Value Is In The Eyes Of The Beholder

None

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
This show is produced and hosted byMark Webber. The show is sponsored by
G three of Peril. The viewsexpressed in the following program are those of
the sponsor and not necessarily the opinionof seven ten wo R or iHeartMedia.
Who is Mark Webber. He's aself made business executive here to help you
find your success from the New YorkCity projects to the Avenue Montaigne in Paris.

(00:24):
His global success story in the luxuryworld of fashion is inspirational. He's
gone from clerk to CEO twice.Mark is classic proof that the American dream
is alive. And well, here'syour host of Always in Fashion, Mark
Webber. Mark Webber said beauty isin the eyes of the beholder. It's

(00:46):
also said and proven that love isblind. Some might say Today's peacock as
Damaro's feather dust. Life gives usmany examples and many lessons, and perception
being reality. What is more powerfulthe truth or what you believe to be
true. We're all responsible to ourselvesto learn truth in reality, to distinguish

(01:08):
that which is important from that whichis not. And then there's that which
is true. Yet so many oflife's truths are subject to variables. You
get to decide the relevance and thecomfort level to thine own self be true.
You're in charge of what you want, and you think whatever it costs,

(01:30):
the way you feel creates the valuethat leads me to where I want
to go. When something has valueto me, it makes me happy.
I don't care whether it costs adollar or a million dollars if it makes
me happy because I feel the value. It has all the value in the
world. Now, what is value? Value one the regard that something has

(01:55):
hell to deserve, the importance,worth, or usefulness of something too,
A person's principles or standards of behavior, one's judgment of what is important in
life. Value is in the eyesof the beholda. What's valuable to you
can only be decided by you.You set the rules of engagement on determining
what you feel is competitive. Weat our core a creatures seeking knowledge.

(02:21):
What makes us special is what wedo with that knowledge. We are also
at our core consumers. What makesus special is what we individually decide to
consume, either consciously or overtly.Everything we purchase is about selecting value.
Frankly, everything we do is aboutvalue. From the friends you choose,

(02:45):
to the restaurants you frequent, tothe cars you drive, to the vacation
destinations, you select the brand ofself, to the two face you use,
where you work, who you chooseto talk to, where you spend
your time. As individuals, wehave dessessed of value for each of these
decisions we make in life. Areyou value added? Can you be value

(03:08):
added? Is it good to haveyou around? Do you bring something unique
to the conversation in your work?Do you add value to whatever you're as
signed? These are important extensions ofthe word value. Maybe thinking about value
it just might be important, youthink, I from one I'm in constantly

(03:31):
thinking about, trying to assess lifeat this incredible pace and bring thought to
the decisions I make. I supposeI could talk for hours, have multiple
shows or podcasts with value as thenumerator, with a different denominator value on
top. What I purchase, whatI do, who I talk to when
I talk to them, what Ido in the morning, what I eat

(03:53):
for breakfast, all of those thingscombined with value, and tonight, I've
chosen the question of value, particularlyin the products we choose. However,
I do have a slight deviation.There are a couple stories I need to
tell you that you'll find value ineither my opinion or the telling of that
story. But for the moment,looks like a Honda Civic reliable, Japanese

(04:17):
inexpensive compact car versus a much moreexpensive Mercedes Sedan. Sorry, I own
the models. When it comes tothe Mercedes, but one is at least
twice the price of the other.And yet both of those individual owners believe
the car is not only valuable butas a value for the price they paid.
How could they be because value isin the eyes of the purchaser,

(04:43):
in this case the beholder. Youcan eat an amazing hamburger at McDonald's or
an amazing hamburg at the Polar Barin fifty fifth Street. One is four
dollars, the other twenty four dollars. Both have value to me. The
McDonald's is fast, easy, accessibleworldwide. I can walk in anywhere I
could drive through. The Polar Baris the place to be. You fight

(05:04):
for a reservation plant two or threeweeks in advance, get dressed up,
and all it is is a hamburger. But both experiences are priceless. Value
is in the eyes of the dinerthis time, and this is always in
fashion, a story and a showabout cultural lifestyle, and in that we

(05:24):
wear clothes and more of them.Specifically, I came across an article that
triggered this thinking. This week I'mgoing to talk value and fashion in the
luxury retail world. But the articlegot me thinking, and I just might
be value added to you tonight.Let me have the headline read for you.
Calvin Klein product from TJ Max isnot the same as Calvin Klein product

(05:45):
that is in store. Worker saysthat is why he doesn't shop at TJ
Max or Marshall's. Is he right? No? Is he right? Yes?
Very often product is identical to that. It's what you find in regular
stores. And very often it's notwhy you might ask. If you ask
nicely, I might explain one thing. I can assure you with confidence and

(06:08):
certainty. You'll find value at TJMax and Marshalls, as well as all
the others Ross stores, Burlington,Sacks Off, Fifth, Nordstrom's Rack,
every outlet store. But you willalso find value at Louis Viton and their
price points are extraordinary. A fourthousand dollars handbag you buy a car for

(06:30):
that an incredible, wacky fashion ofGucci. Amazing. People will find value
in that. People will find valuein luxury, and they'll find value in
off price. What is value?Are you looking for value in certain parts
of your life? And that's soin others? I think not. But
let's make a deal. You stayand listen. I'll provide the value.

(06:55):
Now you have to consider in ourindustry, where no holyse products come that
fill these huge stores all over thecountry. I love this topic. It's
so interesting. I buy certain thingsI don't care how expensive they are.
They're worth the money to me.But I know I could buy something similar
for fall less money. And yetI can buy low price, I can

(07:16):
buy high place. It's not thequality, it's comparatable. In many examples,
is a range rove of better thana Ford Explorer? Or does it
have a cachet? Does it havemore features? Food always a great example.
I could eat pizza with a knifeat my favorite restaurant, or I
can have the pizza at Yankee Stadium, which is amazing. I'll tell you,

(07:38):
I don't know if I'm smart.I do know I'm well trained and
I have experience on this subject.I was responsible for over a thousand outlets
drove with different brands and designer names, and I care deeply about the quality
and the value of those products.I never took anything out of him,
I always added to them. Ihave hands on experience dealing directly with T.

(08:01):
J. Ross. I saw handson experience dealing with burgdolf Gan,
and Neiman Marcus, with many brands. Now, where am I going with
this? I'm setting the stage.I'm tempted to call myself an expert,
but I want to refute this articoand we'll see how that goes. And
I have specific insights, and maybe, just maybe I am an expert.

(08:26):
I may not be important anymore,but I do have a history. I
believe in value of the family.I believe a family unit is supposed to
be tight, that we're all hereto support and help each other and make
each other happy. I believe Ihave a responsibility to be value added to
our listeners. I have all thisinformation, How do I impart it to

(08:50):
you in an interesting, clever,happy fun way so that you actually stay
and pay attention. Whoever I'm dealingwith. I want to know that I'm
supplying the truth. That it's okaynow when it comes to my children,
they're better versions of me. They'reimportant. Now it's their turn. I
had my turn either way. Iintend to be value added tonight. So

(09:13):
here's what we're going to do.I believe value is in the eyes of
beholder. You could be value added. Here's a great story. I think
I'm going to be value added toyou right now. I want to tell
you a story that dates back tomy early days with Larry Phillips. It's
a story that will never go outof style. I love it. One
day I get a call from Jackiesinger Larry Phillips long term administrative systant and

(09:37):
she says to me, Mark,are you free from lunch? Larry would
like to spend some time with you. I said to myself, Wow,
that's a big deal. He's theCEO of a billion dollar company wants to
have lunch with just me. Isaid to sure, I'll meet him.
I had a very unusual relationship withLarry Phillips. I came out of nowhere.
I was a young kid, basicallyspeaking, that built a reputation on

(10:01):
performance and a big public corporation.He probably shouldn't even known who I was.
Of a course of time, Ihad so many bouts with good fortune
and doing the right thing that Ibecame aware to the president and CEO,
and they valued my time, andthey valued my contribution, and I suppose
they valued me as an individual.But nonetheless, Larry Phillips wanted to fire

(10:24):
me so many times I can't evencount him on my hands, and yet
I survived. He was often wrong, but never in doubt. There were
times where he didn't apologize, buthe admitted to me that my positions that
he argued fiercely with were right,even though he treated me as if they
were wrong. Anyway, I getthis invitation to go have lunch, and

(10:46):
I figure out one restaurant we cango. Well, I found out we're
going to take a walk to CentralPark, and then lunch would not be
at my favorite restaurant or the companyclub. It would be a hot dog
on a bench. Larry wanted totalk to me, and he stopped by
saying, I need your help.Now, a little background. Larry Phillips
was a good guy. He careddeeply about the company and the people that

(11:09):
he worked for. He generally speakinglike the workers better than his management team.
The management team he was fierce withmost of the managers never survived the
test of time. Once you gotimportant, you had your run, but
you didn't last. But the workers, particularly the workers in our retail stores,
he loved them. There was nothinghe wouldn't do for them. And

(11:31):
this takes me to the Larry Phillipsstory. Larry Phillips's father was a brilliant
man. He was the second generation. His father began the business by selling
shirts to miners as they exited thecoal mines, give them something clean to
wear. Larry's father took it andbuilt a Vanus And Company. He bought
the name vanus And from a Dutchinventor who found a patent for attaching collars

(11:54):
to it used to be shirts thathad removable collars, and they began the
vanus In shirt and an over acourse of fifty years, became one of
the most powerful shirt brands in theworld. Larry Phillips inherited the companies from
his father, and Larry Phillips unfortunatelywas a version of Rapunzel, but instead
of spinning straw into gold, LarryPhillips spun gold into straw. Pretty Much

(12:20):
everything he touched didn't work. Hebought retail companies that didn't perform. He
bought a sweatermill that never made money. He bought in a suit company that
never made money or it was marginalat best. And then one day by
accident, because he was fiercely angryat the shirts that were coming out of
the factory that were surplus, thatthey were defects. What do you do

(12:43):
with effective shirt? You try andfind some little to sell defective shirts,
and he did. We were losingfive dollars a shirt. There's a center
in Reading, Pennsylvania, right ina factory where people was selling excess surplus,
and it came together a number ofdifferent manufacturers. He put our seconds
there. Not only did they selfof five dollars, they sold for eight
dollars, and what was a twomillion dollar loss a year on seconds coming

(13:07):
out of our factories became a twomillion dollar profit. It was the beginning
of the outlet business. I've toldthat story. Maybe another time I'll tell
you, But anyway, we gotup to five hundred stores at this time
with five different brands, and Larryall of a sudden became one of the
geniuses in the apparel and retail sectorof America. Picture Tesla for cars.

(13:28):
Picture Larry Phillips for revitalizing this vanuse in brand through the use of outlet
stores. Now, the problem withany brand is, brands aren't made in
outlet stores. Brands aren't built inTJ Max. They're not built in Ross
stores. They're not built in Nordstrom'srack or Sacks off Fifth. They're built
in regular retail venues being sold atregular price. And here we are building

(13:56):
this out the venue. One day, Larry Phillips, after we store this
tremendous success in outlets thought to takeoff, brought the senior management the company
together this apartment in the city andlooked around us at the table, and
he said, look, nothing ismore important to me than our outlet stores.
All of you guys who presidents ofthe various different divisions, either accept

(14:18):
the outlet stores and understand that theymake money for us or leave. Those
of you stay will become very successfuland make a lot of money. Those
who you leave, goodbye, goodRands. I don't care for you anymore.
I care about the outlet stores becauseI believe they're the future of the
retail business. And Larry Phillis madeit clear that our future was outlet retailing.

(14:41):
The problem was that he was soexcited that he finally found his place
in life that he couldn't help callingattention to it. Now, I'm the
president of the Van Ussin shirt brand, and if I'm trying to sell Macy's
or Nordstrom's so or Belt department storesor Dillard's, Larry, don't talk too

(15:03):
much about the outlets stores. They'recompeting and they're cheap, and nobody wants
to hear your good fortune. Letthe shareholders enjoy it. Don't talk to
the retailers. One day, there'sa panel put on with Women's Wear Daily
and Daily News Record in New YorkCity in one of the big hotels.
And on this panel there's the headof Federated, which owns Macy's stores,

(15:26):
the head of May Company department stores, the head of Dillard's Belt whoever they
want, the titans of retail,and they include Larry Philips because of this
place and outlets. So not onlyis he going to go public with the
outlet conversation and create controversy, hegets up and he points to all his
compatriots, and you see all theseguys on this panel with me, They're

(15:48):
all dinosaurs. I don't care whatstore they work for. They're all going
to die. The future of retailingis outlets, and those of you who
own brands that aren't the outlet businessare losing out on incredible opportunities. You
need to get in the outlet business. The next day in Womenswear Dally in
Delhi News reckon the men's paper headline, Larry Phillips calls the apartment stores of

(16:14):
America dinosaurs. Now picture me asthe president of the company who has to
sell vanues and shirts to all thosepeople, He insulted, You think that's
going to be easy. He createdan impossible situation, But nonetheless the outlet
stores were working, which brings meback to Larry Phillips asking me to go
out to lunch. Larry realized,to his credit, then, in order

(16:38):
for his plan to work, openthree thousand outlets stores across America five thousand
maybe worldwide, that's the only thinghe cared about. He realized two things.
One, after significant research, herealized that we needed Abraham Strauss,
Macy's, Dillard's, all these storesto sell our products at regular price to

(16:59):
create a halo for those shirts andthose brands in the outline in venue and
he realized he was making mistakes,calling them out and telling them that they
were dinosaurs. But I suppose morerelevantly Larry Phillips understood that he needed people.
He needed the management of this companyto be on board and to run

(17:22):
this race with him, which bringsme back to his apartment where him telling
us that you want to be onboard, I'm with you. It's outlets.
If you don't, goodbye. Inorder to keep us, he came
up with a plan. It wascalled the Capital Accumulation Plan, and in
effect it was an insurance based productthat said, if you'll sign a document

(17:49):
promising you won't take drugs, promisingyou won't abuse alcohol, at the end
of a ten year period, youwill collect a vast sum of money from
the company. If you're here inthat ten year period, you won't collect
it right away. You will collectit when you're fifty five years old.
Now he's doing two things. One, he's trying to ensure that the management

(18:14):
is healthy by dictating we even nolonger take drugs, and they'd be random
drug testing, believe it or not, in a public company, way before
it's time. And two, ifyou offered me seven hundred and fifty thousand
a million dollars and went as highas two and a half million dollars depending
on who you were in your rankat the company. You would have this
money put away from you at theend of a ten year period. And

(18:37):
Larry wanted to know from me thatday what I thought about it. That's
why he took me to lunch.I said it before. Senior managers on
our company were dropping left and right. When you're building companies, when you're
building new companies and new strategies,and your focus becomes retail instead of wholes,

(19:00):
when your focus becomes the only reasonyou're in department stores is to create
a hello, rather than this iswhere we want to build a business.
All of these people are vulnerable.There's a new mindset going on. Everything
is different, and here I amgoing to have lunch with Larry Phillips.
Secondarily, I'm thirty seven years old, so first and foremost this plan for

(19:22):
me, while I was exciting.Can you imagine getting a couple of million
dollars ten years from then? Well, on the one hand, let's assume
you could survive the ten years andbe a value added member of the company.
You still have to wait till you'refifty five to get it, and
if you're not with the company,you don't get it. So the plan,
basically, i'm thirty seven years iseighteen years away from me. So

(19:45):
we sit down on the bench.He brings two hot dogs over from a
vending man in Central Park and said, Mark, I need your help.
I announced to you in the teamthe capital accumulation plan. What do you
think of it? And I said, Larry, I don't know how to
answer you. You know, I'myoung. It's very exciting, it's very

(20:07):
fair. It's clear you care aboutus, it's clear you want to keep
us with the company. But Ireally don't have to answer you. He
said, well, Mark, Iwant to know the truth. This is
important. Do you feel excited aboutit? And I said, Larry,
I could be honest with you ifthat's what you want. Of course,
I want you to be honest moreWell, Larry, I think it's incredibly
fair. And if it was eighteenyears later and you're gonna pay me two

(20:29):
million dollars, I can't tell youhow much I appreciate it and how exciting
that sounds to me. But I'mthirty seven years old. I'm one of
the pivotal people in the company andwith older respect all the senior management.
The company is now gone except foryou. Yes, I'm young and my
teammates are young, but I haveto survive ten years. So the first

(20:51):
question I have to ask myself willI make ten years? Say said well
Mark, After the first five yearsyou've vested at fifty percent. Of the
next five years, you're vested atthe next fifty percent. So the money
is you just have to wait tillyou're fifty five years old. I said,
well, okay, Larry. Myconcern is can I survive a company
that's changing, Will I stay infavor? And that's a concern for me.

(21:15):
So I have to discount the valueof the plan. And you know,
fifty five years old, it isso far away from me. I
can't think about when I'm fifty fiveyears old. So to me, well,
I believe the plan is very valuable. Why I believe it's very generous.
Why I believe the idea that youdon't want us to take drugs or
spoil or ruin our lives. It'ssuch a nice thing for me personally,

(21:41):
eighteen years from now to collect themoney doesn't have the value that I think
you'd want me to have. Andhe was quiet, and he said,
I'm surprised by your answer. Iwould thought you'd be thrilled. I said,
well, with those qualifications I amis it. Don't you have confidence
in yourself? Of course I haveconfidence in myself, and I still have
to survive a public company for eighteenyears, and who thinks about eighteen years

(22:04):
from now? He said, well, Mark, I think you're wrong,
but I appreciate the honesty, andI do appreciate you coming out and telling
me how you feel. We walkedback. We had a nice conversation.
I get back to my office.Ten minutes later the phone calls on it.
We had an industrial psychologist on ourboard, and I get a call
from the industrial psychologist. He said, what the hell did you do to

(22:26):
Larry Phillips. He wants to fireyou. He called your boss, the
president of the company, said fireMark Webber. He doesn't appreciate anything.
I mean. I was taken aback. I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
I said to the industrial psychologist.Look, Larry asked me to be
honest and give him my opinion.My opinion was that I was greatly appreciative

(22:47):
this capital accumulation plan. But ifyou asked me at thirty seven years old,
I'm excited about a plan that Iwon't see till fifty five, the
answer is no, it doesn't havethe relevance. If it's gonna have relevance
for me, it has to benear. He said, what went through
your mind to be honest with him? Don't you understand he's so excited.
He expected you to be jumping upand down. I guess I made a

(23:08):
mistake. I was honest. Hesaid, yes, you did. I
said, am I going to survivelet alone ten years? He said,
I don't know. Let me talkto your boss and we'll talk later.
So what is the value in honesty? A night where I'm saying value is
in the eye of the beholder.Here's this young guy, bright on his

(23:30):
way, moving up the company,doing a job that everyone appreciates. And
I was honest enough to tell thetruth about the way I feel when I
learned. And I'm warning all ofyou that you have to be politically savvy.
As much as I can't stand what'sgoing on in the world of politics,
they tell us what we want tohear. Seems to work they get
elected. I made a mistake.Somebody asked me to be value added,

(23:56):
and they asked me to be honest, and unfortunately the honesty was not what
he wanted to hear. He wantedlip service. Go fake it so much
for value. Oh, by theway, I lasted to ten years and
I lasted in the company to fiftyseven. Take a break, We'll be
back. Value is in the eyesof the beholder, always in fashion.

(24:22):
As one of the world's most celebratedfashion designers, car Lagafeld was renowned for
his aspirational and cutting edge approach tostyle. His unique vision of Parisian ship
comes to America through Carlagafeld Paris.He has women's collections, men's collections,
ready to wear, accessory, shoesand bags. The fashion house Carlagafeld also
offers a range of watches, Iwear and premium fragrances. You can explore

(24:45):
the car Lagafel collection at Carlagafeld powisdot com. But it's more than that.
I, for one, love toshop. I love going around and
seeing what's happening and what catches myattention, what would make me feel good
to wear? Now I don't wearthe women where obviously, but I can
appreciate it and they look amazing.If you want to look right, you
want to have clothes that fit youwell. You want to look like you're

(25:07):
wearing something that's very expensive, that'sexclusive for you and yours. You can
find it at very affordable prices atMacy's. So Carlgafel dot com paris the
women's ready to wear fashion is extraordinary, as well as the hand egs and
the shoes. I for one,wear men's clothes on like my appreciation of
women's clothes. I'm a modern guy. I want to look current. I

(25:32):
want to look the way I wantto feel. I go out at night,
I'm in black and Carlgafelt is mybuddy. Clothes are great, they
fit great, and they have littletweaks and touches, whether it's a stripe
on the sleeve or button at theneck or on the shoulder. There's a
lot of details that go into CarlAgafelt because he's always been, he always
had been one of the world's greatdesigners, and this legacy and goes on

(25:52):
and on. I can't speak enoughabout it except to say to you,
you want to feel good about yourself. You want to know that you're dressing
properly. One clothes that fits youwell. Carl Lagafeld Paris at Macy's or
Calgafeld dot com. My favorite brandhas always been ISOD. My company at
one time bought that brand. TheCEO of the company handed it to me

(26:15):
and said, you better make itwork. And I put everything in my
career to make Izod work and Ifell in love with that brand, and
to this day it is one ofthe most exciting endeavors I've ever got involved
with. Isod is an incredibly stronggolf brand. If you play golf,
if you play tennis for that matter. They make a great polo shirts.

(26:40):
I mean great. They're fit perfect. The material is unique because it's a
PK fabric that waffle weave, yousee, and it's made of a blend
of cotton and microfiber that allows youto stretch. And very often they are
treated with solo protection as well,so they stretch, they're comfortable, and

(27:03):
they breathe well. And one thingabout Isa, they always fit. They'll
never tug on you. You putit in your waist, they'll fit you
great. The colors, patterns aresensational, now I will also tell you
ISAOD makes great shorts and great golfpants. You're a golfer and you want
to look good. You don't wantto have to think about how do I
look. You want to think abouthow you play, not how you feel.

(27:23):
ISOD is the brand for you.I know I was there when it
was created. The strategy behind thatbrand is brilliant. It's one of my
favorite brands. While I talk aboutI should tell you about the men's sports
where ISOD wasn't enough being a golfbrand. It wasn't enough being just great
polo shirts with logos, without logos, incredible brands and story and history.

(27:45):
Isaad makes salt weather programs. Theyhave great printed woven shirts, short sleeves.
They look excellent with colors, excellentwith shorts, excellent with cotton pants,
of which they also make. Thiswhole salt order relaxed line from Isaad,
whether it be felice, cotton sweaters, nitpolos, woven shirts and pants

(28:11):
of a range of colors and fabricsthat are perfect for a guy wants to
go casually in the spring and summerof this year and he is the thing.
ISOD is affordable. Everyone listening tome talk about this brand, can
afford to buy it and know thatthere are a lot of other brands that
also have a look like Iesode.Although I don't believe it's fun as EOD

(28:37):
is. The brand has a lotof energy in it, but at the
price points no one can compete.You can find eyes That at your leading
retailers and online at eod dot com. Talk to you later, guys.
I wish you are very happy springin summer, and I help you by
telling you if you wear Eyesode,you're gonna look great. Welcome back to

(28:59):
Always in Fashion. Here's your host, Mark Webber. I've been thinking about
value in life, in your life, who you are, whether your value
added. I've been thinking about anarticle that I came across the headline.
Let me have it read to youagain. Calvin Klein product from TJ Max

(29:19):
is not the same as Calvin Kleinproduct that is in store. Worker says
that is why he doesn't shop atTJ Max or Marshall's. If you're going
to think about product and you seeproduct that's in various different locations, you
see a brand as this article illustratesthat Calvin Klein is different in the outlets
stores. It's different in their regularstores. It's different in department stores,

(29:44):
it's different in TJ Max and Marshals. Is it true? Yes, No,
I have a little experience in thisregard, and I have a story
to tell you. As usually asthe case, I was very young and
started to make a name for myselfand my company, and because of that,
the company made sure that I wasprivy to all the important things going

(30:07):
on, and at one time managementthe company was very eager to make sure
we could learn as much information aswe can and be as smart or smarter
than anyone else that was out there. Lo and behold of all things.
Harvard Business School was running a seminarthat had a famous retail guro. His

(30:32):
name escapes me now Walter Somebody.If anybody out there knows who I'm thinking
about, let me know. He'sa Harvard professor and he was doing a
seminar on retail in the world ofbrands, and Larry Phillips, the CEO
of the company, Bruce Klatsky,the president, Jim Murphy, the head
of retail, and Mark Webber,the president of Venus Insure Company, was

(30:55):
asked to join this group and flyto Boston, stay over in Harvard for
a week and participated in Harvard BusinessSchool. Those people you don't know.
Harvard Business School teaches differently than mostof the schools. They teach with case
studies. You are incredibly overwhelmed inwork. You have your own room in
the dormitory and they give you abook of test cases talking about various different

(31:22):
things, and you would get toread them, try and understand the business
principles of this case study. Thenyou show up the next morning in class
or in the next afternoon in class, and you talk about the case and
the professor leads you through the lessonslearned and all of that which is involved
with the case study. We hadone, in particular, the study of

(31:45):
a chain of stores called Itto Yokadoin Japan, and it was a study
of empowerment. What is empowerment?You have people that work for you,
they know what they're doing. Stevejobs set at once. We don't hire
smart people and tell them what todo. We hire smart people so they
could tell us what to do.And the idea behind Eto Yokado was empowering

(32:07):
their people. And in particular,the case study was done with raw fish.
All of you who love sushi,all of you realize where if sushi
comes from. Raw fish is oneof the most valuable commodities in Japan.
And every morning, the fishing boatsarrive and the show up packed and ice.

(32:28):
The stores come, they pick outthe fish, they want it,
They take it and ice put iton the selling floor with the hope that
they'll get them to the customers asfresh as possibly could be. And the
idea behind eto Yokado. They cameup with computer principles and computer techniques to
understand how quickly the fish had tobe picked up, when it could be

(32:49):
sold, and when it had tobe taken off the floor because it was
no longer fresh. And the moreinformation they gave to the workers, the
better they were at doing the job. And that was the case, and
it was fascinating with the idea thatif you work in a business, if
you work in retail, for example, the more information you give the people
on the selling floor about customers andfashion, the better they're going to be

(33:12):
to move merchandise. And it wasincredible fashion story. But that's not why
I'm there. We're talking tonight aboutvalue, and that value is in the
eyes of behold one of the peoplein our group was a fellow named Richard
Lester, Dick Lester, who isthat then the number two men at TJ
Max and Marshalls. And being thatthe headline that I read to you before

(33:34):
was about TJX and Marshals, itbrought this story to mind talking about value
and I remember meeting dick lesson.We spend time when we laugh, we
talked about cases. It was areally nice experience of what went on with
us and we got to know himand over the course of time that week
there he became a friend. Youknow, you can't have friends in business,

(33:57):
that's my view. Certainly when they'resitting across the table from you as
a retail customer and vice versa.That is a negotiating challenge to say the
least. But as far as goodguys go and common interest, we liked
each other and it was great andthe team liked him. A month later,
reading the paper dick Less it wasnamed CEO of TJ Max Marshalls and

(34:20):
it was amazing. Wow, thenumber one guy, We know him,
he's a friend. Great. Weget a call that he wants to come
up and see us and he hasto meet with all of the powers to
be. It just so happened.I was the only one in New York
at the time, and nonetheless hecame up with his management team to see
us. Now back to the headline, is the Calvin Klein product that you

(34:40):
find in TJ Max the same asthe Calvin Klein product you find in their
stores or in the Analyst stores forthe matter. And the answer is yes
and no. But I'll come backto that. Dick Lesser and his team
show up and they start to tellus about the future of TJ Max.
We are a thirty billion dollar company. We're growing to sixty billion dollars.

(35:06):
We need merchandise. If you dobusiness with us, we're going to be
your best customer. We don't wantany bells and whistles. We don't want
markdown money, we don't want advertising. We don't advertise brands. The only
thing we advertise is our store name, and people know that we have great
brands. For less we don't wantany of that. What we want is
merchandise, and we, because ofour size, are going to be incredibly

(35:31):
tough on anybody who wants to sellus, because, after all, we
buy your surplus. You bought toomuch. Your problem. You bought the
wrong thing, your problem, andyou're going to pay a price for it.
Mark, So we're going to bethat we have the open to buy.
We want to buy product. You'regonna have it to sell and if

(35:51):
you do, we're going to takeadvantage because our customer expects to buy your
brands for less price. So Ican give you one piece of advice.
Hire the best planners, hire thebest merchandisers, hire the best people.
You can be careful with your inventorybecause when it comes to selling it to
us, it's going to be adifficult place for you. But we're going

(36:14):
to be able to buy it nowat the time. There's another business that
isn't talked about at TJ Max orany discount stores. Let's talk shirts for
a minute. Fifty percent of allthe shirts done in America, at least
at that time, will white.But how could TJ Max run a retail
store and have the one of thelargest stress shirt departments in the country without

(36:37):
white shirts. White shirts were perennial. They never went out of style.
You kept filling them in, youkept making more, and when you needed
more, you fill them in,you shipped them. They were never a
problem. So the question would become, what would TJ Max do if they
don't have white shirts and there's abusiness TJ Max will say, Look,
I'm going to need to buy amillion white shirts from you. I need

(37:00):
to pay a special price. AsI said before, I'm not going to
have any other ancillary costs. Evenif you sell it to me at a
discount, you'll make more money sellingit to me than you will from Macy's
or anyone else. Please sell methese shirts and we'll do this business with
you quietly. Now. The beautyof TJ Max. You've walked into their
shirt department. There's no signs ofthe brands. They're all mixed together.

(37:21):
You'll see Paulo, you'll see MichaelColes, you'll see Calvin Klein, You'll
see all the brands. They buya lot from everyone, and the idea
of if you need a dress shirt, you're going to TJ Max. You're
gonna find one of the brands youwant at a great price. So when
Dick Lester was lecturing us on beingbetter at what we do, I said
to him, what about our whiteshirt passiness? We don't need it anymore,

(37:44):
So you don't want us to doany special cuts for you anymore.
No, So I'm going to goback to my team and tell them that
those people assigned to special cuts areno longer going to do that. Will
move them to other places if wecan. Otherwise, we're going to let
them go and we're not going tosell you anymore. So we're not going
to do that business with you.We'll find other ways to sell product.
He says, yeah, that's whatI'm telling you. Wow, this was

(38:07):
a shaka. What wasn't a shakawas two weeks later when I got the
phone call from the buyers saying weneed to buy white shirts. I said,
but Dick Lessa, your chairman,said not to do it anymore.
This is what we need them,and we only need white, we need
blue, we need you know,everything that we've ever been doing here.
I said, that's a huge business. I was told it doesn't exist anymore.
He says it does. I said, well, the less mister Lesla

(38:29):
calls me and tells me to keepdoing it. I'm not doing it,
And sure enough I got a callfrom Dick class Mark. I guess you
were right. We were wrong.My appetite for merchandise is so Grand it's
so great. I need basics andI need to buy them, and we
agreed at that time to continue.And that's a business that exists in every
store today, and when you doit, it's the same exact product.

(38:55):
So that's where the article is wrong. If I'm making white dress shirts for
whatever brand and they sell for twentyfive dollars and I sell them to a
department store for twelve and a halfdollars, If I'm going to sell them
for Marshals and they're going to benineteen ninety nine, I'm going to sell
them at ten dollars or nine ninetynine, same shirts, one sewing line.

(39:19):
I'm going to be efficient. I'mnot going to make two different products.
I'll find a way to do itand they'll be the same. And
I will not disappoint my customer whoshops and TJ Max because of MY name
is on that shirt or I brandis on that shirt. I don't want
them to have a bad quality.I want them to appreciate it. I
want them to benefit by shopping inthat channel, because not everybody shops there.

(39:42):
If I would buying dress shirts todayme I'd buy them at Thomas Pink
i'd buy them at Rathlorn. Imight buy them at Suit. Supply,
I'm not looking for value. Butthere are people those shirts, those quality
that store that atmosphere, knowing Ican return it, knowing they'll all to
the sleeves if I want. Iswhere I find the value. So when
it comes to that headline, it'snot the same product. He's wrong,

(40:07):
Ah, but is he always wrong? No. Ralph Lauren Polo Pony Polo
shirt PK Fabric sells for anywhere betweeneighty nine dollars and one hundred and twenty
nine dollars in Macy's or in RalphLauren. The white, the colors.
They have a few fits. Theyhave a classic fit, there's custom slim

(40:30):
fit. They're great Polos for me. If I want a Polo, I'm
into Ralph Lauren right now. I'llbuy that Polo anywhere from eighty nine to
one hundred and twenty five. WhenI go to the outlet. They've done
two different things at times. Onethey took all the fashion colors except for
white and black and put them onsale for twenty five percent, or they

(40:52):
would try and sell the basics atthe same price. Now, when you
think of an outlets store them.Ralph Lauren has a billion dollars outlet store
business. When you have a billiondollar outlet store business, it's not surplus,
which is the way outlets began.These are pre planned assortments. This

(41:13):
is a huge retail business that hasto have the right mix and assortment in
those stores. They know exactly howmany white Polar shirts they need, they
know exactly how many black, navyred, yellow, gray heather and they
have to have them. And theyhave a choice. If I'm going to
get paid less then I would inmy regular store. Can I make a

(41:37):
Polo that looks the same, thatis lighter in weight that I could buy
and manufacture cheaper than the Polo I'mselling in my regular price stores. And
in more cases or not, theymake a lighter weight Polar shirt. It's
not the same. It doesn't makeit less valid. I have one like

(42:00):
the light Away. I'm wearing Poloshirts when's hot out And if you multiply
this by the headline in the articleCalvin Klein, there are hundreds of products
that brands make for a specific channelof distribution, whether it's Nordstrom's rack or
its sacks, or Fifth or inthis case is TJS from Calvin Klein.

(42:22):
There are products they make specifically byrequest from the store that the store fields
they could sell with a Calvin Kleinbrand. It could be a pair of
shorts, it could be a pairof pants, it could be a polar
shirt or a dresser. It's justdifferent. It's made specially for them.
It's not the same as you'd findin the regular price stores. It's different.

(42:45):
Yes, should you still find valueabsolutely, And that's what got me
thinking about this subject tonight. Theseproducts that are made specifically for the off
price channel. They're made specifically forthese great retails who are offering a different

(43:06):
level of value. Again, ifyou buy a Polo shirt and product,
it's four hundred dollars. You buythat same Polo shirt without the Prado logo
and TJ max, it could befifteen dollars. There's a long time when
I first left van Usen that Iwas wearing Target Polo shirts twelve ninety nine,
fourteen nine, and they were madegreat, they were perfect in wait,

(43:29):
so the value is still there andthat's why I challenged the article.
That's what caught my attention, That'swhy I spoke to you tonight about value
in our business. Value is inthe eyes of the beholder. I trust
that was clear. Take a breakback in a minute. Always in Fashion

(43:49):
spent a lifetime of my career buildingthe van Usen brand, and I am
so pleased that they're back with usnow talking about suits, men, we're
dressing up again and it's become coolto wear a suit. Suits can be
won on multiple occasions in multiple ways. You can wear a suit formally to
go out at night or to anevent, to wear a suit to the

(44:10):
office with or without a tie.If you look closely, now fashion trends,
suits are being worn with turtlenecks ormock necks. The choices are endless,
and every one of them looks right. You can really really look the
part. I believe that packaging yourselfthis is important, does the products you

(44:30):
package and wearing a suit is oneof those things that make men look their
best. Venueson invented a new idea. It's called the cool flex suit.
It's been engineered with stretched technology,giving you the most comfortable fit and mobility.
It's wrinkle resistant fabric, it's coolmoisture wicking. It makes it perfect
for all occasions. As we discussedjust now, this new style of looking

(44:54):
shop while feeling cool and comfortable isamazing, and I'm so excited that the
van Using company is involved in thisnew technology and is embracing the whole idea
of dressing up. Let's not forgetvan Usen made its name with dress shirts.
It's only proper that the suit businessfollows strongly in its way. You

(45:15):
can find van Using cool flex men'sstretch suits at JC Penny or online at
jcpenny dot com. Guys, they'regreat. You should go look at them.
Welcome back to Always in Fashion.Here's your host, Mark Webber.
Value is in the eyes of thebeholder headline article talking about Calvin Klein of

(45:36):
old companies where I worked. Italked about the fact that the Calvin Klein
product that you find in TJ's orMarshalls is different than the Calvin Klein you
find in regular stores. And Ispent a great deal of time thinking about
and refuting it and giving you theexamples of where it makes sense it doesn't.
Value and trust are very very importantconcepts, and I want to talk

(45:59):
a little bit about them for amoment. Value, trust, regular price,
luxury. I love shopping in luxurystores. There's not a single item
in a luxury store that if Ithink about what it costs in my own

(46:22):
mind's eye, what I know aboutmanufacturing costs, that I could justify what
I'm about to pay for it.But the fact that that product is everywhere
in the world a's the same priceequivalent except for exchange rates in different countries.
The fact that it's not going tobe on sale until maybe maybe at

(46:45):
the end of the season, whereyou run the risk if they never having
your size because they've been on salewith that product already for so many weeks
and months. You know what you'regoing to pay for it. There's something
in the value of that trust thingthat I know. There are certain herativemobiles
you can't negotiate Ferrari, Lamborghini,Bentley. They set the price. You're

(47:10):
lucky to get online to get one, and if you do get one,
you're going to pay the price.And there's value in knowing that you're paying
what they believe is a fair pricefor their product. You're not gonna walk
out and someone's gonna walk in andpay less expensive for that particular product.
That's one kind of value that Ireally, really believe in I'm a golfer.
Anybody who knows me, who's everplayed golf with me, knows that

(47:37):
when I tell them what score Ihave or what my handicap is, that's
it. Nobody has ever questioned once, not even once, what score I
put in at the end of theday. Why because when they watched me
play, they knew I kept trackof every single score. And that trust
and that credibility means a great dealto me. My sons and I have

(47:59):
been played gold off with cheaters.They hate them. If I brought those
cheaters around, they don't want toplay with them ever again. If anybody
ever changes this score, they lookdown on them. There's one notable exception,
Jack Nicholson. I played golf withJack Nicholson a couple of times.
He is a great guy, sucha fun guy. One of the most
unique moments in my life. Eighto'clock in the morning, I'm playing in

(48:22):
Los Angeles with Jack Nicholson. He'sin my forsom. I am one of
the major contributors at this time tothe charity that he's there on behalf of
it was a youth charity that paysfor children who are disadvantage to go to
camps in the summer. And hewas there, and I'm standing there.
It's eight o'clock in the morning.It's really early. It's still cool in
the morning. And next thing Iknow, I feel a head on my

(48:45):
shoulder. I look over the headon my shoulder. It's Jack Nicholson.
He goes, Mark, why arewe here so early? I said,
Jack, it's you a tournament.I should be asking you that question.
But he said to me the firsttime I met him, he said,
look, I cheat. If Idon't like my shot, I'll put the
ball down and hit it again.Nothing I do in this game is realistic.

(49:07):
I do it to have funds.The fact that he calls it out
and says what it is, it'sgreat and it's something that you admire.
It's honesty. Now Donald Trump sayinghe shot sixty eight at his own club
championship. Again, I've watched himswing. I have my doubts, but
honesty and value is so important.And then there is a subject I mentioned

(49:29):
before about value added. I havethis concept called go to guys or go
to gals. These are people thatdo more than what's asked of them.
These are people and you asked todo something, they go the extra mile,
and I ask you, can yoube evalue added? Can you be
a go to person? The otherday I ordered an iced tea and I

(49:52):
said I'd like extra ice with theiced tea. My iced tea came and
was filled with ice, and theway to handle Me said, here's an
extra glas Suvice just in case youneed more. Kurching got a better tip.
That's value added. I believe thatvalue has many different definitions. Anytime

(50:12):
someone talks to me, it's notunlike the radio show. You ask me
a question, I'll give you ananswer, but generally speaking, it's accompanied
by a story and an explanation.I think here. If I'm here and
I'm going to take the time toanswer a question, I go to make
sure I'm thorough. I subscribe tothe theory. Give a man of fish

(50:34):
he eats for a day, Teacha man of fish he eats for a
lifetime. When my children come tome with questions, of course I can
answer the question. And of coursethey get frustrated when I always tell them
the grand opinion. I always tellthem, let me give you the world
view. I don't want the worldview. I want to just know what's
going on. Then I said,I have to give you the world view,

(50:57):
because if I explain it to you, the next time you have this
question, you're going to understand it. You won't have to come to me,
and frankly, it'll appeal to youand apply to other issues as well.
There's value in that. There's nothingmore important to me than family.
The same should be for you.You pick a partner, they deserve to

(51:20):
be treated fairly. You bring childrenin this world, it's your responsibility to
teach them, to groom them,to prepare them. There's value in that,
and you're supposed to have the value. And after all is sudden done,
whether it's your co workers, whetherit's your friends, whether it's acquaintances,

(51:42):
where it's the waiter in the restaurant, or to deal a ship,
where you bring your car, orwherever you may go. Particularly when your
children and your family look at you, are your value added because value is
in the eyes of the beholder.Good Night,