GlobalBX

At 11.35 p.m. on August 25, 1956, I stepped out of the Gimbel Brothers’ Building, Rue Saint Honoré in Paris, together with James Vaneys. I had just been appointed General Manager of Gimbel Brother’s Benelux Inc. , viz. Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg. I had acquired experience as assistant to James during four years. He had been confirmed as General Manager at the helm of the German company earlier that day. I was twenty-six.

James had picked me up at Charles de Gaulle, and told me that Adam Gimbel, the owner of the Gimbel chain, and the Saks Fifth Avenue Stores, had arrived just an hour earlier from the States, and was waiting for us in the Gimbel offices. He turned out to be a handsome man, suave, and bronzed by the Florida sun. His clothes were definitely Brooks Brothers. He did show jet lag.  Albert Derris, President of Gimbel Europe, immediately set off the negotiation in French. He said that James Vaneys had convinced him that I had what it took to run the business, and offered me the job at fifty percent more than my previous assistant salary – way off James salary – and the use of his two-year-old car. Mr. Gimbel watched and listened quietly. After a deep breath , I countered Mr.Derris saying it would be reasonable to expect a US$ 25.000 annual salary as General Manager in view of the responsibility. Furthermore I elaborated, I had long dreamed to drive a new Ford Captain; a Mr. Vaneys leftover did not appeal to me.  Albert Derris’s face revealed his increasing amazement and irritation; a dark red flush appeared and steam seemed to be coming out of his ears. Immediately Adam Gimbel sensed a problem and caught on to the mood change. He intervened and asked sharply, “Derris is there a problem ? What’s he saying; what’s he saying ?” Derris answered, “He wants $ 25.000 annual and a new car.”

In turn Mr. Gimbel’s face revealed his amazement. To him my request must have sounded like Mickey Mouse money. And it was 11.15 pm by now. Jet lag was taking its toll. He exploded, “For heaven’s sake, Derris, give it to the man so I can go to sleep!”

Vaneys grinned. Derris prattled, and I held my breath. Mr. Derris conceded defeat and concluded as a gentleman, muttering “We have a deal.” At 11.35 p.m. James Vaneys and I stepped into the Rue St. Honoré. Vaneys said, ” You handled that beautifully.” I chuckled, walking on a cloud.

The first day in my General Manager’s seat, was a treat. Secretary Madame Mention, delighted at my appointment, brought in the mail and had coffee served. She briefed me on each letter and so introduced me gradually to the current affairs. Then I asked her to brief me on how the company had started and all the companies we had been doing business with over the years. I decided as a first step to set up a travel plan and visit all these companies in Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg, where we had placed orders at one time or another, and introduce myself; I reasoned that this action would put me in touch – face to face – with the core of the business.This pro-active approach turned out later to be a good way to start.

The second day already Mr.Derris  called to inform me that I would have the visit of Mr. Stanley Marcus, the Founder, Owner and Chairman of the Neiman Marcus Store Group. He requested me to assist him in every way.

Much later in my career I met Gerardo Joffe, a guru in the mail-order business. He started a company named Henniker’s, and after only a few years sold out to the Stuardt McGuire Co. of Salem for US$ 1 million. He offered me his book titled ” How You Too Can Make At Least $ 1 million _ but probably much more _ In The Mail Order Business. In my opinion, the best book on the market on this subject.It is a known fact that all merchandisers learn from one another by reviewing each other’s catalog come Christmas time; some go as far as to plagiarize.  Gerardo Joffe, proudly tells in his book how Stanley Marcus was keen to learn from him, writing specifically :

“I have been told by an ex-employee of Neiman-Marcus that, when Haverhill’s Christmas catalog arrived, Stanley Marcus, the great Dallas, Texas, panjandrum of merchandising, used to closet himself to study it. He would brook no interruption, except if some Texan trillionaire wanted to place a special order for a dozen gift wrapped his/hers mouse farms at $ 3,500 each or something like that.”

Had I known all this at the time of Mr. Derris’s call, I would probably have been even more nervous. Stanley Marcus arrived, tanned and well dressed; not Brooks Brothers, definitely Saville Row. I installed him at the Amigo Hotel, just a block away from the world renowned Grand-Place. That evening he invited me to LaCouronne, a 5* Star restaurant overlooking the Grand-Place. The Grand-Place is stunningly beautiful; the various houses and buildings represent the guilds of the past i.e. the laundrymen, the bakers, the fishermen, the perfume makers, the goldsmiths, the brewers, etc. We were escorted to the table at the window viewing this unique sight. During dinner I think Mr. Marcus realized I was still new and lightweight and he carried and steered the conversation himself. After inquiring as to my background, and enjoying some of my stories, he introduced me to his beginnings. He told me that when he was ready to open his first store in Dallas he had to make a strategic decision. He was looking at a captive market. Numerous future customers wallowed in oil wealth, either operating a well or marketing the product to the world market. He explained that he had the option to sell them kitsch merchandise at high prices, or sell them the finest goods in the world, with emphasis on refinement, ageless good taste and so educate this customer base. He went for the latter, and offered the world’s finest crystal as Baccarat and Val St. Lambert, Bruges lace, Channel perfumes and clothing, Belgian linen tablecloths, jacquard, velour and damask cloth, English porcelain as Wedgewood, and more, aiming at one hundred and twenty percent mark-up. It was fascinating to listen to him. Here I was, twenty- six years old, a brand new General Manager, sitting at the most desired table in the most exclusive restaurant in Brussels, the Puligny Montrachet flowing, overlooking architectural beauty and history, and listening to a brilliant marketing guru. It was overwhelming.

Then he elaborated on the purpose of his visit. Other than a private visit in Brussels, we were expected by management of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, and the President of the Dutch Tulip Federation. What he had in mind was to organise a Holland week in Dallas, decorating his store with thousands of tulips, and exposing a selection of Dutch paintings from the Rijksmuseum. Personalities would be welcomed such as the Mayor of Amsterdam, the Rijksmuseum Curator, the President of the Tulip Federation; speeches would be made, the band would play, and the press had agreed to hype the event non-stop. He handed me a US$ 350.000 open order to put together a suitable Holland merchandise package;  Dutch bulbs, and a variety of gift wares with accent on copperware and Delft porcelain, in other words, a Holland look. He added that he expected that the traffic in the store would be such that sales on domestic goods would soar. This was in fact his secret agenda. He explained his thinking at length. He said that in retail marketing it was adroit to link the well known, the respected, the prestigious to a store event or to a specific product. This released synergy and leveraged sales.

While Mr. Marcus was explaining his concept, my mind was racing on how I could apply the concept to the benefit of my new Gimbel business. The next day in Amsterdam I opened an avenue. While at the Rijksmuseum I bought a book at the gift stand on the Dutch painter Mondriaan. After dinner that evening in my room, I flipped through the book and admired the full four color pages of his cubic period paintings. The illustrations featured various blocks of bronze, steel gray and Brittany blue. I thought, “Is this what Mr. Marcus means ?; have an exposition in Dallas of a selection of the cubic period; invite a Mondriaan relative and various art personalities. ?” My thoughts wandered to beaded evening bags. The cubic blocks in beads would be stunning. Beaded bags were a staple item in our Gimbel  and Saks annual business. This hand made production was located tradionallly in Lier, an hour drive north west of Brussels. At breakfast next morning with Mr.Marcus, I brought up the idea to organize a Mondriaan week in Dallas and focus on a line of beaded evening bags inspired by Mondriaan’s cubic period.. Mr Marcus beamed with pleasure and said “Ray, this is exactly what I was telling you about last night. You have grasped the concept !” Subsequently, our beaded evening bags manufacturer produced twelve styles of the most astonishing handbags one can imagine. No one in Europe would dare wear one, but in the dazzling sun of Dallas, worn by the most sophisticated woman in the world, we would have a winner. The subsequent Mondriaan event was grandiose. We followed up with an event with focus on VanGogh, then a Brussels Lace look. All events increased traffic in the stores and sales soared. The Belgian Gimbel office now had a handle on the business. Our earnings soared.

Over the years I apllied Stanley Marcus’s principle over and over again. Some high flyers were for instance when I took the helm at Seagram, and linked the Perrier-Jouet Champagne to the Diners’ Club Magazine and a Baccarat crystal glasses incentive.  Also at the helm at Avon Cosmetics in Belgium, where by law the door-to-door sales methodology required the sales ladies to carry a ‘ambulant licence’. A grim looking, negative image piece of paper if ever there was one. I took the high road, called the method “Avon by Invitation”  so eliminating the stigma of door-to-door, and in addition eliminated US$500.000 in licence costs. At Lee, when I was appointed in Kansas City to be the European President & C.E.O,  Don Hoopes, the number one, showed me a poster recently proposed by the Belgian advertising agency and the previous manager. It read “Lee is still alive and kicking !” ” I laughed at the idea of spending money on such a negative message. But it was true that Lee’s image was ‘not with it’ _ even ‘drab’.  So I hired a prestigous Swedish designer, had him make an “avant-garde” collection, and gave him the opportunity to show it on the catwalks at the Sehm in  Paris and at the Köln Messe. The audience was stunned. In one day, Lee’s image soared from drab to ‘avant-garde !’ ! But I had told my team to produce only 5000 units per style, so controlling the risk. Customers continued buying our bread and butter denim line, but which was now regarded as the latest fashion statement !. All these events incorporated Stanley Marcus’s philosophy to link to the well known, the respected, the prestigious to a store event, a specific product, or a marketing happening.

I am about to apply Mr. Marcus’s marketing principles again. Our company Flander’s Finest(r) designs and weaves jacquard tapestry fabrics, then made-up into cushions and wall decorations. The business of tapestries has gone down-hill these last years. The classic look of flower assortments, or village streets with flowers, or castle scenes with ‘boy kissing hand of girl’ does not appeal any more. In parralel, astute Chinese manufacturers have bought jacquard weaving equipment from a Belgian source, and are able, with their salary structure, to propose prices way below Belgian prices and even Italian prices. So the answer is to quit this business module, or do a better marketing thing. Just recently Wall Street’s week-end issue, on the Art double page, ran a title : “Changing the art in the White House’ It tells the story that the President and wife Michelle would like to add modern, abstract works to the Presidential Collection. Illustrated in the article – by Amy Chozick and Kelly Crow – are works by Richard Diebenkorn’s and Nicolas de Staëls, Lee Krasner and Sam Gilliam. Our in-house jacquard designers claim they can reproduce both the designs and colors. We are now in the process of requesting Wall Street Journal’s permission to use their title and copy; we are requesting permission from the painters to weave their art renderings in jacquard; we are negotiating Royalties with all parties; and  we will then produce sample yardage, and visit Neiman Marcus in October to negotiate a double page in their 2011 Christmas catalog. This project, linking to the White House in the Wall Street Journal title, linking to the President and the First Lady’s interest in a number of modern and abstract painters names and linking all to the up-market reach of Neiman’s Christmas catalog,  meets all the components of the Stanley Marcus marketing philosophy; linking to the well known, the respected and the prestigious. If he had still been with us, no doubt he would be taking this Neiman catalog, closet himself in his office, brooking no interuption.