Tommy Hilfiger: How He Went From $150 to a $10 Billion Business
Written by
Josephine Nesbit
Edited by
Cory Dudak
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Last month, entrepreneur, best-selling author and internet celebrity Grant Cardone welcomed classic American fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger on his show to discuss how he went from starting his business with only $150 to creating the multi-billion dollar company it is today.
Before starting his brand, Hilfiger opened his own jean shop in upstate New York with $150 he saved from working nights at a gas station in high school. He purchased 20 pairs of bell-bottom jeans from the streets of New York City and drove back to his hometown of Elmira to sell them out of his trunk — to his friends, at a profit.
Selling jeans out of the back of his car eventually evolved into Hilfiger opening a few shops on college campuses selling jeans, candles, incense and other “cool stuff.”
“During that time, I thought, ‘Maybe I could build my own brand,'” Hilfiger told Cardone on an episode of Power Players. “I looked at brands like Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein and all these brands, and I said, ‘That’s what I’m going to do.’ And I did it.”
Hilfiger told Cardone that his brand ended this past year with $10 billion in sales across 2,000 stores and in 192 countries. He emphasized the power of his logo, his brand, and subsequently the ability to generate cash flow through international licensing in terms of his entrepreneurial stardom and longevity.
Hilfiger Overcame Bankruptcy To Become Successful
But before becoming successful, his business went bankrupt at the age of 23. “I didn’t know anything about business,” Hilfiger explained. At that point, he decided to teach himself how to manage a business and how to combine business acumen with creativity.
If you fuel your business with cash flow, Hilfiger said you can do just about anything. Hilfiger also said that if you want to be an entrepreneur, you need to dream big, picture yourself being successful and always scale. And if you are up against an obstacle, Hilfiger said you need to view this as a challenge — one complete with learning experiences and opportunities.
“My whole team listens to two words that I say to them every day: ‘What next?'” said Hilfiger. When asked what’s driving him, Hilfiger claimed that he loves the challenge and doing something new that his competitors have never done.
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