Saturday, August 9, 2008

Mickey Drexler's 2006 Speech at Boston University

There is a great video on Mickey Drexler's speech at Boston University in 2006. To view the video click here. The video is 1 hour and 8 minutes long in case you are curious. ;)

The following is the a quick overview that goes with the video:
2006 MBA Symposium Afternoon Keynote Address by Mickey Drexler, Chairman and CEO of J. Crew
Hosted by School of Management
February 4, 2006

J. Crew CEO Mickey Drexler (GSM’68), speaking from over two decades of business experience, discusses business innovation at Symposium 2006, the School of Management's annual MBA symposium. Drexler admits the “textbook” topic can be stuffy — how does innovation increase growth? how do you manage innovation? — but he turns the discussion toward why innovation matters.

Innovation is about improving a company, Drexler says, not expanding it. At J. Crew, as at most companies, success depends on the passion and creativity of its employees. Employees, management included, need to truly love what they’re doing for the company to grow. “At the end of the day,” he says, “I live and thrive, and our company does, on changing for the better. Everything we do is, what can we do better? How do you hire creative people?” A big company has enormous resources, he says, but a company with a small feel has a connection to its customer. In that way, thinking smaller, not bigger, is the key.

Drexler gives store credit cards as an example. Today, retail conglomerates offer multipurpose cards — cards you can use at any of their subsidiary stores — to enhance business. But Drexler rejects the idea. As CEO of Gap, Inc., he didn’t want a credit card that could be used at Old Navy and Banana Republic as well as at the Gap, even though they were all owned by the same company. He wanted each store to be an experience, not a division of something else.

To be an innovative CEO, he says, you need to think on the customer level. You need to be a “hands-on merchandiser.” Expanding your business is about paying attention to your customer, visiting stores, looking at investments in real estate, not moving products overseas to rake in cash or adding stores to horde the market share. It’s about your passion and commitment to your product. “Innovation is a part of any company’s DNA,” Drexler says. “It has to be.”

What do you think of Mickey Drexler's speech at Boston University? Do you agree/disagree with him on any points?

8 comments:

  1. I love the part you highlighted in red... "visiting stores, looking at investment in real estate. "

    Alexis: Could you create a post where we can all suggest some places for J.Crew stores? I'm hoping that with the popularity of your site over at corporate, maybe some of us can get a store near us.

    Thanks! Hope your presentation went well!

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  2. Interesting address...though I disagree on the multi-brand credit cards. I have a BR card that I use at BR, Gap, ON and Piperlime and it is so much more convenient to have it on one card than have 3-4 separate cards. I also get better rewards this way, and I think it definitely increases cross-selling opportunities for the parent company. I still feel that I am getting different experiences in the different stores--my method of payment doesn't change that. In my mind, BR is for work/dress up, Gap for lounge/casual, and ON for throw-away Ts and things.

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  3. I love that Mickey is hands on. I think many CEOs get disconnected from their product and employees. It's almost as if they work in a vacuum. Not cool.

    I agree with anonymous @ 1:36 AM. I definitely love being able to use my BR card at all three. It's nice to be able to load them into the cart online and receive points towards rewards. Also, now that the 3 sites are combined online, I visit the Gap. I had completely rejected the brand, but I look online and go into the stores again.

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  4. From the article:" Expanding your business is about paying attention to your customer, visiting stores, looking at investments in real estate, not moving products overseas to rake in cash or adding stores to horde the market share."

    I think that if J.Crew doesn't feel the need to expand with numerous store locations, then they need to have better shipping prices and policies in place...online shopping needs to be comparable to the experience of in store shopping for those that don't have a store near them, or can't shop in store frequently.

    I also like that one card can be used for the *4 stores* i.e. Gap/BR/ON/Piperlime...it would be silly and pointless to have 4 seperate cards.

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  5. On my last visit to b&m, the sa mentioned that J.Crew was hoping to open many more stores in the coming year. So, I do think they are doing some expanding in real estate terms.

    I like that he is involved in trying to make customers happy. Without us, there is no retail.

    While I don't have the cc, I agree that one card for 3 stores is so much nicer. I hate to carry a lot of cards, not to mention paying multiple bills.

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  6. I agree with the CC issue. I dont like keeping track of too many cards. That is why I dont have a BR card or a saks card or anything like that. I just have the Jcrew card, I just wish the rewards were better.

    gigiofca, I really agree with you. Bosses that are hands on make the best bosses. So long as they are not micro managers and I get the feeling he is not.

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  7. Anon- I actually bought my matchstick jeans at full price too! And I am so glad I did. I mean I always get my discount (but at that time I was only a student so it was only 10%). It was seriously one of the best purchases of the summer. I am always willing to pay full price for their denim! Its worth it and so much cheaper than other good brands.

    OT: In other news I just placed a VERY small online order for the first time since the upgrade. I will see how it works. I will call in and get the price adjusted to my discount and that will be that. It was only 30 dollars... so we will see if it works or not. I will let you know.

    It looks like they have finally gotten most of the kinks out of the website. I am excited about that.

    I bought a pair of seer sucker burmudas and a pair of flipflops. Yay!

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  8. I placed an order through the phone last night, everything was great, she gave me a confirmation number but I haven't received any confirmation email yet. Should I be concerned?

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