‘You Cannot Copy High Quality’

Interesting piece for Fast Company by Danielle Sacks, on Mickey Drexler and Jenna Lyons’s leadership at J. Crew:

After two days of reviewing the entire product line, Drexler told Lyons to get on a plane to Hong Kong and design new pieces to fill all the holes. He also asked her where she wanted to source the company’s cashmere. A more expensive mill, she said. He told her to call them. This move marked the beginning of Drexler’s turnaround strategy — a bet on quality. “You cannot copy high quality, and it takes a long time to get a reputation for quality,” he says. Lyons credits this first encounter as both formative and telling of their future together. “Honestly, I think it was because I didn’t bullshit him,” says Lyons. “His bullshit-dar is insane.”

No surprise that Drexler sits on Apple’s board of directors.

★ Monday, 29 April 2013