• Kritika Dawar FDIW 2nd Year• Kriti Mehta• Miriam J Thomson• Stuti Goel

Introduction and Background

Thomas Jacob• Hilfiger was born and raised in Elmira, New York• His parents originally intended for him to be an engineer • He attended Elmira Free Academy for high school• Rather than furthering his education, he started to work in

retail at the age of 18

Tommy

• Hilfiger would go to New York City to buy jeans and bell-bottom pants, which he customized and resold at a local downtown Elmira store, Brown's

• He later opened his own store, named The People's Place, around the block in downtown Elmira. Although the store was a hot spot for teens with frequent contests and live DJ appearances, there were often more people hanging out than shopping.

Hilfiger• Over the years, a number of stores closed in downtown Elmira

as shopping traffic shifted to the new Arnot Mall in Horseheads, New York. It wasn't long before The People's Place became another casualty. This made him look out and reach for bigger plans

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_Hilfiger

Personal Qualities

• After attending Elmira Free Academy, he began to work in retail. Hilfiger commuted to New York City where he began to customize jeans and bell-bottoms.

• He sold his creations at a local store called Brown’s. Hilfiger opened his own shop, “The People’s Place” nearby

Personal Qualitie

s

Diligent

Hardworking

Risk taker

Visionary

Source: http://encyclopedia.jrank.org/articles/pages/462109/TommyHilfiger.html#ixzz0PJwxHFNt

Professional Skills

Source: http://encyclopedia.jrank.org/articles/pages/462109/Tommy-Hilfiger.html#ixzz0PJz3ubLO

Flair for Design: Hilfiger began to design clothing to be sold in his shops in New York

Hilfiger was offered assistant designer positions with Perry Ellis and Calvin Klein, but turned them down in order to pursue his own dreams

In 1984, the Tommy Hilfiger Corporation was formed, and would go public eight years later

It was bought by Apax Partners for over $1.5 billion in 2005. Soon after, a CBS TV reality show called “The Cut” aired. It followed the competition of 16 contestants as they fought to win a design job with Hilfiger. The winner was Chris Cortez

In 2004, the company had over 5,000 employees and revenues of almost $2 billion. Following an award for designer-of-the-year from his peers, Hilfiger decided to sell his company.

Career After turning to the design aspect of clothing by

designing for the rest of his stores in upstate New York, Hilfiger moved to New York City where he

was offered design assistant positions with designers Calvin Klein and Perry Ellis. He turned them both

down with greater plans in mind.In 1984, he founded the 'Tommy Hilfiger Corporation', with support from The Murjani Group,

which went public in 1992. By 2004 the company had 5,400 employees and revenues in excess of $1.8 billion. Hilfiger was named Menswear Designer of

the Year by the Council of Fashion Designers of America in 1995.

In 1998, Hilfiger gave singer Aaliyah her endorsement deal, in which he honoured her in his

Summer 1998 fashion show in Jamaica.

In 2005, a CBS TV reality show called The Cut tracked the progress of sixteen contestants as they competed for a design job with Hilfiger in similar fashion to Donald Trump's The Apprentice. In the

end Hilfiger chose Chris Cortez.

In 2006, Tommy Hilfiger sold his company for $1.6 billion, or $16.80 a share, to Apax Partners, a private

investment company.

Source: http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Tommy_Hilfiger

Situational characteristics which made him successful

Made in USA•Hilfiger has been the subject of criticism over the manufacturing of clothes in virtual sweatshops in the U.S. territory of Saipan. •Because Saipan is considered a U.S. Commonwealth, clothes can legally be labelled as “Made in the USA” even though federal labour laws including minimum wage are not applicable. •In 2000, the company settled a class-action lawsuit filed by garment workers who claimed they were practically indentured servants.

The Oprah Urban Legend

•Tommy Hilfiger has been called a racist because of false claims that he made derogatory statement about Asians and black people’s affinity for his clothing while appearing on The Oprah Winfrey Show. •These claims were circulated through email, but were proven to be completely false as Hilfiger has never even been a guest on The Oprah Winfrey Show.

Source: http://encyclopedia.jrank.org/articles/pages/462109/Tommy-Hilfiger.html#ixzz0PJzhiKWn

Source: http://encyclopedia.jrank.org/articles/pages/462109/Tommy-Hilfiger.html#ixzz0PJzwUyK8

Product Lines

Hilfiger DenimA premium-

upscale denim collection for

men and women.

Designs are inspired by American

classics and finished with a modern edge

and fresh spirit.

True Star Gold

fragrance created

by Hilfiger and

spokeswoman

Beyoncé Knowles

Tommy Sport

a defunct line that

came out in the 1990s

and capitalized

on Hilfiger's popularity in urban

areas.

Tommy Hilfiger

company line of clothes sold in

department stores, company

stores, and specialty

stores

H by Tommy Hilfiger

An upscale line which was

ended after Tommy Hilfiger

sold his company, the same sort of style is now carried on under the

Tommy Hilfiger label in their

specialty stores

Red LabelA line of denim-themed products including jeans, t-

shirts, and sweatshirt

s

Tommy Girl

fragrance for

women

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_Hilfiger

References

• Web References – http://encyclopedia.jrank.org/articles/pages/462109/Tommy-

Hilfiger.html#ixzz0PJwxHFNt– http://encyclopedia.jrank.org/articles/pages/462109/Tommy-

Hilfiger.html#ixzz0PJz3ubLO– http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Tommy_Hilfiger – http://encyclopedia.jrank.org/articles/pages/462109/Tommy-

Hilfiger.html#ixzz0PJzhiKWn – http://encyclopedia.jrank.org/articles/pages/462109/Tommy-

Hilfiger.html#ixzz0PJzwUyK8– http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_Hilfiger