When we first started our only real contact in fashion was the founder of Tommy Bahama. He let us come to breakfast at his golf club in Minneapolis and told us a story about resilience.
He owned an apparel store. Then a failed denim brand and some other middling businesses. 1/
He launched Tommy Bahama with $2 million in funding from his partner and a Hong Kong factory owner who loved the concept.
At launch the brand was too broad, and they blew through almost all the money. That’s when they decided to focus 2/
They went all in on the tropical feel but still couldn’t get large distribution. They decided to open a store, but it didn’t feel right to Bob.
He thought “would Tommy Bahama open a store?” It came to him, we should open a cabana bar in Naples so people can live Like Tommy. 3/
They invested the remaining funds in the restaurant. Within 12 months they had sold over $2 million in merchandise just in the restaurant.
They went on to open 15 more, and become an iconic national brand. 4/
Like the clothes or not 😬 . The creativity and focus that went into to selling wealthy Dads the Jimmy Buffet lifestyle is genius. Then risking it all opening a cabana bar in Florida.
Branding is all about segments and identifying a community. Bob Emfield mastered it. 5/
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh