What it Takes to Create a Successful Handbag Brand with Handbag Legend, Bobby Williams

WEBVTT

00:00:00.861 --> 00:00:18.283
<v Emily Blumenthal>Hi and welcome to the Handbag Designer 101 podcast with your host, emily Blumenthal, handbag designer expert and handbag fairy godmother, where we cover everything about handbags from making, marketing, designing and talking to handbag designers and industry experts about what it takes to make a successful handbag.

00:00:18.283 --> 00:00:30.274
<v Emily Blumenthal>Welcome, bobby Williams, to Handbag Designer 101, the podcast.

00:00:30.274 --> 00:00:39.219
<v Emily Blumenthal>Listen, we are talking to a legend today, bobby.

00:00:39.219 --> 00:00:40.802
<v Emily Blumenthal>You have been in the handbag business for more than a minute.

00:00:40.802 --> 00:01:03.231
<v Emily Blumenthal>Right now you are the president of Gurkha, with an H for those who don't know, and not to age you, but you have stood the test of time where most people run away from the industry and say it's dying, there's nothing left, and there's so many angry people within handbags saying it's the worst thing and the last thing you should ever get into.

00:01:03.231 --> 00:01:16.371
<v Emily Blumenthal>And it's such a pleasure speaking to you because you have such a positive outlook, especially working for a luxury brand, in recognizing that people still want handbags and people are still willing to pay.

00:01:17.159 --> 00:01:23.421
<v Bobby Williams>Yes, I mean it's an honor and a gift to get to work with Gurkha and the team that we've assembled.

00:01:23.421 --> 00:01:31.299
<v Bobby Williams>And you know, I think once you get into an industry you know it sort of gets in your blood, into your DNA and you thrive off of it.

00:01:31.299 --> 00:01:43.409
<v Bobby Williams>And I've been very blessed to be involved with some amazing brands, amazing people and, of course, we've created amazing product and branding and marketing to go with all that.

00:01:43.409 --> 00:01:47.938
<v Bobby Williams>So I'm very product and branding and marketing to go with all that.

00:01:47.957 --> 00:01:48.739
<v Emily Blumenthal>So I'm very, very fortunate.

00:01:48.739 --> 00:01:56.846
<v Emily Blumenthal>So you started in handbags and travel quite a few years ago.

00:01:56.846 --> 00:01:58.552
<v Emily Blumenthal>Did you stumble into it, or was this something when you were in college?

00:01:58.552 --> 00:02:01.781
<v Emily Blumenthal>You're like, if only I could work for a handbag brand, wouldn't that be amazing?

00:02:02.302 --> 00:02:04.947
<v Bobby Williams>Yeah, no, I used to laugh that, you know.

00:02:04.947 --> 00:02:09.555
<v Bobby Williams>When I was in college I studied marketing, merchandising and finance.

00:02:09.555 --> 00:02:15.705
<v Bobby Williams>So you know I was very fortunate to have that background and I worked retail.

00:02:15.705 --> 00:02:30.693
<v Bobby Williams>You know I spent a couple of years playing soccer and then I shifted, you know, and realized I was going to have to get a degree and get a job, because that time, you know, four decades ago, soccer wasn't a lucrative opportunity for Americans.

00:02:31.080 --> 00:02:32.100
<v Emily Blumenthal>You could have gone abroad.

00:02:32.100 --> 00:02:34.704
<v Emily Blumenthal>No one wanted to, no one wanted to bring you to.

00:02:35.003 --> 00:02:41.050
<v Bobby Williams>Madagascar old football player.

00:02:41.050 --> 00:02:46.235
<v Bobby Williams>His son, kyle Rowe Jr, was the only professional American at that time.

00:02:46.235 --> 00:02:48.563
<v Bobby Williams>So you know that was not a reality.

00:02:48.563 --> 00:02:52.412
<v Bobby Williams>My dad made that abundantly clear to me, and so I-.

00:02:53.060 --> 00:02:54.445
<v Emily Blumenthal>Parents can be good for that right.

00:02:54.819 --> 00:03:04.387
<v Bobby Williams>They are, they are, and I started selling men's clothing in Columbia, south Carolina, while I was at University of South Carolina and Obviously you get the bug.

00:03:04.387 --> 00:03:24.326
<v Bobby Williams>You start seeing threads and you know as we call it in the business and dressing with instead of Baswegians, I wore Cole Haan shawl loafers and pleated slacks and tattersall checks and so I really got into the men's clothing business that way through college selling clothing.

00:03:25.020 --> 00:03:27.768
<v Emily Blumenthal>Was that just a job that you were like, okay, this will do.

00:03:27.768 --> 00:03:31.949
<v Emily Blumenthal>Or was this you know you needed to work and you're like, okay, I can do?

00:03:31.968 --> 00:03:32.069
<v Bobby Williams>this.

00:03:32.069 --> 00:03:41.229
<v Bobby Williams>It was a part-time job but I had, you know, friends and fraternity brothers that work in the same stores and you know I'm still in touch with those guys.

00:03:41.229 --> 00:03:46.610
<v Bobby Williams>So you know friends on Facebook and see each other at alumni functions.

00:03:46.610 --> 00:03:54.334
<v Bobby Williams>But it established a DNA in me about clothing and dressing and what's right and what's wrong.

00:03:54.334 --> 00:03:58.715
<v Bobby Williams>And you know there's men, we kind of wear a uniform, right.

00:03:58.715 --> 00:04:00.580
<v Bobby Williams>You know my dad's a retired colonel.

00:04:00.580 --> 00:04:01.943
<v Bobby Williams>I was raised that way.

00:04:01.943 --> 00:04:08.283
<v Bobby Williams>I saw him and his clothing but he was a natty dresser and it kind of rubbed off on me.

00:04:08.283 --> 00:04:10.350
<v Bobby Williams>Both of my sons dress.

00:04:10.350 --> 00:04:14.082
<v Bobby Williams>They know what to look like when they go to a cocktail party, to a wedding.

00:04:14.122 --> 00:04:15.626
<v Emily Blumenthal>Not a wrinkle in sight.

00:04:16.067 --> 00:04:25.800
<v Bobby Williams>Well, they're outdoorsmen so they have wrinkles, but when they're supposed to get buffed up and shined up they do, and that's a gift and I've actually carried that on.

00:04:25.800 --> 00:04:34.826
<v Bobby Williams>So when I graduated I went to Atlanta and worked for Macy's South, which was called Davison's, and I did kind of stumble into it.

00:04:34.826 --> 00:04:42.769
<v Bobby Williams>I'd gotten promoted to an assistant buyer and one of the Hartman luggage reps invited me to the luggage luncheon.

00:04:42.769 --> 00:04:46.701
<v Bobby Williams>It was a seminar, so I hey, a free lunch for a young executive.

00:04:46.701 --> 00:04:58.560
<v Bobby Williams>So I walked over at the Peachtree Plaza in Atlanta, georgia, and I sat next to, as fate would have it, a gentleman named Henry Friedman who was the regional VP of sales for Hartman.

00:04:58.560 --> 00:05:03.112
<v Bobby Williams>And about a month or two later he called me and we had an interview and I jumped.

00:05:03.112 --> 00:05:07.584
<v Bobby Williams>Two later he called me and we had an interview and I jumped, made the jump into the wholesale side and never looked back.

00:05:07.605 --> 00:05:20.379
<v Bobby Williams>I had 18 years with Hartman and it were to say I joked that it was a master's and a PhD in business and branding and luxury and trade up, and I'm just really blessed.

00:05:20.379 --> 00:05:25.973
<v Bobby Williams>I got to work with so many great retailers and I had nine positions in 18 years.

00:05:25.973 --> 00:05:27.300
<v Bobby Williams>I just-.

00:05:27.882 --> 00:05:29.026
<v Emily Blumenthal>Is it sorry to interrupt.

00:05:29.026 --> 00:05:39.442
<v Emily Blumenthal>Is that one of those things that do you think and I attribute so much to, obviously, who you know, because without that fateful moment, who knows what could have happened?

00:05:39.442 --> 00:05:55.622
<v Emily Blumenthal>But the fact is you and this sounds so trite to say but you knew how to be polite, you knew how to be courteous, you knew how to walk the walk and speak and obviously, whatever you imparted with him, he was impressed enough to say oh, that kid you know.

00:05:55.622 --> 00:05:56.939
<v Emily Blumenthal>Did you send him a thank you note?

00:05:56.939 --> 00:05:58.024
<v Emily Blumenthal>I'm so curious.

00:05:58.439 --> 00:06:00.201
<v Bobby Williams>I'm pretty, yeah, I'm pretty sure I did.

00:06:00.201 --> 00:06:08.711
<v Bobby Williams>Back then there was no such thing as computers big, massive things that took up the whole level of the store.

00:06:08.711 --> 00:06:12.016
<v Bobby Williams>So I wrote a handwritten thank you note to him.

00:06:12.016 --> 00:06:16.062
<v Bobby Williams>I couldn't write an email because there was no such thing.

00:06:16.062 --> 00:06:24.694
<v Bobby Williams>And I remember flying out to Nashville, tennessee, to meet Ira Katz, the legendary owner of Hartman.

00:06:24.694 --> 00:06:27.629
<v Bobby Williams>And it's actually crazy the way things work.

00:06:27.629 --> 00:06:29.708
<v Bobby Williams>Everything is supposed to happen for a reason.

00:06:29.708 --> 00:06:51.899
<v Bobby Williams>Ira Katz had moved Hartman, the legendary steam trunk company that presidents had used, and all that, and he moved it from Racing Wisconsin in the early 50s down to Lebanon, tennessee, racing Wisconsin in the early 50s down to Lebanon, tennessee, which is a suburb, if you would, of Nashville, which is now obviously on fire.

00:06:51.918 --> 00:06:52.685
<v Emily Blumenthal>Very hot now Back.

00:06:52.726 --> 00:06:52.992
<v Bobby Williams>Then.

00:06:52.992 --> 00:06:53.439
<v Bobby Williams>It was just-.

00:06:53.459 --> 00:06:54.766
<v Emily Blumenthal>Must be because you moved there.

00:06:55.120 --> 00:06:56.562
<v Bobby Williams>Yeah, yeah, it's.

00:06:56.562 --> 00:07:01.994
<v Bobby Williams>Obviously it was a country music, the center for Music City, usa, et cetera.

00:07:01.994 --> 00:07:26.930
<v Bobby Williams>But I flew up and I met with Ira Katz by myself, just as a young 20-something-year-old kid, and he was just amazing, his dedication, and he was a Harvard MBA, really, really smart man and knew what he was doing and he had built this brand, with Hartman coming out of steamer trunks and realizing airline flight.

00:07:26.930 --> 00:07:31.973
<v Bobby Williams>And he actually created they were called the 727s and the 747s.

00:07:31.973 --> 00:07:39.353
<v Bobby Williams>They were garment bags and carry-ons that were what guys, executives, had to carry along with briefcases.

00:07:39.473 --> 00:07:44.471
<v Bobby Williams>So I met with Berwyn Mutch who had just come over from Levi Strauss he was the new executive VP.

00:07:44.471 --> 00:07:46.317
<v Bobby Williams>And I met with Berk Erwin Mutch who had just come over from Levi Strauss.

00:07:46.317 --> 00:07:46.879
<v Bobby Williams>He was the new executive VP.

00:07:46.879 --> 00:07:53.473
<v Bobby Williams>And I met with Dorothy Penix who was the vice president of production and manufacturing.

00:07:53.473 --> 00:07:57.240
<v Bobby Williams>So it was a really cool experience.

00:07:57.240 --> 00:08:05.451
<v Bobby Williams>And Henry Friedman called me on New Year's Eve to tell me I had the job of 1983, believe or not.

00:08:05.451 --> 00:08:10.141
<v Bobby Williams>So I started in 84 and I just got it was so fun.

00:08:10.442 --> 00:08:15.355
<v Bobby Williams>You know I'm a retailer, I'm a merchant, so I never considered myself a salesperson.

00:08:15.355 --> 00:08:25.653
<v Bobby Williams>I've always thought of I'm gonna work with xyz retailer to help them grow their business and sell Hartman through them.

00:08:25.653 --> 00:08:28.221
<v Bobby Williams>And I never sold luggage.

00:08:28.221 --> 00:08:32.793
<v Bobby Williams>The last thing I ever want to do is lug a piece of anything through an airport.

00:08:32.793 --> 00:08:36.530
<v Bobby Williams>I always sold the brand and the lifestyle and the adventure.

00:08:37.900 --> 00:08:39.323
<v Emily Blumenthal>Did you identify with it?

00:08:39.323 --> 00:08:40.908
<v Emily Blumenthal>Do you think that's why?

00:08:40.908 --> 00:08:44.845
<v Emily Blumenthal>Or aspirationally, you're like this is who I think I can be.

00:08:44.845 --> 00:08:46.350
<v Emily Blumenthal>Oh, absolutely.

00:08:46.350 --> 00:08:58.231
<v Emily Blumenthal>We talk a lot about having this really deep dive understanding of who your customer is, down to what they eat, the watch they wear and where they drive.

00:09:00.163 --> 00:09:08.931
<v Bobby Williams>Our first ad thing when I started was you are what you carry and it was just so appropriate as it is today.

00:09:08.931 --> 00:09:28.582
<v Bobby Williams>And we had a VP of sales that came in from Halston and he was all about fashion and he said if you're spending $1,000 on a suit, you know, as a business person, or a business woman, man, et cetera, how can you carry an inferior plastic attache?

00:09:28.582 --> 00:09:32.212
<v Bobby Williams>You've got to carry a leather bag, a brief bag.

00:09:32.212 --> 00:09:44.993
<v Bobby Williams>At that time Hartman was primarily square cornered, you know, boxes with leather wrap, traditional attaches, and we launched into soft briefcases, you know.

00:09:44.993 --> 00:09:50.625
<v Bobby Williams>So that was a huge dynamic and it was really exciting to be a part of that.

00:09:51.106 --> 00:09:56.745
<v Bobby Williams>And every other year Hartman always had a new opportunity for me, gave me a new challenge.

00:09:56.745 --> 00:10:17.530
<v Bobby Williams>In 1991, they promoted me to National Accounts Manager, which has a lot to do with this podcast, because I was in charge of launching the apartment women's handbag collection and the leather goods and accessories and I literally did two and a half million dollars in nine to 10 months.

00:10:17.530 --> 00:10:19.222
<v Bobby Williams>I traveled all over the country.

00:10:19.222 --> 00:10:21.929
<v Bobby Williams>It was amazing and I think that was.

00:10:22.331 --> 00:10:27.784
<v Emily Blumenthal>That really speaks to the fact that it was such an overlooked market that you know to be.

00:10:27.784 --> 00:10:31.452
<v Emily Blumenthal>I mean, what I teach is you need to be the fastest, the first or the best.

00:10:31.452 --> 00:10:47.547
<v Emily Blumenthal>And there were plenty of women who were business travelers and I worked for CNN and that was the demographic that we always spoke about, like X amount of wealth traveled this much, stayed in these hotels, and you know those are the ads and you know they were Marriott, they were this, that and the other.

00:10:47.547 --> 00:10:56.373
<v Emily Blumenthal>And to now say like now we're creating something for a demographic that's been overlooked, I think it makes sense that it did so well.

00:10:56.373 --> 00:11:04.846
<v Emily Blumenthal>I want to ask you something, because Hartman at that time was truly an elite brand and it's so interesting.

00:11:04.866 --> 00:11:10.308
<v Emily Blumenthal>I believe Tomom right now is having a competition for their cases to reinterpret them.

00:11:10.308 --> 00:11:17.033
<v Emily Blumenthal>I think they're doing it for virtual, for Web3 and so forth and all these hard case luggage.

00:11:17.033 --> 00:11:34.144
<v Emily Blumenthal>Luxury is making a comeback and the fact that Hartman ended up getting sold to Samsonite was so interesting to me, because Samsonite is the antithesis of what a Hartman person was Right, correct, totally the opposite.

00:11:34.265 --> 00:11:35.720
<v Bobby Williams>Yes, they.

00:11:35.720 --> 00:11:39.265
<v Bobby Williams>You know Brown Foreman, lennox, china and Hartman.

00:11:39.265 --> 00:11:45.495
<v Bobby Williams>In 1983, which was when they were trying to diversify.

00:11:45.495 --> 00:11:55.909
<v Bobby Williams>Like you had RJR Nabisco buying Nabisco to diversify into consumer goods or food and you had Sarah Lee diversifying, they bought Coach.

00:11:55.909 --> 00:12:03.070
<v Bobby Williams>In fact, sarah Lee was going to buy Hartman and Coach and apparently there was an issue that happened.

00:12:03.070 --> 00:12:08.139
<v Bobby Williams>They were supposed to be, hartman was going to be the men's brand, coach was going to be the women's brand, et cetera.

00:12:08.541 --> 00:12:23.828
<v Bobby Williams>But Brown Forman eventually got Hartman and they also bought Lennox and that changed our trajectory because Lennox was a $400 million business and Hartman was a $25 million business, so we weren't at the top of the charts.

00:12:23.828 --> 00:12:45.230
<v Bobby Williams>It was only until the late 90s mid to late 90s when Peter Lathrop, as fate would have it, an ex-Samsanite president of Europe, came in and ran Hartman and he convinced Brown Foreman into bringing Hartman direct as a division, like Sarah Lee did with Coach, to report to Brown Formant.

00:12:45.230 --> 00:12:46.784
<v Bobby Williams>And that's what moved me.

00:12:46.784 --> 00:12:56.734
<v Bobby Williams>On my second stint of accessories and leather goods, I came in from sales management to run as director of accessories at Hartman.

00:12:56.734 --> 00:13:04.207
<v Bobby Williams>All of our men's wallets, belts, travel kits, agendas this is when Palm Pilots were coming out.

00:13:04.580 --> 00:13:06.203
<v Emily Blumenthal>I miss those so badly.

00:13:06.203 --> 00:13:09.571
<v Emily Blumenthal>Give me a BlackBerry and I listen.

00:13:09.571 --> 00:13:26.205
<v Emily Blumenthal>I want to jump a little bit because you, within your trajectory, ended up opening up a brand with your wife and we all, you know, one way or another, have a significant partner that comes in and out of our life.

00:13:26.205 --> 00:13:28.966
<v Emily Blumenthal>What was that like?

00:13:28.966 --> 00:13:31.307
<v Emily Blumenthal>In terms of working with Connie?

00:13:31.307 --> 00:13:50.110
<v Emily Blumenthal>And I'm so interested because you know she, as we've discussed, is a force within her own right, is an entrepreneur, has done a lot, but you had kids and I don't know, and, considering you traveled so much, I can only assume that the better part of the parenting fell on her.

00:13:50.110 --> 00:13:55.272
<v Emily Blumenthal>So now to run a company with her, what was that like?

00:13:55.799 --> 00:13:56.240
<v Bobby Williams>Well, it was.

00:13:56.240 --> 00:13:58.769
<v Bobby Williams>You know, quite honestly, it was a natural thing to do.

00:13:58.769 --> 00:14:10.489
<v Bobby Williams>We had gone through Connie's you know entrepreneurial period in 87, 88, 89, when she invented the bench aerobics step concept.

00:14:10.489 --> 00:14:13.912
<v Bobby Williams>We went crazy with all that with, you know.

00:14:13.912 --> 00:14:27.884
<v Bobby Williams>She was idea international dance exercise aerobic person of the year and we had three videos out on the marketplace and I was all along in my buttoned up Hartman conservative, you know corporate thing.

00:14:27.884 --> 00:14:35.066
<v Bobby Williams>I would show up to events and literally be the only guy that was, you know, look like a business person, you know, right.

00:14:35.066 --> 00:14:37.150
<v Bobby Williams>So that was really crazy.

00:14:37.150 --> 00:14:40.221
<v Bobby Williams>And then we had kids and I got promoted.

00:14:40.221 --> 00:14:41.962
<v Bobby Williams>We moved to, you know, did my last part with Hartman here in Nashville.

00:14:41.962 --> 00:14:44.465
<v Bobby Williams>We moved to, you know, did my last part with Hartman here in Nashville.

00:14:45.105 --> 00:14:53.111
<v Bobby Williams>And then I branched out after September 11th in 2002, and I invested into Lotus Los Angeles.

00:14:53.111 --> 00:14:56.774
<v Bobby Williams>It was kind of a to me knockoff brand.

00:14:56.774 --> 00:14:59.017
<v Bobby Williams>They did onyx black leather.

00:14:59.017 --> 00:15:14.815
<v Bobby Williams>They had these little trolleys that were office on wheels and I cleaned that all up and I found out in the archives that Loewe and Diego DeSantis, their designer, had invented a brand, a creative brand, called Low Dis.

00:15:14.815 --> 00:15:16.265
<v Bobby Williams>That's what it was named for.

00:15:16.265 --> 00:15:17.826
<v Bobby Williams>I was like, oh my gosh.

00:15:17.826 --> 00:15:19.285
<v Bobby Williams>I took a brand with it.

00:15:19.285 --> 00:15:21.205
<v Bobby Williams>We jumped into the women's business.

00:15:21.205 --> 00:15:25.965
<v Bobby Williams>Yes Loaded that, I sold that and then I licensed the brand.

00:15:25.965 --> 00:15:37.764
<v Bobby Williams>Within 24 hours I met an executive from Johnson Murphy and I ended up being everything non-clothing and non-footwear for Johnson Murphy.

00:15:37.764 --> 00:15:39.730
<v Bobby Williams>Exploded that business.

00:15:39.730 --> 00:15:52.832
<v Bobby Williams>I then went into business with the original founder of Toomey, charlie Clifford, and his right-hand man, larry Lean, and we invested and bought into Nomo London in England and exploded that.

00:15:53.140 --> 00:15:54.404
<v Emily Blumenthal>Oh, Nomo with a K.

00:15:54.785 --> 00:16:08.581
<v Bobby Williams>Yeah, with a K, k-o-m-o knowledge plus mobility Three really sharp young guys, south African expats living in London, young guys, south African expats living in London.

00:16:08.581 --> 00:16:17.606
<v Bobby Williams>And we just exploded that business with Nordstrom and Bloomingdale's and Apple and then I ended up selling out of that and in 2010, I just kind of looked at my wife and said it's, you know, she encouraged me.

00:16:17.606 --> 00:16:21.022
<v Bobby Williams>I mean, she's crazy and, you know, does the whole thing.

00:16:21.022 --> 00:16:28.121
<v Bobby Williams>I all during this time, emily, I coached soccer, I coached basketball, I did Boy Scouts.

00:16:28.121 --> 00:16:36.703
<v Bobby Williams>I would literally fly back from China coach a match on Saturday and then go do the camp out at the kids thing.

00:16:36.703 --> 00:16:41.813
<v Bobby Williams>And I'm the lazy one in the family, so my wife's a wonder woman.

00:16:42.519 --> 00:16:45.447
<v Bobby Williams>And so when we finished all that, it wasn't even a.

00:16:45.447 --> 00:16:51.832
<v Bobby Williams>I mean, I kind of hesitated and paused for a second, like, do we want to enter back into this craziness again?

00:16:51.832 --> 00:16:55.086
<v Bobby Williams>And my wife said, no, I believe in you, let's do it.

00:16:55.086 --> 00:16:56.769
<v Bobby Williams>And we kind of create.

00:16:56.769 --> 00:16:58.760
<v Bobby Williams>When we created Bacani, it was a.

00:16:58.760 --> 00:17:00.544
<v Bobby Williams>It was a really funny story.

00:17:00.544 --> 00:17:03.671
<v Bobby Williams>My wife and I and the boys, we travel everywhere all the time.

00:17:03.671 --> 00:17:13.505
<v Bobby Williams>We're dog people and we had friends that took care of their kids, took care of our dogs.

00:17:13.505 --> 00:17:14.046
<v Bobby Williams>They would house sit.

00:17:14.066 --> 00:17:14.748
<v Emily Blumenthal>We don't believe in kenneling them.

00:17:14.768 --> 00:17:19.346
<v Bobby Williams>We just you know, we're in our Spaniels and we had these young women that were high school kids.

00:17:19.346 --> 00:17:27.566
<v Bobby Williams>One went off to college and the next one took over and they would always be talking to us, bobby and Connie this and Bobby and Connie that, and they would say it so fast.

00:17:27.566 --> 00:17:31.683
<v Bobby Williams>The grandmother finally says why don't you just call him Bo Connie?

00:17:31.683 --> 00:17:35.815
<v Bobby Williams>Because you say that's how we came up with a name.

00:17:35.815 --> 00:17:39.702
<v Bobby Williams>It sounds Italian, we use Italian leathers.

00:17:40.223 --> 00:18:01.292
<v Bobby Williams>And then this was the really coolest thing my team that had been with me for Johnson Murphy through Nomo, and they knew who I was a family guy and we talked about it and the names of our collections were based on my musical interest, because I'm a huge music guy.

00:18:01.292 --> 00:18:06.136
<v Bobby Williams>But we named our lines like they were friends of ours, like they were kids.

00:18:06.136 --> 00:18:10.788
<v Bobby Williams>So my first collection was Hendrix, my very first album, jimi Hendrix.

00:18:10.788 --> 00:18:24.086
<v Bobby Williams>Then it was Tyler for Stephen, tyler, collins for Phil Collins, and it was all my sports stuff and all my music stuff tied up into a very familiar family orientation.

00:18:24.086 --> 00:18:26.912
<v Bobby Williams>So had a blast with it, it was a lot of fun.

00:18:27.680 --> 00:18:33.728
<v Emily Blumenthal>Was it difficult because at some point you sold it correct Yep To Reebok.

00:18:34.510 --> 00:18:36.458
<v Bobby Williams>No, I sold it to no.

00:18:36.458 --> 00:18:40.009
<v Bobby Williams>Connie sold the bench step thing Right.

00:18:40.009 --> 00:18:47.166
<v Bobby Williams>So we settled with Reebok out of court, and then that was the early 90s.

00:18:47.608 --> 00:18:47.769
<v Emily Blumenthal>Yeah.

00:18:48.491 --> 00:18:53.242
<v Bobby Williams>And you know, in 2017, nordstrom had gone through a really rough patch.

00:18:53.242 --> 00:18:55.657
<v Bobby Williams>Their fourth quarter 15, was tough.

00:18:55.657 --> 00:18:57.436
<v Bobby Williams>They had a rough 16.

00:18:57.436 --> 00:19:07.500
<v Bobby Williams>Quarter 15 was tough and had a rough 16, and it really changed the trajectory of Bacani because the specialty stores meaning travel good stores were shrinking and consolidating.

00:19:07.500 --> 00:19:27.000
<v Bobby Williams>And, oh my gosh, so many of my best friends, great people that I've worked with for decades their kids didn't really want to run the business, so they were were closing and it was like every month in 2015 and 2016, it was another mom and pop shop that went into business.

00:19:27.000 --> 00:19:34.502
<v Bobby Williams>So I became so much more Nordstrom centric that when Nordstrom had a bad patch, it really affected me.

00:19:35.589 --> 00:19:38.811
<v Emily Blumenthal>If you ever wanted to start a handbag brand and you didn't know where to start.

00:19:38.811 --> 00:19:41.013
<v Emily Blumenthal>If you ever wanted to start a handbag brand and didn't know where to start, this is for you.

00:19:41.013 --> 00:19:45.916
<v Emily Blumenthal>If you had dreams of becoming a handbag designer but aren't trained in design, this is for you.

00:19:45.916 --> 00:19:50.579
<v Emily Blumenthal>If you have a handbag brand and need strategy and direction, this is for you.

00:19:50.579 --> 00:19:59.204
<v Emily Blumenthal>I'm Emily Blumenthal, handbag designer expert and handbag fairy godmother, and this is the Handbag Designer 101 Masterclass.

00:19:59.204 --> 00:20:15.712
<v Emily Blumenthal>Over the next 10 classes, I will break down everything you need to know to make, manufacture and market a handbag brand, broken down, to ensure that you will not only skip steps in the handbag building process, but also to save money to avoid the learning curve of costly mistakes.

00:20:16.234 --> 00:20:26.875
<v Emily Blumenthal>For the past 20 years, I've been teaching at the top fashion universities in New York City, wrote the Handbag Designer Bible, founded the Handbag Awards and created the only Handbag Designer Podcast.

00:20:26.875 --> 00:20:33.461
<v Emily Blumenthal>I'm going to show you like I have countless brands to create in this in-depth course, from sketch to sample to sale.

00:20:33.461 --> 00:20:43.564
<v Emily Blumenthal>Whether you're just starting out and don't even know where to start or begin, or if you had a brand and need some strategic direction, the Handbag Designer 101 Masterclass is just for you.

00:20:43.564 --> 00:20:47.458
<v Emily Blumenthal>So let's get started and you'll be the creator of the next it bag.

00:20:47.458 --> 00:20:51.815
<v Emily Blumenthal>Join me, emily Blumenthal, in the Handbag Designer 101 Masterclass.

00:20:51.815 --> 00:21:03.838
<v Emily Blumenthal>So be sure to sign up at emilyblumenthalcom slash masterclass and type in the code PINECAST to get 10% off your masterclass today.

00:21:08.230 --> 00:21:13.279
<v Bobby Williams>So I ended up selling the end of 17 to Unified Leather.

00:21:13.279 --> 00:21:21.049
<v Bobby Williams>They were my belt licensees, so they did Bacani belts made Nidalee and we felt like this was a good partnership.

00:21:21.049 --> 00:21:23.094
<v Bobby Williams>I took on the challenge.

00:21:23.094 --> 00:21:34.381
<v Bobby Williams>They kept me as president and exploded the business in 18, literally almost tripled it and then we almost doubled that in 2019.

00:21:34.381 --> 00:21:39.099
<v Bobby Williams>And I was easily going to double it again in 2020 when COVID hit.

00:21:39.099 --> 00:21:46.101
<v Bobby Williams>So that changed everything and you know, I finished up my step with them in 2022.

00:21:46.770 --> 00:21:49.780
<v Bobby Williams>And that's when I kind of, you know, I started consulting.

00:21:49.780 --> 00:21:51.174
<v Bobby Williams>I was like, should I retire?

00:21:51.174 --> 00:21:51.938
<v Bobby Williams>Blah, blah, blah.

00:21:51.938 --> 00:21:58.736
<v Bobby Williams>I kind of went through a lot of different things and I joke that my wife's favorite statement is don't you need to go to New York or something.

00:21:58.736 --> 00:22:10.172
<v Bobby Williams>I joke that my wife's favorite statement is don't you need to go to New York or something which is code for can you quit rearranging the pantry and get out of my?

00:22:10.172 --> 00:22:11.413
<v Bobby Williams>You know, leave me alone and go travel and do your thing.

00:22:11.413 --> 00:22:22.453
<v Bobby Williams>So when John Truex and I, leading into where we are now today, john and Richard Lambertson were the creative directors at Hartman in the late 90s, early 2000s In fact, I was-.

00:22:23.352 --> 00:22:24.896
<v Emily Blumenthal>Before they opened up their own brand.

00:22:25.598 --> 00:22:26.039
<v Bobby Williams>No, no, no.

00:22:26.039 --> 00:22:29.200
<v Bobby Williams>They had their brand and they were on fire.

00:22:29.200 --> 00:22:41.464
<v Bobby Williams>They were the darlings of fashion history and they built on that by signing the contract to go in with Hartman and help resurrect the luggage and business case side.

00:22:41.464 --> 00:22:47.829
<v Bobby Williams>And on the leather goods side, that was me and you know we always had a great relationship.

00:22:47.829 --> 00:22:55.835
<v Bobby Williams>You know, whenever it came up in board reviews and product meetings they would ask John and Richard, ok, what about accessories?

00:22:55.835 --> 00:22:58.181
<v Bobby Williams>And the standard line was Bobby's got it.

00:22:58.181 --> 00:23:01.230
<v Bobby Williams>You know, okay, what about accessories?

00:23:01.230 --> 00:23:02.433
<v Bobby Williams>And the standard line was Bobby's got it.

00:23:02.433 --> 00:23:08.069
<v Bobby Williams>I took it from a million to well over seven or $8 million in three years and there was just no need I had it Can.

00:23:08.150 --> 00:23:10.615
<v Emily Blumenthal>I ask you a question, sorry to interrupt.

00:23:10.615 --> 00:23:17.515
<v Emily Blumenthal>You say a lot like you showed up and it was this, and then, within a year, it was X4, x5.

00:23:17.515 --> 00:23:33.443
<v Emily Blumenthal>Why do you think you are this person who has the capacity to take what already exists, that is in plain view of everybody, that allows you to really maximize what everybody else is seeing?

00:23:33.443 --> 00:23:36.171
<v Emily Blumenthal>What do you think is your secret sauce for that?

00:23:36.171 --> 00:23:38.093
<v Emily Blumenthal>What do you think is your secret sauce for that?

00:23:38.093 --> 00:23:57.084
<v Emily Blumenthal>Because you know, because trends come and go, sales come and go and handbags went into the tank prior to COVID, and the only part of handbags that truly survived COVID before novelty came made a comeback on the heels of COVID was travel, and it was domestic travel.

00:23:57.364 --> 00:23:58.704
<v Emily Blumenthal>And that's what people were doing.

00:23:58.704 --> 00:24:01.527
<v Emily Blumenthal>They were getting out, they were driving, they were renting cars, nobody.

00:24:01.527 --> 00:24:13.058
<v Emily Blumenthal>What people were doing they were getting out, they were driving, they were renting cars, nobody was really flying, but they were getting out and the resuscitation of the travel business I mean, obviously that's your sweet spot of cases and luggage and so forth, but what do you think?

00:24:13.058 --> 00:24:20.041
<v Emily Blumenthal>You know, I'm so curious to hear, because there's so many people that do what you do, that don't do it or couldn't do it or didn't last.

00:24:20.041 --> 00:24:24.922
<v Emily Blumenthal>So why do you think you've been able to stand the test of time within this business?

00:24:25.349 --> 00:24:28.319
<v Bobby Williams>Well, I think, first and foremost, you have to believe.

00:24:28.319 --> 00:24:40.211
<v Bobby Williams>You've got to believe that you have it within you and that the brand or the product or the company that you're working for you know there are a lot of companies that don't have a brand.

00:24:40.211 --> 00:24:41.674
<v Bobby Williams>You know they don't.

00:24:41.674 --> 00:24:45.211
<v Bobby Williams>They do things for other companies or they do things for other brands.

00:24:45.211 --> 00:24:47.776
<v Bobby Williams>Those are licensing companies, things like that.

00:24:47.776 --> 00:24:54.634
<v Bobby Williams>You know my dad was a 20-year, you know colonel in the army, flew helicopters in Vietnam.

00:24:54.634 --> 00:24:58.138
<v Bobby Williams>He was very dedicated, so that's in my DNA.

00:24:58.138 --> 00:25:03.705
<v Bobby Williams>My grandfather was a colonel in the army, so I've got that kind of thing in me.

00:25:04.230 --> 00:25:05.636
<v Emily Blumenthal>Were you supposed to go in the army?

00:25:06.130 --> 00:25:15.840
<v Bobby Williams>No, no, my grandmother wanted me to go to West Point and I was like I'm not washing anybody's toilets and doing for them, that's not my gig.

00:25:15.840 --> 00:25:20.246
<v Bobby Williams>Yeah, I'm a 70s kid, you know, so that was never my thing.

00:25:20.246 --> 00:25:24.239
<v Bobby Williams>I'm very militaristic, I'm very organized and all that type of stuff.

00:25:24.259 --> 00:25:29.278
<v Emily Blumenthal>The bed gets made at the corners, the everything, oh yeah yeah, I make the bed every day, that kind of thing.

00:25:29.338 --> 00:25:32.593
<v Bobby Williams>So, yeah, my wife is a creative and I'm on the other side.

00:25:32.593 --> 00:25:36.178
<v Bobby Williams>Everything's regimented in my closet, stuff like that.

00:25:36.178 --> 00:25:37.599
<v Bobby Williams>But it's really funny.

00:25:37.599 --> 00:25:47.544
<v Bobby Williams>I think it has to be a core dna thing inside of you I'm dedicated, I'm loyal and I'm very committed and I believe.

00:25:47.544 --> 00:25:52.692
<v Bobby Williams>So you take that, then you add passion and I just have this.

00:25:52.953 --> 00:26:06.702
<v Bobby Williams>I don't know, I've got this little vision thing that when I was at the apartment I remember looking at Ralph Lauren and going I would nail it, I know exactly what I would do with leather goods bags and luggage.

00:26:06.702 --> 00:26:08.232
<v Bobby Williams>And I would see some.

00:26:08.232 --> 00:26:11.645
<v Bobby Williams>Really, you know, their clothing is amazing, right.

00:26:11.645 --> 00:26:19.723
<v Bobby Williams>And then I would see some bag that was at that time in the 80s, made in China, and it just it was a disconnect.

00:26:19.723 --> 00:26:23.154
<v Bobby Williams>I'm a disconnect guy, I'm a connect guy.

00:26:23.154 --> 00:26:24.057
<v Bobby Williams>I see it.

00:26:24.057 --> 00:26:37.699
<v Bobby Williams>When I was with Lambertson Truex, for example, when I launched the men's line with John and Richard, I was like just totally obsessed with their leather choices, suede, the linings.

00:26:37.699 --> 00:26:51.571
<v Bobby Williams>And John he knew how to tell the story but he needed me to just say, yeah, we want to stay focused on blacks, browns and cognacs so we can give a pop of color on the inside.

00:26:51.571 --> 00:26:53.196
<v Bobby Williams>Let's do a touch here and there.

00:26:53.196 --> 00:26:56.006
<v Bobby Williams>That's what the LT brand was about.

00:26:56.006 --> 00:26:59.518
<v Bobby Williams>Every time I walked out of their showroom I would call my wife.

00:26:59.518 --> 00:27:03.176
<v Bobby Williams>It's just so gorgeous, it's so sophisticated.

00:27:03.176 --> 00:27:06.523
<v Bobby Williams>When I was with Nomo, it's a modern brand.

00:27:06.523 --> 00:27:07.432
<v Bobby Williams>They were young.

00:27:07.432 --> 00:27:13.711
<v Bobby Williams>People ride trains in Europe, right, they ride trains to work, they walk, they ride bikes.

00:27:13.711 --> 00:27:25.355
<v Bobby Williams>So our photography working with Benoit, our creative director, I got into it in that look right, because that's what was right for Nelmo.

00:27:25.857 --> 00:27:30.115
<v Bobby Williams>I didn't take a Johnson Murphy bag and design it for Nelmo.

00:27:30.115 --> 00:27:32.865
<v Bobby Williams>I designed with Nelmo, correct.

00:27:32.865 --> 00:27:35.730
<v Bobby Williams>And then when I was at Johnson Murphy, that was pretty easy.

00:27:35.730 --> 00:27:41.314
<v Bobby Williams>I had a Hartman traditional background going into a traditional brand like J&M.

00:27:41.314 --> 00:27:44.535
<v Bobby Williams>Boom, I'm not going to say it's easy, but we crushed it.

00:27:44.535 --> 00:27:47.257
<v Bobby Williams>I created things like I was on an airplane.

00:27:47.297 --> 00:27:48.998
<v Bobby Williams>I remember exactly where I was.

00:27:48.998 --> 00:27:50.959
<v Bobby Williams>I was going through a J&M catalog.

00:27:50.959 --> 00:27:59.784
<v Bobby Williams>I'm very tactile and so I'd always bring three or four magazines and I'd go through looking for things that inspired me.

00:27:59.784 --> 00:28:07.607
<v Bobby Williams>And I saw on the J&M thing they had a picture of the sole of their shoe that had a waffle print on it.

00:28:07.607 --> 00:28:20.803
<v Bobby Williams>I immediately contacted a buddy of mine who was a designer and I said I want to take that waffle sole and I want to create it and put it as bumpers Instead of putting feet on the bottom of my Johnson Murphy bags.

00:28:20.803 --> 00:28:29.674
<v Bobby Williams>I created soul bags and I made those things on the bottom of it S-O-L-E and it was amazing, we crushed it.

00:28:29.674 --> 00:28:31.076
<v Bobby Williams>So it was a lot of fun.

00:28:31.630 --> 00:28:37.872
<v Bobby Williams>So now that I'm at Gurkha, I have John Truex as a creative director, so he's doing most of that.

00:28:37.872 --> 00:28:39.493
<v Bobby Williams>John Truex is a creative director, so he's doing most of that, and you know.

00:28:39.493 --> 00:28:43.818
<v Bobby Williams>But I'm constantly thinking of where should Gurkha go?

00:28:43.818 --> 00:28:45.161
<v Bobby Williams>What should Gurkha do?

00:28:45.161 --> 00:28:46.682
<v Bobby Williams>We have the letters.

00:28:46.682 --> 00:28:57.083
<v Bobby Williams>We have the 50 years of archives Next year will be our 50th anniversary, so I'm already into it and thinking about things like that.

00:28:57.083 --> 00:29:00.083
<v Bobby Williams>But we have such tangible.

00:29:00.083 --> 00:29:03.814
<v Bobby Williams>You know people would die to have Dirk's brand DNA.

00:29:03.814 --> 00:29:06.500
<v Bobby Williams>I mean it's just field and string.

00:29:06.500 --> 00:29:10.313
<v Bobby Williams>You know whether you're a hunter or fisherman, it's there.

00:29:10.313 --> 00:29:11.255
<v Bobby Williams>We have that.

00:29:11.255 --> 00:29:18.173
<v Bobby Williams>You know, I think, that country club, resort, leisure, we have that DNA with our bags.

00:29:18.173 --> 00:29:20.159
<v Bobby Williams>You know the business traveler.

00:29:20.159 --> 00:29:21.442
<v Bobby Williams>We have that.

00:29:21.442 --> 00:29:33.009
<v Bobby Williams>So we're resurrecting four-wheel trolleys, which Kirk has done in the past, but we're going to update it and do it to where it fits for today's consumers, so very, very exciting.

00:29:33.451 --> 00:29:45.278
<v Emily Blumenthal>How are you able because you are a loyalist to the brands that you commit to and it's old school to stay at companies as long as you have and as long as you continue?

00:29:45.278 --> 00:29:53.932
<v Emily Blumenthal>It just is, people don't do that anymore and I think a lot of it, you know, obviously has a lot to do with on a personal level.

00:29:53.932 --> 00:30:04.476
<v Emily Blumenthal>You don't feel like your contribution matters or your view doesn't matter, or you're not getting the same respect, or you know, for whatever generationally, how people feel and what leads them to leave.

00:30:04.476 --> 00:30:14.080
<v Emily Blumenthal>How are you able, within that cycle of the companies that you ended up moving from, how are you able to say OK, my time is done.

00:30:14.790 --> 00:30:17.058
<v Emily Blumenthal>How are you able to make that segmentation?

00:30:17.058 --> 00:30:21.461
<v Emily Blumenthal>Because to who you are, it seems almost off-brand that you left any company.

00:30:21.800 --> 00:30:23.655
<v Bobby Williams>Oh, yeah, yeah, it was challenging.

00:30:23.655 --> 00:30:34.901
<v Bobby Williams>You know, through my Hartman career it was like every other year Hartman knew I was getting offers from Coach, from Cole Haan, from Raleigh Bicycles.

00:30:34.901 --> 00:30:35.823
<v Bobby Williams>I mean, I had them.

00:30:35.823 --> 00:30:46.991
<v Bobby Williams>It was like I used to joke OK, I'm the flavor of the month, meaning flavor of the year, and Hartman would automatically know it, sense it and promote me and give me a new challenge.

00:30:46.991 --> 00:31:02.718
<v Bobby Williams>And so leaving Hartman was huge, but it was, you know, four months after the trade towers went down and the horrific 9-11 events and the attack on our country and our way of life, and it was a big decision.

00:31:02.718 --> 00:31:14.195
<v Bobby Williams>But this guy from Lotus, who'd owned Lotus, he'd had it for 20 years and he needed help and at the same time he had offered me a job the year before and I turned him down, said only if it's equity.

00:31:14.195 --> 00:31:17.634
<v Bobby Williams>Well, he called me and said you got your equity if you want it.

00:31:17.634 --> 00:31:27.500
<v Bobby Williams>So I'd always said that when I leave Hartman it's not going to go to Toomey or Coach or Cole Haan, it's going to go to a company where I can have a stake in it.

00:31:27.500 --> 00:31:31.220
<v Bobby Williams>So that ownership stake was real important to me.

00:31:31.220 --> 00:31:36.361
<v Bobby Williams>But I think you know I'll sum it up in a funny, you know kind of quirky thing.

00:31:36.401 --> 00:31:46.743
<v Bobby Williams>But we were at a dinner party the day I got back from Los Angeles, after I flew out, cemented the deal with Lotus in January of 2002.

00:31:46.743 --> 00:32:05.651
<v Bobby Williams>And I overheard my wife telling the other wives in the kitchen, while the guys were having a bourbon or a scotch or whatever, and I heard her say, you know, they were all like, oh my God, Bobby was Hartman, you know, and he was.

00:32:05.651 --> 00:32:06.011
<v Bobby Williams>He believed it.

00:32:06.011 --> 00:32:07.354
<v Bobby Williams>And she said Bobby finally realized that he couldn't say Hartman.

00:32:07.354 --> 00:32:09.317
<v Bobby Williams>And it's a big deal, you know, for me.

00:32:09.317 --> 00:32:18.020
<v Bobby Williams>So, yes, loyalty is really difficult, but I do think, once you do that and you, you know, I started in with Lotus.

00:32:18.020 --> 00:32:22.529
<v Bobby Williams>It was hard do that.

00:32:22.529 --> 00:32:23.632
<v Bobby Williams>And I started in with Lotus.

00:32:23.632 --> 00:32:24.472
<v Bobby Williams>It was hard.

00:32:24.472 --> 00:32:26.036
<v Bobby Williams>No, men were spending money, Our portfolios were shattered.

00:32:26.036 --> 00:32:27.979
<v Bobby Williams>It was rough in 2002.

00:32:27.979 --> 00:32:33.194
<v Bobby Williams>But my wife was like, hey, you've got two kids and me, you need to go out and go do something.

00:32:33.194 --> 00:32:34.819
<v Bobby Williams>And that's when I started creating.

00:32:35.529 --> 00:32:50.027
<v Bobby Williams>And we were in a Starbucks in Kowloon for the leather fair in March of 2002 when I sat down with Stanley Bauer, my expert at Lotus, and he said okay, what do you want to do?

00:32:50.027 --> 00:32:59.825
<v Bobby Williams>You've been with the company two months I'd already opened up Elpertil and Bentleys and Mori Luggage and all the different accounts and we were on a roll sales-wise right.

00:32:59.825 --> 00:33:03.358
<v Bobby Williams>But he said, what do you want to do product-wise?

00:33:03.358 --> 00:33:05.837
<v Bobby Williams>And I said, well, number one, it's women's.

00:33:05.837 --> 00:33:15.935
<v Bobby Williams>We have got to get into the women's business because, even though most men aren't spending money, women are still accessorizing, yes, or buying leather goods.

00:33:15.935 --> 00:33:19.156
<v Bobby Williams>They're buying handbags and they will help us.

00:33:19.691 --> 00:33:27.329
<v Bobby Williams>And we had one small little division of wallets that we were selling in Southern California.

00:33:27.329 --> 00:33:29.289
<v Bobby Williams>The buyer was in Northern California.

00:33:29.289 --> 00:33:36.818
<v Bobby Williams>We had a great rep, Diane, and she was begging for help and I said, okay, we're going to go after women.

00:33:36.818 --> 00:33:39.940
<v Bobby Williams>And I talked them into it and we launched.

00:33:39.940 --> 00:33:48.270
<v Bobby Williams>And within eight months, in one month when we launched our new line, we booked more than Lotus did.

00:33:48.270 --> 00:33:52.200
<v Bobby Williams>In one month we booked more than they did in the 18 months previous.

00:33:52.200 --> 00:33:54.002
<v Bobby Williams>It was on fire.

00:33:54.509 --> 00:34:07.938
<v Emily Blumenthal>I mean, I think that just goes to show that you have a gift of seeing where gaps are in the market and I'm so grateful of your perspective and your optimism and recognizing that.

00:34:07.938 --> 00:34:13.081
<v Emily Blumenthal>You know and I hate saying this, but listen there are I'm Garmento offspring.

00:34:13.081 --> 00:34:17.324
<v Emily Blumenthal>There are so many bitter people within the handbag industry.

00:34:17.324 --> 00:34:18.905
<v Emily Blumenthal>There are so many angry people.

00:34:18.905 --> 00:34:20.126
<v Emily Blumenthal>Ah, the business is shot.

00:34:20.126 --> 00:34:21.126
<v Emily Blumenthal>The business is shot.

00:34:21.126 --> 00:34:22.507
<v Emily Blumenthal>Oh, it's terrible.

00:34:22.507 --> 00:34:23.288
<v Emily Blumenthal>What are you doing?

00:34:23.288 --> 00:34:26.280
<v Emily Blumenthal>Oh, it's all going to off price, off price, off price.

00:34:26.280 --> 00:34:28.797
<v Emily Blumenthal>And I that is a curse.

00:34:29.233 --> 00:34:29.755
<v Bobby Williams>Yeah, that is a-.

00:34:29.755 --> 00:34:39.304
<v Bobby Williams>Everybody's just gone away from China and gone to India and they're just it's like the lowest common denominator, you know.

00:34:39.304 --> 00:34:43.695
<v Bobby Williams>And why are we doing that when there are other options?

00:34:44.077 --> 00:34:44.177
<v Emily Blumenthal>And.

00:34:44.396 --> 00:34:53.585
<v Bobby Williams>I think that's where it's really so exciting now in my career to be working with American factories and an American brand.

00:34:53.585 --> 00:35:05.297
<v Bobby Williams>We are an American luxury leather brand and I challenge people I've been saying this ever since I jumped back into this in May of 2023.

00:35:05.297 --> 00:35:11.172
<v Bobby Williams>Name another American brand that makes bags and leather goods in the United States.

00:35:11.172 --> 00:35:14.278
<v Bobby Williams>That's a luxury brand.

00:35:14.599 --> 00:35:21.320
<v Bobby Williams>A lot of a raw, handcrafted, cottage industry vibe that was out there a decade ago.

00:35:21.320 --> 00:35:23.255
<v Bobby Williams>It's kind of softened now.

00:35:23.255 --> 00:35:25.159
<v Bobby Williams>Most of those companies don't exist.

00:35:25.159 --> 00:35:26.001
<v Bobby Williams>Some of them do.

00:35:26.001 --> 00:35:33.201
<v Bobby Williams>But you know, I really Gurkha makes an exquisite American product.

00:35:33.201 --> 00:35:43.898
<v Bobby Williams>That is, you know, literally, we're not Louis Vuitton, we're not Hermes, we're not, certainly not Gucci, and you know, literally, we're not Louis Vuitton, we're not Hermes, we're not, certainly not Gucci, and you know, and more fashion driven, but we're Gurkha.

00:35:43.898 --> 00:35:51.181
<v Bobby Williams>And when you know Gurkha, you know it, it's undeniable, it's got a look to it and that's gets me fired up.

00:35:51.181 --> 00:35:53.831
<v Bobby Williams>That's what I'm excited about, it's so fun.

00:35:53.831 --> 00:36:13.561
<v Bobby Williams>And we just went to a trade show in Chicago and we tweaked the show booth signage where you know we normally have Gurkha on it, and our designer said, you know, we told him this story that people just keep stopping and they're just like they stopped dead in their tracks and like Gurkha.

00:36:13.561 --> 00:36:15.577
<v Bobby Williams>And we're like, yes, Gurkha.

00:36:15.577 --> 00:36:25.597
<v Bobby Williams>So we put yes in cursive with an apostrophe above the Gurkha logo, just for the trade show to kind of have fun with it.

00:36:25.597 --> 00:36:30.297
<v Bobby Williams>And they all stop and they're like they get it, they're like, oh my gosh, gurkha.

00:36:30.297 --> 00:36:37.476
<v Bobby Williams>And it's so fun because Gurkha literally owned the men's store business literally owned the men's store business.

00:36:37.695 --> 00:36:46.943
<v Bobby Williams>They were the quintessential bag, briefcase, weekender, duffel, shave, kit, wallet.

00:36:46.943 --> 00:36:58.581
<v Bobby Williams>If you were in the men's industry over 5,000 stores nationwide you carried a Gurkha bag or a Hart bag, but primarily men's stores carried Gurkha because it was natty.

00:36:58.581 --> 00:37:02.114
<v Bobby Williams>It was more different, it had a little style vibe to it.

00:37:02.114 --> 00:37:05.041
<v Bobby Williams>It wasn't corporate, hartman was corporate.

00:37:05.041 --> 00:37:14.836
<v Bobby Williams>So if you worked at Hewlett Packard or IBM you carried a Hartman, but if you worked at Saks and Blowingdales or at these men's stores you carried Gurkha.

00:37:14.836 --> 00:37:16.501
<v Bobby Williams>So it was really cool.

00:37:17.130 --> 00:37:23.420
<v Emily Blumenthal>I just want to ask you one last question In terms of understanding your customer right.

00:37:23.420 --> 00:37:41.530
<v Emily Blumenthal>It's a cross section, because you still have people like you who are still working, still traveling, still have a certain socioeconomic level, and then you have, as always, a newer, younger generation that you want them to be early adopters and carrying a brand.

00:37:41.530 --> 00:37:50.496
<v Emily Blumenthal>What are you doing, and what do you think that needs to be done for brands like Gurkha to have an appeal to a newer, younger audience?

00:37:51.838 --> 00:37:52.840
<v Bobby Williams>Yeah, you're correct.

00:37:52.840 --> 00:37:57.356
<v Bobby Williams>There's a country club set, which I call it, which is that leisure.

00:37:57.356 --> 00:37:59.199
<v Bobby Williams>You know they carry Gurkha.

00:37:59.199 --> 00:38:01.391
<v Bobby Williams>I always use the expression that.

00:38:01.391 --> 00:38:18.458
<v Bobby Williams>You know there's a four-door sedan made by Chevrolet or Ford and then there's a four-door sedan made by Mercedes or BMW or Porsche, and that's the difference in a Gurkha and a, you know, entry-level commercial product.

00:38:18.458 --> 00:38:21.003
<v Bobby Williams>And so there's definitely difference there.

00:38:21.003 --> 00:38:27.103
<v Bobby Williams>And I see that executive is he's a working or she's a working person.

00:38:27.103 --> 00:38:49.213
<v Bobby Williams>They're getting on flights and they're moving, They've got board meetings, They've got sales meetings, investors meetings, et cetera, presentations, and then you have that club set, which is more field and stream club in those levels, which is more I'm not working, my money's working for me and this is the way I'm going to travel.

00:38:49.514 --> 00:38:53.543
<v Bobby Williams>We just brainstormed this in my second month on the job.

00:38:53.543 --> 00:38:56.096
<v Bobby Williams>How do we go out and get new customers?

00:38:56.096 --> 00:38:58.661
<v Bobby Williams>How do we sell sons?

00:38:58.661 --> 00:39:01.648
<v Bobby Williams>How do we sell, you know, the next generation?

00:39:01.648 --> 00:39:09.349
<v Bobby Williams>And there's the traditionalist that it's handed down right, meaning the brand son or daughter.

00:39:09.349 --> 00:39:11.054
<v Bobby Williams>This is a brand you like like.

00:39:11.054 --> 00:39:13.119
<v Bobby Williams>My sister introduced me to gurkha.

00:39:13.119 --> 00:39:18.875
<v Bobby Williams>She was into gurkha in college because her sorority sisters were.

00:39:18.875 --> 00:39:21.099
<v Bobby Williams>That was a clicky brand to them.

00:39:21.099 --> 00:39:22.063
<v Bobby Williams>It was very cool.

00:39:22.690 --> 00:39:24.076
<v Emily Blumenthal>So what was the end result?

00:39:24.076 --> 00:39:25.711
<v Emily Blumenthal>To say what can we do to get this?

00:39:26.331 --> 00:39:53.949
<v Bobby Williams>So in our community we have Marley Hodson, our founder's original smooth chestnut leather and smooth black leather, which is a saddle tan leather that Marley started with and over time I want to say probably in the late 80s, mid 80s he discovered a vintage tannage that was even cooler and it has dominated Gurkha's look for the last 30 plus years.

00:39:53.949 --> 00:39:57.418
<v Bobby Williams>So this smooth leather has remained as a.

00:39:57.418 --> 00:40:00.626
<v Bobby Williams>You know it's been in leather goods, it's been in some of our gifts.

00:40:00.626 --> 00:40:18.655
<v Bobby Williams>But you know we as a team, john, had created an initial capsule of product that was smooth leather and nylon, which is a new vibe, a different look, much more modern than the twill, traditional twill that Gurkha still uses and sells today.

00:40:18.655 --> 00:40:33.282
<v Bobby Williams>So we've created a new collection that's going after a younger, not just young in age chronologically but young at heart and mind, and it's much more of a metropolitan look.

00:40:33.282 --> 00:40:38.181
<v Bobby Williams>It's a monochromatic black on black, chestnut on chestnut look.

00:40:38.181 --> 00:41:03.623
<v Bobby Williams>We're using the same Gurkha hardware, the same Gurkha leather, but it's in that smooth, matte finish and that LaMonta Italian nylon just gives it a lighter weight and a much more updated look and we think that's our ticket to getting into the next generation of vibe not just age but a vibe Like I would love to carry that line.

00:41:03.875 --> 00:41:08.047
<v Bobby Williams>That's a line that's faster, quicker than the traditional Gurkha.

00:41:08.047 --> 00:41:15.257
<v Bobby Williams>We call it original collection and I love the new line and we're getting really good responses on it.

00:41:15.257 --> 00:41:17.161
<v Bobby Williams>So we think it's going to be.

00:41:17.161 --> 00:41:23.141
<v Bobby Williams>You know, we'll eventually grow into leather goods and accessories, handbags, things like that.

00:41:23.141 --> 00:41:39.226
<v Bobby Williams>So I think that's the other part is the vibe that you create with that new collection but then doing more entry-level price points, meaning wallets, journals, card cases, travel items, travel kits.

00:41:39.226 --> 00:41:45.568
<v Bobby Williams>That's their great graduation gifts, their groomsman's gifts, things like that.

00:41:45.568 --> 00:41:52.684
<v Bobby Williams>That's how we start introducing younger men and women into our product and our brand younger men and women into our product and our brand.

00:41:52.704 --> 00:41:57.771
<v Emily Blumenthal>Bobby, this has been the most action-packed men's driven.

00:41:57.771 --> 00:42:12.063
<v Emily Blumenthal>I'm so very grateful for your time and your knowledge and your contribution to handbags, because you are valued and cherished within the industry and I hope you absolutely never stop.

00:42:12.063 --> 00:42:16.358
<v Emily Blumenthal>How can people get their hands on a Gurkha bag?

00:42:16.358 --> 00:42:17.340
<v Emily Blumenthal>Follow Gurkha.

00:42:17.340 --> 00:42:18.322
<v Emily Blumenthal>What can they do?

00:42:18.342 --> 00:42:20.166
<v Bobby Williams>Oh, absolutely Well.

00:42:20.166 --> 00:42:27.987
<v Bobby Williams>Gurkhacom is our website and we're also at Gurkha on Instagram, facebook.

00:42:27.987 --> 00:42:30.418
<v Bobby Williams>We're very active in the social channels.

00:42:30.418 --> 00:42:33.405
<v Bobby Williams>We have an amazing following.

00:42:33.405 --> 00:42:35.958
<v Bobby Williams>I mean we have consumers that have been.

00:42:35.958 --> 00:42:59.751
<v Bobby Williams>You know, I did a series of trunk shows with my new team on the sales side and we've been doing trunk shows at Stanley Korshak at Hinton Hinton in Oxford, mississippi, lyle's Clothing in Raleigh, north Carolina, and it's just amazing Jay Michaels here in Nashville, and I've had at all four different trunk shows that I personally attended.

00:42:59.751 --> 00:43:05.943
<v Bobby Williams>I've had customers walk in with their 40 plus year old Gurkha bags.

00:43:05.943 --> 00:43:12.418
<v Bobby Williams>So it's really incredible to think of what those bags have seen, you know, over 40 years.

00:43:12.418 --> 00:43:15.244
<v Bobby Williams>So it's a fraternity and a sorority.

00:43:15.565 --> 00:43:16.706
<v Emily Blumenthal>That's open to all.

00:43:17.027 --> 00:43:22.177
<v Bobby Williams>Yeah, that's open to all and you know we appreciate everybody's look.

00:43:22.177 --> 00:43:30.346
<v Bobby Williams>We're expanding I'll also say not just domestically and better specialty stores, but we are now up to four retail partners in Japan.

00:43:30.346 --> 00:43:39.326
<v Bobby Williams>So we launched, with Tomorrowland's new concept store, maison Voyage, which is all about travel, the house of travel.

00:43:39.326 --> 00:43:47.141
<v Bobby Williams>We're launching this spring with Beams Plus, so we're very, very excited to be expanding the brand internationally as well.

00:43:47.141 --> 00:43:50.494
<v Bobby Williams>So Amazing Plenty of places to find Gurga.

00:43:51.175 --> 00:43:55.387
<v Emily Blumenthal>And this is G-H-U-r-k-a gerga correct.

00:43:55.387 --> 00:43:57.559
<v Emily Blumenthal>Wonderful, thank you.

00:43:57.559 --> 00:44:04.023
<v Emily Blumenthal>Thank you so much, bobby, it's been a pleasure emily, thank you thanks for listening.

00:44:04.023 --> 00:44:09.376
<v Emily Blumenthal>Don't forget to rate and review, and follow us on every single platform at handbag designer.

00:44:09.376 --> 00:44:10.277
<v Emily Blumenthal>Thanks, thanks so much.

00:44:10.277 --> 00:44:11.277
<v Emily Blumenthal>See you next time.