If you don’t care about the lapel or the buttons or the fit, then you are doing a disservice to the consumer. We’re all inside the tunnel, speaking the language of business, but we need to speak the language of customers. – Mickey Drexler
I don’t size up their grades or their board scores. Because in America today, that’s just an advantage certain people have. I size up the give and take, the speed of thinking, what I perceive as ambition. I say, ‘Tell me about your high school jobs.’ And I love people who worked in coffee shops who were waiters and waitresses. – Mickey Drexler
Steve Jobs, if he had lived, was gonna design an iCar. I think cars have an extraordinary opportunity for cool design. – Mickey Drexler
I couldn’t stand not controlling my own product from how it’s manufactured to how it’s sold. – Mickey Drexler
If you think you know the consumer better than anyone, then you’re in real trouble. So we take a close watch. You spend time in stores. – Mickey Drexler
It takes a long time to get a reputation for quality. There are people in our industry, they’re basically copiers. Look at the cars on the streets. They all look alike. But if you put quality into a product, then have it validated, you have huge credibility. – Mickey Drexler
The person is a resume, not what’s on a piece of paper. Whoever gives advice about resumes in college should be dismissed. Titles don’t matter. GPAs don’t matter, nor does what school you go to. – Mickey Drexler
Creativity runs on automatic, no matter what’s happening in other parts of my life. I can’t help myself. It’s been in me, and it evolves in me over the years. It’s a condition in me. – Mickey Drexler
Everything has a trend to it; I don’t care if it’s appliances or engines. I always ask, ‘What has a company done in the past five years that somebody’s noticed?’ – Mickey Drexler
I’m looking forward to partnering with TPG Capital and Leonard Green & Partners. This transaction is a clear endorsement of J. Crew and the hard work and dedication of all of our associates. – Mickey Drexler
My office has no walls. You can’t be removed from your team to be successful. You have to be respectful of others. – Mickey Drexler
Customers don’t just want to shop: they want to feel that the brand understands them. – Mickey Drexler
I define leadership as: Emotionally, you own your business. You own it with passion. And you either have or you don’t have an economic investment. But when you have all three of those, you are the boss from Day One, and you care every single day more than anyone. – Mickey Drexler
A merchant is someone who figures out how to select, how to smell, how to identify, how to feel, how to time, how to buy, how to sell, and how to hopefully have two plus two equal six. – Mickey Drexler
My management style is there is no such thing as non-important people in the company. – Mickey Drexler