sportswear, denim, accessories, and footwear. In addition, the brand is licensed for a range of products such as fragrances, eyewear, watches and home furnishings.[3]

Marketing and advertising

In 1985, to help him launch his first collection, Hilfiger hired advertiser and graphic designer George Lois[14] to make a billboard for the center of Times Square in New York City.[6] Instead of models, the ad featured the initials of three well-known fashion designers—“PE” (Perry Ellis), “RL” (Ralph Lauren), “CK” (Calvin Klein), and announced that “TH” (Tommy Hilfiger) was the next great menswear designer. The billboard created a stir in the fashion press, and succeeded in creating awareness of the Hilfiger name.[9] In subsequent years Hilfiger and Lois collaborated again on other ads for the Hilfiger brand. One campaign, in 1990, compared Hilfiger’s American style with other “iconic American” classics, such as the 1955 Thunderbird and the 1940 Harley-Davidson bike.[17] Hilfiger courted the new hip hop market in the 1990s,[19] and rappers like Puffy and Coolio walked during its runways shows.[19]

Tommmy Hilfiger spring campaign 2014, showing "the Hilfigers."

From 2002 to 2006, Tommy Hilfiger owned the naming rights to the Tommy Hilfiger at Jones Beach Theatre amphitheater on Long Island,[39] one of the more popular music venues in the United States.[11] Starting in 2010, in collaboration with New York advertising firm Laird & Partners, Tommy Hilfiger Corporation launched the advertising campaign “The Hilfigers.” The campaign features a fictional family of Hilfigers wearing the brand's clothing in fun preppy venues. The first campaign, for fall 2010, was a photoset of a college football tailgate, followed by photshoots at a tennis court, a rustic holiday party, a camping trip, an Ivy League college, and the beaches of Malibu. The spring and summer collections of 2015 were displayed at a wedding in Sonoma, California, followed by an American football stadium for fall and winter.[40]

The brand created the publicity tour "Prep World” in 2011, which featured specialty pop-up shops in Paris, New York, London, Stockholm, Los Angeles, Madrid, Milan, the German island Sylt, and the Belgian town of Knokke. Hilfiger made personal appearances with author and preppy expert Lisa Birnbach, as well as designing a special clothing collection to support the initiative.[41] The brand's 30th anniversary was in 2015, and the company celebrated the occasion with a fashion tour. Among other events, in Beijing in May 2015 the brand recreated their New York Fashion Week runway show internationally for the first time.[42] The couple Olivia Palermo and Johannes Huebl were also brought in as guest editors for the summer 2015 women's and men's collections.[3] For the fall of 2015, Rafael Nadal is the brand ambassador for Tommy Hilfiger underwear and Tommy Hilfiger Tailored collections.[3][43]

Philanthropy

In 1995 Hilfiger launched The Tommy Hilfiger Corporate Foundation. With an emphasis on health, educational and cultural programs, the organization supports charities that focus on at-risk American youth.[44] In 2013, all philanthropic activities of The Tommy Hilfiger Corporate Foundation were renamed Tommy Cares. A wider-reaching global initiative, Tommy Cares further integrates the brand’s non-profit partnerships, charitable contributions, and employee involvement.[45] On a global scale, Tommy Cares continues to support organizations such as Save the Children, the World Wildlife Fund, War Child,[46] and Millennium Promise.[46]

In support of the non-profit Breast Health International (BHI), since 2008 Tommy Hilfiger has designed handbags for the organization, with a portion of all proceeds from the bags going directly to BHI’s Fund For Living program. The Tommy Hilfiger brand appoints ambassadors for each seasonal line, and in 2013, Claudia Schiffer and Naomi Campbell modeled the BHI bag in a photo shoot with photographer Patrick Demarchelier.[47] Former ambassadors have included Charlotte Gainsbourg, who was photographed by Drew Barrymore. Others include Renée Zellweger, Carla Bruni, Helena Christensen, and Milla Jovovich.[48] In connection with the non-profit Millennium Promise,[49] Katie Holmes served as the ambassador of the 2012 Millenium Promise Collection designed by Tommy Hilfiger.[50]

Locations

A Tommy Hilfiger storefront in Germany

With a head office in Amsterdam, the Tommy Hilfiger Corporation has global flagship stores in the following seven locations:[1][7]

In addition to the flagship stores, anchor stores are located in the cities of Amsterdam, Beijing, Berlin, Bogotá, Buenos Aires, Cannes, Cologne, Dublin, Florence, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Helsinki, Hong Kong, Istanbul, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Mexico City, Miami, Milan, Montréal, Moscow, Mumbai, Munich, New York, Osaka, Panama City, Punta del Este, Santiago, São Paulo, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney, Vancouver, Vienna, and Zurich.[1] The company often operates hundreds of stores in the larger countries, and the subsidiary Tommy Hilfiger Japan Corp., for example, operates 170 stores with 1,000 employees as of 2014.[51] In 2015, the brand launched its first store in Thailand.[52]

Corporate responsibility

PVH, which has owned the Tommy Hilfiger brand since 2010, applies its own corporate code of conduct to its subsidiaries.[7] This code of conduct is in turn extended to business partners, which the Tommy Hilfiger Group specifies as suppliers, contractors, vendors, licensees and agents.[7] Among other rules, the code of conduct dictates nondiscrimination in employment and protects freedom of association for unions, the right to work in a healthy and safe workplace, and the right to fair compensation and scheduling. The code outlaws harassment and abuse, forced labor, and child labor, and dictates that business partners "comply with all applicable environmental laws, rules and regulations at their facilities and in the communities in which they operate, particularly with respect to water, energy, hazardous chemicals, air quality and waste."[7] Among other local legislation, PVH has pledged compliance with the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act of 2010 (SB 657).[53]

In the late 1990s, Tommy Hilfiger and other large American textile companies such as Calvin Klein and Sears were defendants in a class-action lawsuit alleging that luxury clothes were being manufactured in sweatshop conditions in Saipan. After a group settlement that admitted no liability, in March 2000, Tommy Hilfiger volunteered to allow independent oversight of their manufacturing on the island.[54] In March 2012,[55] ABC aired a report that 29 workers had died in a factory fire in 2011 in Bangladesh, with the Tommy Hilfiger Corporation included among the factory's clients.[56] PVH Corp. issued a press release in response, stating they would commit $1 million to a two-year program to help facilitate safety programs.[56] The company, however, announced they would not abandon their manufacturing in Bangledash, with PVH CEO Emanuel Chirico stating that the brand was instead "trying for a global solution" and staying at the factories to affect change, as "you need to have a voice at the table to get changes made as you go forward."[57] Tommy Hilfiger later signed a Bangladeshi safety accord along with eighty other Western retailers, with the goal of protecting unionizers.[58] In 2014, PVH was consulting about investing in Ethiopia in relation to Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein, with labor rights among the key talking points.[59] In 2016, the India Committee of the Netherlands (ICN) reported that textile workers in Bangalore were working in conditions akin to slavery. Clothing companies H&M, Inditex, C&A and PVH publicly committed to "improving the lives of workers in Bengaluru" after the report, while PVH also announced it would independently investigate and establish new guidelines for its suppliers.[60]

Recognition

For a similar section on Tommy Hilfiger the designer, not the company, see Tommy Hilfiger recognition.

The following is a selected list of awards and recognitions won by the Tommy Hilfiger Corporation:

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Tommy Hilfiger Locations". Tommy.com. Retrieved 2015-11-03.
  2. ↑ "Tommy Hilfiger CEO Switch: Gehring Makes Way for Grieder". WWD. 29 October 2013. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Our Brands - Tommy Hilfiger". PVH. Retrieved 2015-09-12.
  4. ↑ "Tommy Hilfiger LinkedIn Profile". Retrieved 25 March 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Company Overview". Tommy.com. Retrieved 2015-09-12.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Tommy Hilfiger". Biography.com. 2009. Retrieved 2015-09-12.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 "Social Responsibility". Tommy.com. Retrieved 2015-11-03.
  8. 1 2 "Tommy Hilfiger Corporation announces agreement to be acquired by Funds advised by Apax Partners for $16.80 per share or approximately $1.6 billion". Apax Partners. December 23, 2005. Retrieved 2015-09-12.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Wilson, Eric (May 2010). "Tommy Returns to America". New York Times. Retrieved 2015-09-12.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 Rosee, Sophie De (November 26, 2011). "Flashback: Tommy Hilfiger remembers his first shops". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2015-09-12.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Company Profile, Information, Business Description, History, Background Information on Tommy Hilfiger Corporation". Referenceforbusiness.com. 2002. Retrieved 2015-09-12.
  12. ↑ Tommy Hilfiger by Tommy Hilfiger, Assouline (August 30, 2010), p. 6-10; ISBN 978-2759403134
  13. 1 2 "Tommy Hilfiger". Business of Fashion. Retrieved 2015-09-12.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Tommy Hilfiger Biography". Tommy.com. Retrieved 2015-11-03.
  15. 1 2 3 "Tommy Hilfiger". encyclopedia.jrank.org. 1998. Retrieved 2015-09-12.
  16. ↑
  17. 1 2 Tommy Hilfiger by Tommy Hilfiger, Assouline (August 30, 2010); ISBN 978-2759403134
  18. 1 2 3 "Classic American Cool". Success Magazine (Success.com). June 2014.
  19. 1 2 3 4 Wilbekin, p. 282.Wilbekin, Emil (1999). "Great Aspirations: Hip Hop and Fashion Dress for Excess and Success". The Vibe History of Hip Hop (1st ed.). New York: Three Rivers Press. ISBN 978-0-609-80503-9.
  20. ↑ Tommy Hilfiger by Tommy Hilfiger, Assouline 2010, p. 16
  21. ↑ Neigher, Julie (August 6, 2010). "Tommy Hilfiger celebrates 25 years of style, five decades (plus) of life with coffee table tome". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2015-11-03.
  22. ↑ Reid, Shaheem; Schumacher-Rasmussen, Eric; Horn, Teri van (August 27, 2001). "Hard-Working Aaliyah Packed Hit Albums, Movies into Short Life". MTV News. Retrieved March 17, 2012.
  23. ↑ Weiser, Stacie (September 23, 1997). "Concert will 'make you happy'". The Daily Beacon. Retrieved 2015-09-12.
  24. ↑ "Tommy Hilfiger Announces Sponsorship of Britney Spears Summer Concert Tour" (Press release). Business Wire. 1999-05-12. Retrieved 2010-07-17.
  25. ↑ Galindo, Brian (February 25, 2014). "18 Epically ’90s Tommy Hilfiger Moments". BuzzFeed. Retrieved 2015-11-03.
  26. ↑ "Hilfiger will sponsor Rocker Kravitz's tour". Women's Wear Daily. August 1999. Retrieved 2015-11-03.
  27. 1 2 3 "For U.S. Fashion Firms, a Global Makeover". The Wall Street Journal. February 2, 2007. Retrieved 2015-09-12.
  28. ↑ Jessen, Monique; M. Silverman, Stephen (June 22, 2004). "Beyoncé Launches New True Star Fragrance". People (Time Inc). Retrieved April 22, 2012.
  29. ↑ FiFi Awards 2005
  30. ↑ "Story: Tommy Hilfiger Corporation". Apex Partners (press release). Archived from the original on July 22, 2015.
  31. ↑ "Calvin Klein owner buys Tommy Hilfiger". BBC News. 2010-03-15. Retrieved 2015-07-17.
  32. ↑ Andrew Ross Sorkin; Michael J. de la Merced (15 March 2010). "Phillips-Van Heusen Buys Hilfiger for $3 Billion". New York Times.
  33. 1 2 Milligan, Lauren (October 30, 2013). "Tommy Hilfiger's CEO Switch". Vogue. Retrieved 2015-09-12.
  34. ↑ Hill, L (January 22, 2015). "Tommy Hilfiger launches revolutionary digital showroom". WGSN (wgsn.com). Retrieved 2015-09-12.
  35. ↑ Diderich, Joelle (January 21, 2015). "Hilfiger Takes Showroom Digital". WWD. Retrieved 2015-07-06.
  36. ↑ "nnovation in the fashion industry - Digital showroom by Tommy Hilfiger". Management Counterparts. Retrieved 2015-07-06.
  37. ↑ "PVH Corp. Announces New Agreement with and Revised Role for Fred Gehring". PVH. July 31, 2015. Retrieved 2015-09-12.
  38. ↑ "Hilfiger Denim Fashion Fair (Hilfiger Denim Bread and Butter, Berlin Winter 2010/2011)". 20x20FT. Retrieved 2010.
  39. ↑ "Universal, Nestles Ink Deal". PromoMagazine.com. Archived from the original on February 4, 2012.
  40. ↑ "Tommy Hilfiger: The Hilfigers ad campaign". Laird and Partners. 2010. Retrieved 2015-09-12.
  41. ↑ "Tommy Hilfiger’s Preppy Pop-Up House Travels the World". PVH press release. April 14, 2011. Retrieved 2015-09-12.
  42. ↑ Lockwood, Lisa (April 29, 2015). "Hilfiger to Visit Beijing for Store Opening and Big Fashion Show". WWD. Retrieved 2015-09-12.
  43. ↑ "Dressed For Success, Nadal Looks To US Open". ATP World Tour. August 25, 2015. Retrieved 2015-09-12.
  44. ↑ "P.S. ARTS and Tommy Hilfiger Celebrate Launch of Arts Education Program". pvh.com (press release). October 15, 2013. Retrieved 2015-11-03.
  45. ↑ "Tommy Hilfiger Europe Foundation". tommycares.com. Retrieved 2015-11-03.
  46. 1 2 "European Initiatives". tommy.com. Retrieved 2015-11-03.
  47. ↑ "Tommy Hilfiger 7th Annual Limited Edition Bag". Breast Health International. September 30, 2013. Retrieved 2015-11-03.
  48. ↑ "Tommy Hilfiger Supports Breast Health International with Seventh Limited-Edition Handbag". pvh.com (press release). October 3, 2013. Retrieved 2015-11-03.
  49. ↑ "Tommy Cares". Tommy.com. Retrieved 2015-11-03.
  50. ↑ Milligan, Lauren (April 18, 2012). "Tommy's Promise". Vogue. Retrieved 2015-11-03.
  51. ↑ "Preppy at work: A look at Tommy Hilfiger Japan’s intelligent system". Microsoft.com. March 3, 2014. Retrieved 2015-11-03.
  52. ↑ "Tommy Hilfiger launches first store in Thailand". Fashion United. May 4, 2015. Retrieved 2015-11-03.
  53. ↑ "Corporate Responsibility". PVH. Retrieved 2015-11-03.
  54. ↑ "Eight more U.S. retailers settle sweatshop suit". Reuters (archived 2005). March 28, 2000. Archived from the original on October 13, 2005. Retrieved October 11, 2007.
  55. ↑ "Works die facotires". ABC News. 2012. Retrieved 2016-02-91. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  56. 1 2 Grant, Kevin (March 21, 2012). "Tommy Hilfiger caves on factory labor conditions ahead of ABC report". Global Post. Retrieved 2015-11-03.
  57. ↑ "Tommy Hilfiger Admits to Still Using Unsafe Factories, Commits $1 Million to Improving Safety Standards". Fashionista.com. March 2012. Retrieved 2015-11-03.
  58. ↑ "Bangladeshi Garment Workers Struggle to Form Unions". Wall Street Journal. September 11, 2013. Retrieved 2015-11-03.
  59. ↑ "Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger owner to explore investment opportunities". Ethiopian Reporter. May 2014. Retrieved 2015-11-03.
  60. ↑ Chandran, Rina (January 29, 2016). "Global apparel brands pledge to improve conditions for Bengaluru workers". Reuters. Retrieved 2016-02-91. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)

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