Morris Goldfarb, chairman and chief executive officer of G-III Apparel Group, reflected on the transformations that took his father’s small leather company to a fashion business valued at $3 billion. He spoke at the WWD Apparel & Retail CEO Summit, where he received the WWD Honor for Creative Leadership.
G-III began with a single product: a brown leather “Top Gun” jacket sold in four sizes. Demand linked to the film helped the company go public, but Goldfarb said it soon became clear that relying on one jacket and one material would not be sustainable. The company chose to broaden its product range and use brands to reach department stores.
Goldfarb said the business expanded its sourcing capabilities, initially in South Korea, where it could develop a wider variety of products than its New York factory had allowed. A major step came with G-III’s acquisitions of coat makers Marvin Richards and Winlit, which brought licenses including Calvin Klein and Guess. The company then extended those relationships into additional product categories.
Goldfarb described his leadership approach as consistent even as the business and its strategies changed. He said he sought people with strengths that complemented his own across areas such as finance, design, sourcing and sales, and aimed to give them room to work while taking responsibility when things went wrong.
G-III’s recent partnership with WHP to acquire Marc Jacobs from LVMH has brought a new dynamic, Goldfarb said. He is working with both an outside partner and Marc Jacobs, the designer, to explain how G-III plans to protect and develop the brand. Goldfarb pointed to Donna Karan and DKNY as examples of labels that G-III acquired from LVMH and later made profitable while respecting their founder’s involvement.
He acknowledged that G-III, WHP and Marc Jacobs are still adjusting to working together, but described the partnership as promising. Goldfarb also noted that G-III’s status as a public company can encourage a shorter-term focus than that of a privately controlled luxury group.
Goldfarb said his family is a major motivation, and that his son Jeff is closely involved in the business and has his own strategies and strengths. He said he intends to step away when he no longer feels productive or responsible to the company’s shareholders and the roughly 15,000 people in its community.
Sources: WWD.