TOMMY HILFIGER A brief light on the brand s success

Tommy Hilfiger LOGO

Mr.HILFIGER

HISTORY Tommy Hilfiger made his first foray into fashion as a purveyor of hippy chic to New York campus kids in 1969. Building on the success of his first shop, People' s Place, Hilfiger had established a chain of 10 speciality stores in upstate New York by the age of 26. During the Seventies, he turned to designing and for a p eriod worked for Jordache before launching his own label in 1985. An astute busi nessman with a talent for publicity, Hilfiger's first ad campaign, which cost hi m $3 million (1.8m), prompted a flurry of interest, after it proclaimed him as on e of the "Four Great American Designers for Men", along with Perry Ellis, Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauren. By 1990, sales of Tommy Hilfiger clothes had topped $25 million (15m). Today the growing Hilfiger fashion empire, supplemented by fragra nces and other merchandising spin-offs, is worth more than $400 million (240m) a year. Meanwhile Hilfiger is known to spend much of his spare time including his 50th birthday in March 2001 - and money on the Caribbean island of Mystique.

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 with his now estrang ed wife, Susie. Although he was offered design assistant positions with designer s Calvin Klein and Perry Ellis, and was broke, he turned them both down with gre ater plans in mind. In 1984, he founded the 'Tommy Hilfiger Corporation', (NYSE: TOM), with support from The Murjani Group, which went public in 1992, introducin g his signature menswear collection. 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.

CAREER In 1998, Hilfiger gave singer Aaliyah her endorsement deal, in which he honored her in his Summer 1998 fashion show in Jamaica. In 2005, a CBS TV reality show c alled 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. I n the end Hilfiger chose Chris Cortez. In May 2006, Hilfiger had a close encount er with Guns N' Roses singer Axl Rose at the Plumm in New York City. Hilfiger re portedly took a couple of swings at Axl Rose for touching his girlfriend's breas t, before being carried away kicking and screaming by his own security guards.[2 ] Club owner Noel Ashman stated, "Axl was a gentleman and had the good sense not to retaliate as he would have done some serious damage to Hilfiger." Later that night, Rose dedicated the song "You're Crazy" to "My good friend Tommy Hilfiger .

CAREER Largely due to declining sales, in 2006, Tommy Hilfiger sold his company for $1. 6 billion, or $16.80 a share, to Apax Partners, a private investment company.[2] [3][4] In March 2010, Phillips-Van Heusen, owner of Calvin Klein, bought the Tom my Hilfiger Corporation for $3 billion.

PRODUCT LINE Tommy Hilfiger, including men's, women's, children's, footwear, swim, fragrance, accessories, and home. Hilfiger Denim, including men's and women's. Hilfiger Sp ort, including fitness, golf, sail, ski, and swim. Tommy also offers products su ch as fragrances, belts, bedding, home furnishings, and cosmetics. The company's clean-cut clothing is sold in major department and specialty stores as well as some 165 Tommy Hilfiger shops and outlets. Tommy offers almost 40 product lines.

Product Segregation Tommy Hilfiger Hilfiger Denim Hilfiger Sports

TOMMY HILFIGER Target audience: 25- 45 years of age. Tommy hilfiger label appeals to those seei ng new interpretations in classic American styles Tommy collection consist of ca sual sportswear n accessories for men,& women that reflect the classic American brand mission. Tommy includes products for men , women and children.

HILFIGER DENIM Hilfiger denim speaks to a younger target of 18- 28 year old denim oriented cust omers. The label consists of casual sportswear with a focus on premium denim-rel ated, separate for men & women. The collection is slightly more fashion forward t han the main TOMMY HILFIGER Label. Designs are inspired by American classics & f inished with a modern edge & fresh spirit. The products are sold at dedicated re tail stores, department stores, & specialty stores.

Hilfiger Denim Men & women Collection

HILFIGER SPORTS Targeting the 18-45 year old customers, hilfiger sportswear consists of high per formance active wear for men & women including apparels for fitness/ training, g olf, swimming, sailing, skiing. Hilfiger sportswear are sold at dedicated retail stores ,department stores, & specialty stores in Europe and Japan.

STORES Across the globe there are over 900 Tommy hilfiger stores locations including th e premium flagship retail destination