AMSTERDAM — As a budding entrepreneur, Rattan Chadha sold private label garments from his sister’s factory in India out of the back of his car.
He went on to found the Mexx men’s, women’s and children’s brand here, a rapidly growing 1 billion euro, or $1.25 billion, a year business sold in 66 countries around the world that Liz Claiborne Inc. acquired in 2001.
Last Friday, Chadha said he was passing the baton to Jeff Fardell, a former Nike executive, who will succeed him as president of Mexx Europe Holding on Dec. 1. Chadha said he would remain director of the supervisory board through 2007, when he would step aside to fully devote himself to other projects, including the development of a hotel chain, the golf course he owns in southern France and the creation of a museum in Amsterdam for his art collection.
“Jeff understands branding, merchandising and retail,” Chadha said at a news conference with Fardell here. “More importantly, he understands the Mexx culture [of creativity and entrepreneurship].”
As he introduced Fardell, an Australian who was vice president of global apparel at Nike prior to Mexx, Chadha reminisced fondly on his time at Mexx.
To celebrate his departure, the brand has published a valedictory book, called “It Started With a Kiss.” Chadha’s daughter, Natascha Chadha, wrote it.
“I started as a private-label business with $2,000,” said Chadha. “When someone asked how long it would take to get the clothes, I’d say 45 minutes, just the time it took to get to the car.”
Chadha decided to create his own brand after he broke his leg and was confined to bed for three months.
During his convalescence, he wrote a book outlining his ideas on successful brand building and then created two labels, Moustache and Emanuelle, for men and women, respectively. In 1986, he merged them to maximize investment, finding the Mexx name by taking the first letter of each and adding two x’s to symbolize two kisses.
Chadha said he considered Mexx a marketing exercise from the get-go. “In brand building, you have to be worried about everything, from your offices to the products to the stores.”
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One example is the company’s corporate headquarters in an industrial park outside of this canal-bound city: It offers a sleek, light and modern statement. Even in the bathrooms, inspirational messages are etched on the mirrors.
Though Chadha declined to provide figures, he said Mexx has done very well since the Claiborne linkup, with growth continuing at a double-digit clip. He added there was room for Claiborne brands, such as Lucky Jeans and Juicy Couture, to expand in Europe. “I think it’s still Day One for Mexx,” he said. “The brand has a lot of potential.”
For instance, Chadha said opportunities existed in America, where customers are responding “better and better to European style.”
“There’s so much sameness in American retail,” he said. “There’s a place right now in the U.S. for more European brand expansion. H&M and Zara are doing very well in the United States.”
Though Chadha said the retailing landscape has altered greatly since he started, including the emergence of the fast-fashion giants such as Hennes & Mauritz of Sweden and Zara of Spain, he said brand building remains vital to success.
“The key is to be different. People said the middle market was disappearing. It isn’t true. A brand must be about expressing itself. If you lose your focus, it becomes only about selling clothes. You lose your soul.”
In a brief presentation, Fardell outlined a rough set of goals he hopes to tackle in the near future, including the “development of Claiborne’s multi-brand strategy in Europe, underpinned by Mexx.” He said the “amalgamation” of sourcing and resources between Claiborne and Mexx would underscore another effort. He also identified an opportunity for Mexx to grow outside of its home European market into Asia, the U.S. and Canada.
“There are multiple opportunities for Mexx [including accessories and the tween segment],” he said. “What we are aiming at is an evolution, not a revolution.”
To that end, he said several key executive appointments had been made in recent months, including a new vice president of product, a new visual merchandising director and a human resources director.
As for Chadha, he said he may be closing the book on Mexx, but he has no intention to retire.
“I want to write a few more chapters,” he said. For instance, he is in the final stages of developing a new hotel concept that would launch in some 20 European cities, starting next year. “It will be very hip, modern and cheap. I want to reinvent the one-star hotel.”