Grossman joined Tommy Hilfiger in 1988, around the time that Hong Kong billionaire Silas Chou invested in the company. It was on a path and a trajectory for dynamic growth. Another rocket ship I think its why I tend to go (for) high growth or transformative companies, because I love that feeling, Grossman said.
Her daughter Elysabeth was born soon after. I went from the showroom, from a meeting with Nordstrom, to the hospital to have the baby. And then I was back in four weeks. Insanity, I know, but I loved it, she said. When Elysabeth was about 18 months old, a recruiter called Grossman to ask if she would be interested in interviewing to be president of Chaps, the mid-range label of Ralph Lauren.
I said, Are you crazy? Im with the hottest company in the menswear industry today. Its on fire. I have this incredible position. You know, I have a young child. Im not making a move. But she agreed to meet Lauren and his business partner Peter Strom.
She took the Chaps job, but again it was an unconventional move. Everybody thought I was insane because I was leaving this incredible company to go to a very small company that had really never been successful, Grossman said. But she knew she could make it work. I really believed that not taking a risk is sometimes riskier than believing in yourself and taking that risk in the first place and (people) tell me Im brave, and I said: Im not brave, Im just willing to bet on myself.
It worked. When I took over the (Chaps) business, it was doing about $26 million unprofitably. And in three years, we built the company to a $250 million (turnover), one of the most profitable divisions of the company.
But Grossman wasnt happy. She didnt like the culture of the business, which was licensed to apparel company Warnaco at the time. The Warnaco CEO had humiliated a co-worker in a meeting, and Grossman said that if she stayed at a business that didnt treat people in the right way, she felt complicit.
And I went in and resigned to the CEO. And at one point she looked (at) me and said, Are you resigning? And I said, Yes, I am. And she said, Well, you're either independently wealthy, you have another job, or you're stupid. I said, Or D, none of those above. And I was escorted out by security that afternoon.
A couple of days later, Lauren and Strom called to offer her a role as vice president of new business development, and she developed denim line Polo Jeans Company, a brand licensed to clothing company Sun Apparel. When clothing group Jones bought Sun Apparel in 1998, Grossman decided it was time to move on.
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Weight Watchers CEO Mindy Grossman on her career from Nike to wellness - CNBC
