Founder’s Letter: Our Industry Needs New Ideas and New People
Recently, my friend (and fellow Houston resident) Terry Townsend introduced me via e-mail to a young person he knew who is getting started in our industry.
Like Terry, many of you know that nothing invigorates me more than speaking with young people who want to join the business I adore.
Of course, I agreed and was soon speaking with Thomas Alexandre Bernhardt-Lanier, who wants to start his career in New York in sourcing.
I found Thomas to be impressive and enthusiastic. For a person who recently graduated, he already has a resume that shouts “WOW!” In March, he graduated from Polimoda in Firenze, but he also holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics and Psychology from Harvard University and has worked for short periods for Ferragamo, for Valmet, Deloitte and the World Economic Forum.
Before meeting Thomas, I read his Medium Page, which is formidable and fantastic and a useful place for industry people — let alone students — to get their arms around sustainability. I urge companies to read Thomas’s work and make it required reading for anyone and everyone at the firm. I ask everyone at Kingpins to do the same.
In short, it was a memorable call. It’s not just his interest in our industry, I appreciate his enthusiasm and passion for it. In his writing (as well as talking to him), I see someone who follows this business, is a talented writer and — importantly — who clearly cares about it.
From my perspective, our industry seems to be a crossroads. Just as it’s undergoing significant transformation, it is also shrinking — as automation and almost non-stop financial restructuring or reorganizations reshape the employment landscape. Everyone wants to sell more but involve fewer people in the manufacturing process.
Levi announced in January 2024 they planned to cut headcount by 10% to 15%. Between 2021 and today, Gap has let 40,000 people go — or 30% of its workforce. Although a significant portion of that was due to store closings, nonetheless, 2,300 corporate jobs were made redundant.
Brands, retailers and importers have continually added pressure on the supply chain to supply services they once did themselves, for free.
Corporate cutbacks are endlessly in the news and demand is mature and not growing in any significant manner. All of us feel it. Walmart is an interesting example. The company saw its sales grow over 5 years to $157 billion even as its headcount dropped by 70,000. More for less. Business students should read that three times.
Those of us in the industry often feel a sense of hanging on — not just to our own positions but those of our customers. Are the people we sell to — our beloved brands and retailers — selling more or less? And how can we help them grow units — not just margin? And finally, now more than ever, with new tariffs, a new economic outlook makes things appear a little more fragile — and I’ll say it, scary.
Yet, in all that negative stuff there is light: American Eagle added almost 20% new people since 2021. The same percentage for Costco. Amazon is growing and Target added 6% to its workforce in 2024. Some places are adding human beings, not just machines and new systems.
Our industry needs to attract young people. The more things seem complex and dark, the more light is needed. And well-educated youth — bright youth, industrious youth — are light.
I hear all the time “where are the young people” in our industry? They are out there, just as Thomas is. I can’t emphasize enough how badly we need new ways to see things; how vital it is that people don’t just rotate from job to job. We need a new breed — a herd, actually — of eager educated people to come to our industry and make their mark on it the way my generation did.
I hope Thomas finds good work. He would be an asset anywhere that was interested in building a new era of executives. I hope our industry stops thinking the solution of survival is to cut costs and staffing. I hope they do the opposite: Invest in the new, invest in the future, make fashion so good it flies out the door at a price where everyone wins. We are nothing without humans.
