Rich Self-Made Women: Tory Burch

Tory Burch is a fashion designer and owner, CEO and chief designer of Tory Burch, LLC, an American lifestyle brand reflective of the owner’s personal style. The collection, includes clothing, swimwear, branded shoes, leather handbags, to die for accessories, beauty products, items for the home and Swiss watches.  Her fashion label Tory Burch was first launched in 2004 through her retail store in New York’s Nolita neighborhood, the acronym for the district known as North of Little Italy. Tory sold out almost all of her inventory on the first day. In 2005, Tory was described by Oprah Winfrey as the “next big thing in fashion,” and as only Oprah can do, a billion dollar brand was born (“Designers: Tory Burch”). The slippery slope of billionaire status seems to come and go for some, and in the case of Burch, her billions, as listed on Forbes in 2015, have declined to $750 million in 2016, as a result of a dip in the fashion market, making her #73 on the Forbes: The World’s Most Powerful Women list, and #19 on Forbes: America's Self-Made Women list (“#73 Tory Burch”). Tory Burch is one of the most powerful brands in the fashion industry.

Burch’s 160 retail stores are designed to catch a woman’s eye, her heart and then her pocket book (Grigoriadis). The stores are visually appealing and are merchandised meticulously. It is possible that there is subconscious suggestive music playing that orders you to buy something when you walk in. Not true, of course, but the appeal likely stems from Burch’s extensive and immersive background in marketing ("Designers: Tory Burch”). Burch first studied art history, worked for Yugoslavian designer Zoran, served a stint at Harper’s Bazaar magazine, then developed her public relations expertise by working for Vera Wang, Ralph Lauren, and Narciso Rodriguez. Her retail locations and her website reflect her background in marketing, far more than her background in fashion design, both impeccably advanced, of course.

Tory lived her early years in bucolic Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, not the typical girly girl, but a tom boy who could climb a tree with the best of them ("Designers: Tory Burch”). She says that her style aesthetic came from her family and lifestyle. Her father, Ira Earl "Bud" Robinson, a paper cup fortune heir, would design his attire and place perfectly coifed Hermès scarves in his jacket pockets. Her mother, Reva, preferred the Jackie Onassis look. Burch was also influenced by interior designer David Hicks, whose bold colors and use of audacious graphic patterns and contemporary art, is clearly reflected in her stores. The clothes sold in her boutiques lean toward preppy-chic, and Burch has recently introduced an activewear line called Tory Sport, selling items such as performance side-striped Bermuda shorts for $145 ("Designers: Tory Burch”). Likely from her marketing expertise, most of her online offerings show an image of the fashion item, but also shows a video of what the clothing piece actually looks like worn, effectively giving a fashion show for each item of clothing she sells (“Gigi Pump”). Brilliant!

Tory Burch: Competition – The War of the Roses

In the non comedic version of the Danny DeVito movie, The War of the Roses, Tory’s former husband and venture capitalist, Chris Burch, started a line of clothing and gift boutiques, called C Wonder, that curiously had the exact same look as that of the Tory Burch stores (Grigoriadis). To take the pugnacious step just a touch further, Chris, at the time, was a Tory Burch co-chair of the board of directors. Tamara Mellon, the co-founder of Jimmy Choo shoes stated, “The fact that [Chris] plagiarized the DNA of the Tory Burch brand shows that he is not that clever. Otherwise he could have come up with a new creative concept” (Grigoriadis). A fashion industry expert disclosed, “He’s bullying Tory . . . to launch a company underneath her is disgusting, and to stay on the board and do it—my God! If you’re going to be a pig, at least go off the board” (Grigoriadis). It is clear whose side most everyone is on. In fact the actions taken by Chris Burch have numerous legal implications. It is likely that although he has astute, well-paid counsel and is getting quality legal advice, that he is not listening, and is operating rogue. In 2014, C Wonder began closing 20 of its 32 stores. Then, on January 6, 2015, to the surprise of no one (except perhaps Chris), it was announced that all of Chris Burch’s C Wonder stores were closing. A spokesperson for the company said that it was due to “the highly competitive nature of the current retail environment” (O’Connor). However, even my Chihuahua could see that his actions bordered on legal insanity. You cannot be a member of the board, a co-chair of the board of directors, own shares of the company and then create a Mini-Me version of the same company, that has exactly the same aesthetics. When you are a member of the board, you have a fiduciary responsibility to your shareholders, to do everything possible not to dilute the value of their shares:

Fiduciary duty requires board members to stay objective, unselfish, responsible, honest, trustworthy, and efficient. Board members, as stewards of public trust, must always act for the good of the organization, rather than for the benefit of themselves. They need to exercise reasonable care in all decision making, without placing the organization under unnecessary risk ("Fiduciary Responsibilities of Board Members").

In the case of Chris Burch, his actions were, at a minimum, violating the trust of his shareholders, and so many other things, it is not clear what he was thinking. Perhaps the emotional complications associated with divorce cause one to do things that they would otherwise not do, despite the vast and looming consequences?

Tory Burch: South Hampton Home

Burch’s Southampton home was the subject of a spread in Vogue magazine (Bowles). The Gatsby-esque estate was purchased by Burch for $38 million. She lives there with her three sons, the twins Henry and Nick, now 18 and Sawyer 15. As one can imagine, she transformed the neo-Georgian manse, and made the mansion a home for her boys and herself. Tory built a tennis and basketball court, added a pool, a skateboard ramp and pizza oven. Quite the change for a luxurious estate with a ballroom, rooms specifically made for flower-arranging and an excess of linen closets. The drive to the entrance is laced with sugar maples on both sides. There is a lovey poolhouse that boasts a dining rotunda, great for crumpets and tea (Bowles).. The dining room walls are complete with custom Iznik-inspired panels, in a combination of shades of blue. A bedroom shows off antique Imari ironstone with floral displays on the wall upholstery. The pool pavilion was restored with trelliswork that was designed when the home was originally built. There is a beautiful wood paneled library with a gallery gracing its entryway, hosting black and white marble tile, with boxwood topiaries calling shelled alcoves their home. The former ballroom is now an inviting living room area. Outside, the green gardens are well manicured and quite inviting (Bowles).

Tory Burch Philanthropy

As a result of her success and awareness that women business owners experience major obstacles on their journey to triumphant entrepreneurship, Tory started the Tory Burch Foundation, a nonprofit organization. The goal of the Tory Burch Foundation is to help women-owned businesses get access to funding and microfinancing, and to provide valuable mentorship to help women entrepreneurs and assist them with access to education and resources (Bowles). Another important mission of the collaboration is to encourage economic autonomy and to bolster job creation and aid communities to experience revitalization (“Tory Burch Foundation Capital Program Frequently”).

The Foundation has joined forces with Bank of America to establish the Tory Burch Foundation Capital Program, connecting female entrepreneurs with affordable loans (“Tory Burch Foundation Capital Program”). So far $10 million in loans have been funded and the program is expected to increase to $20 million during 2016 and 2017. The program helps women who have been in business for two or more years, who have a business that is generating most of their income, a positive credit rating, and are particularly interested in growing their business. The program is in 14 states, currently, and is expected to expand in the future. The Foundation has partnered with Accion, one of the largest microfinancers in the U.S., which administers the Tory Burch Foundation Fund. Microloans can be obtained by eligible women-owned businesses in the range of $500 to $50,000. Accion is an international nonprofit organization that helps institutions offer financial related programs to low to moderate income clients loans (“Tory Burch Foundation Capital Program”).

In addition to microfinancing, the Foundation mentors women entrepreneurs (“Tory Burch Foundation Capital Program”). Business experts are matched with entrepreneurs who would benefit from receiving advice and coaching. Beyond mentoring, participating entrepreneurs are exposed to networking opportunities and resources that aid in peer collaboration. The Tory Burch Foundation logo was created by Tory and was inspired by a jewelry piece that has tremendous meaning to the designer. It was formed based on a pendant designed for her grandmother by her father, which she inherited and wears periodically. The foundation of her father’s gesture represents the “inter-generational support and love is emblematic of what Tory helps to illustrate through her Foundation’s work” (“Tory Burch Foundation Capital Program”).

In 2015, the Tory Burch Foundation hosted its first Fellows Competition, a national program available to women entrepreneurs connecting them to mentoring, networking and education experiences, including an opportunity to win a grant of $100,000 (Kane). On June 13, 2016, the first winner was announced at the Tory Burch headquarters. Kate McAleer, who is the owner of Bixby & Co. located in Rockland, Maine, was named the winner. McAleer developed a snack bar company that creates organic and vegan friendly desserts. She was chosen from a group of 10 finalists who had the opportunity to pitch their plans to a panel of judges including Burch, Cindi Leive, Glamour’s editor-in-chief; Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration, Maria Contreras-Sweet; and designer and model, Liya Kebede. The finalist were selected from a group of 30 semi-finalist, by an online vote, which was open to the public. Over 500 women applied to be part of the competition. The semi-finalist participated in a three day workshop, ending in a pitch competition. McAleer says that she will use her winnings to increase her product line (Kane).

Works Cited

"#73 Tory Burch." Forbes. Forbes, Inc. n. d. Web. 14 August 2016. <http://www.forbes.com/profile/tory-burch/>.

Bowles, Hamish. "Estate of Grace: Tory Burch’s Southampton Home." Vogue. Condé Nast. 22 February 2012. Web. 14 August 2016. <http://www.vogue.com/865371/estate-of-grace-tory-burchs-southampton-home/#1>.

"Designers: Tory Burch." Vogue: Voguepedia. n. d. Web. 14 August 2016. <https://web.archive.org/web/20140804181121/http://www.vogue.com/voguepedia/Tory_Burch>.

"Fiduciary Responsibilities of Board Members." The Bridgespan Group. n. d. Web. 14 August 2016. <http://www.bridgespan.org/Publications-and-Tools/Nonprofit-Boards/Nonprofit-Boards-101/Fiduciary-Responsibilities-Board-Members.aspx#.V7DyVjU1YZE>.

"Gigi Pump." Tory Burch. Tory Burch, LLC. n. d. Web. 14 August 2016. <https://www.toryburch.com/shoes/heels-pumps/?icampid=hp_cm1>.

 Grigoriadis, Vanessa. "Tory Burch's Ex Factor." Vanity Fair. Conde Nast. 14 November 2013. <http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2012/12/tory-burch-chris-c-wonder>.

Kane, Florence. "The Tory Burch Foundation Names Its First Fellows Competition Winner." Glamour. Conde Nast. 14 June 2016. Web. 14 August 2016. <http://www.glamour.com/story/the-tory-burch-foundation-names-its-first-fellows-competition-winner>.

O'Connor, Clare. "Billionaire Chris Burch's Fashion Chain C. Wonder To Close All Stores." Forbes. Forbes, Inc. 6 January 2015. Web. 14 August 2016. <http://www.forbes.com/sites/clareoconnor/2015/01/06/billionaire-chris-burchs-fashion-chain-c-wonder-to-close-all-stores/#248d90cc4e44>.

"Tory Burch Foundation Capital Program frequently asked questions." Bank of America. Bank of America Corporation. n. d. Web. 14 August 2016. <http://about.bankofamerica.com/en-us/partnering-locally/tory-burch-foundation-capital-program-faqs.html#fbid=0ZRa2azzAPD>.

"The Tory Burch Foundation Capital Program, powered by Bank of America." Bank of America. Bank of America Corporation. n. d. Web. 14 August 2016. <http://about.bankofamerica.com/en-us/partnering-locally/tory-burch-foundation-partnership.html#fbid=0ZRa2azzAPD>.