195: Reviving America's Oldest Retailer. Ken Ohashi, CEO Brooks Brothers
06/30/23 • 38 min
His company has dressed 41 out of 46 US presidents, is the oldest apparel brand in America in continuous operation, and was the first brand to introduce ready-to-wear.
Brooks Brothers is nothing short of a legendary brand, and Ken Ohashi is the man behind its revival. He took over as CEO after the company had to file for bankruptcy during Covid. After an impressive turn-around, the company had a record year in 2022 and paid out bonuses to its employees for the first time in over a decade.
What is the recipe for success? According to Ken, he has an inside-out and a 360 degree approach to branding, marketing and communications. Instead of first focusing on the customer, his focus is on the company culture. The customer will buy if you practise what you preach. You also need to be everywhere at all times.
In this week’s episode, Ken talks us through how he transformed Brooks Brothers and revived the brand, how change is not about abandoning the past but building on it, and the importance of listening.
Subscribe to the Message Machine newsletter and become an unstoppable founder yourself.
His company has dressed 41 out of 46 US presidents, is the oldest apparel brand in America in continuous operation, and was the first brand to introduce ready-to-wear.
Brooks Brothers is nothing short of a legendary brand, and Ken Ohashi is the man behind its revival. He took over as CEO after the company had to file for bankruptcy during Covid. After an impressive turn-around, the company had a record year in 2022 and paid out bonuses to its employees for the first time in over a decade.
What is the recipe for success? According to Ken, he has an inside-out and a 360 degree approach to branding, marketing and communications. Instead of first focusing on the customer, his focus is on the company culture. The customer will buy if you practise what you preach. You also need to be everywhere at all times.
In this week’s episode, Ken talks us through how he transformed Brooks Brothers and revived the brand, how change is not about abandoning the past but building on it, and the importance of listening.
Subscribe to the Message Machine newsletter and become an unstoppable founder yourself.
Previous Episode
194: How to Make Change Happen. Jörg Hellwig, Founder & Investor
Most people abhor change. But without change, your business will never succeed. This is why Jörg Hellwig puts change at the centre of everything he does – from digitalising companies, building new businesses, and adapting communication processes.
Jörg is the former CDO of multi-billion Euro revenue company LANXESS, founder of CheMondis, and angel investor.
According to Jörg, any success should be followed by change. When things are going well you are in the best position to change because it leaves room for failure. Fail fast, adapt, and keep the pressure on to become successful.
And how does he convince people of change? He tells stories to motivate his teams to come with him on the journey, and he gives them the licence to prompt him to change him too.
In this week’s episode, Jörg talks us through how he transformed a massive company, why the 2008 financial crisis was the best thing that could have happened to him, and the importance of having fun to succeed.
Subscribe to the Message Machine newsletter and become an unstoppable founder yourself.
Next Episode
196: Ask Me Anything: Transparency Dilemma, #NotBoring, Changing Founder Communications. Oliver Aust
We have a special episode of Speak Like a CEO for you: an Ask Me Anything session with Oliver Aust.
Oliver answers five of the most frequently asked questions. How to deal with the transparency dilemma, how to make something boring sound interesting, common communications mistakes, how to inspire an audience, and the changing trends of founder communications.
Subscribe to the Message Machine newsletter and become an unstoppable founder yourself.
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