Inside Man
Rob Magliano on innovation at Gucci, strategy at Ralph Lauren and what's next for American luxury
From time to time, supporters of my comic book shop donated materials to our lending library. One such donation that caught my eye included children’s books by an up and coming author named Rob Magliano. As these things go, I would meet Rob a couple of years later, when he was running innovation at Gucci. Turns out that before Rob went to work at Gucci, he spent time in the corporate strategy department at Ralph Lauren. Somehow he finds time to publish children’s books on the side. Rob and I struck up a friendship and as a result, I got access to his insider point of view. Now I get to share that access with you all.
J.E.: Innovation at Gucci sounds like a dream job. Was it?
R.M.: In a lot of ways yes. I got to experience Italy; including visits to Milan, all-day meetings on Lake Como and dining with the chefs of the Michelin starred Gucci Osteria in Florence. Of course, there was plenty of hard work during and between those moments. I benefited greatly from exposure to legendary leaders in luxury like Susan Chokachi and Marco Bizzarri, who taught me a lot in a short period of time. They are great people and builders, open to trying new ideas - coming from a restructuring environment at Ralph Lauren - it was like being a kid in a candy store.
R.M.: Commitment to brand satisfaction is ingrained at Gucci, down to the handwritten letters from the CEO to individual clients. I witnessed firsthand how effective long-term investments in that area can be. Today, companies and brands expect success to come instantly, because the market and customer move so quickly. They launch a new product or name a new brand ambassador and expect instant results; meanwhile, much of the success Gucci saw when I was there was due to investments and decisions made three years earlier. It is a slow burn until everything is moving in the right direction and then it’s all about momentum.
J.E.: Before Gucci, you worked at Ralph Lauren. What was it like behind the curtain?
R.M.: It was surreal for me. I’ve been a Polo fan my whole life, not to the extent of you and some of the guys you have interviewed, but it was and still is my favorite brand. I studied the history of the brand and learned that when Pat Riley coached the Knicks, he put in his contract that all of his staff’s shirts had to be made by Ralph Lauren. I am a ‘90s kid and a Knicks fan, so after learning about stuff like that, I fell even more in love with the brand. I actually wrote a letter to the company when I was in college, explaining how they were losing their younger customers to companies like Vineyard Vines and Southern Tide, who were sending mountains of product to college students through campus reps. I never thought that one day I would be sitting in a board room with Mr. Lauren discussing his brand, how it was built and where it could go.
R.M.: Ralph was my introduction into retail. I started one week after Mr. Lauren stepped down as CEO for the first time. The company was going through restructuring, making it an incredible place to learn and grow. I didn’t move desks the whole time I was there, but I wore a lot of different hats. This gave me a chance to work across innovation, business strategy, hospitality, marketing, finance, internal audit - that was a fun one - among others. I probably had no businesses working on these projects, but when times are tough and there are limited resources, it creates tremendous opportunity for those willing to raise their hand and figure it out. My favorite, by far, was working with the hospitality team. Right when I joined, RL opened their first Ralph’s Coffee on 5th Ave and The Polo Bar. Having the chance to work with those corporate and store teams was such a privilege because it taught me so much about the brand and businesses in general. I have a soft spot for The Polo Bar because I proposed to my wife there. I told her we were having dinner with the hospitality team to celebrate a successful year and spouses were able to attend. I slipped in that Mr. Lauren would be attending so she could sneak out of work and make sure she had her best Ralph Lauren outfit on. All my friends who worked at the restaurant - thank you Nelly and Darnell - were in on it and helped make it one of the best nights of my life. Thankfully she said yes, and the rest is history.
J.E.: It sounds like a movie. The new ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’ is.. ‘Dinner at the Polo Bar’. American luxury is evolving.
R.M.: I have always been big on American luxury because of my time at Ralph and I have a big three when it comes to my favorites. Not Lebron, D-Wade and Chris Bosh. Not KG, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen, who I would argue were the original big three and ruined the NBA by pushing it into the super team era.. but that’s a different talk show. I am talking about my new big three of American Luxury: Aimé Leon Dore, Fear of God and Rhude. In my opinion, they are the successors to the original big three of American Fashion - Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein.
Earlier this year, it was announced that Aimé sold a minority position to LVMH and Rhude’s creative director, Rhuigi Villaseñor, was named creative director of Bally - which reminds me of when Lee Alexander McQueen was running both McQueen and Givenchy and when Virgil Abloh was Creative Director for Louis Vuitton and Off White at the same time. The question that remains is, who will try to align with Fear of God and Jerry Lorenzo? I don’t know if I see Fear of God being acquired. Possibly a minority investment to fuel growth, but then again when you put tens, if not hundreds of millions of dollars in front of someone, who know what they will do. If you’re surprised by the hundreds of millions of dollars comment, don’t be. Jerry is one of the true culture creators of this generation, from NBA collaborations, partnerships with Zegna and countless other projects. He is one of the few people who has the ability to shape how a generation chooses to express themselves.
J.E.: You’ve made several sports references. Why?
R.M.: When we started the innovation team at Gucci, our CEO Marco, asked a friend of his, Rudy Cline-Thomas, to coach me in building new business models. Rudy is not a typical venture capitalist - he thinks differently. He has a background in basketball and works with NBA stars. I started asking questions and tried to be a sponge to soak up all the knowledge and wisdom he has imparted. I am lucky to have his time and mentorship.
R.M.: I love what is happening in sports right now, mostly on the athlete side. Dwyane Wade being an owner of the Utah Jazz is opening people’s eyes to the possibilities that athletes should have in front of them. For a long time, they were shut out of deals and ownership. I think people like Dwyane and Andre Iguodala are paving the way for a new generation of athletes who are going to be more successful after they retire from sports. I love what Draymond Green is doing as well. Instead of allowing other people to tell his story in the media, he is doing it himself. In a way, he is verticalizing his image and narrative so it is not left up to others who may have different interests and incentives. Verticalization is not a new trend, but I appreciate how he is applying the concept in an interesting way.
J.E.: Good segue as I wanted to get your thoughts on startups, venture capital and the markets in general.
R.M.: It is a tough outlook right now. Funding is drying up and everyone from startups to Fortune 500 names are tightening their belts. This is the first time in a decade that we have seen this type of downturn. Turns out you can’t continuously pump money into the economy at the rate that we did over the past two years and not experience wrecking like we are seeing now. I have seen companies raising money on multiples as high at 100x-200x revenue and not think it was weird. There was so much cheap capital for so long, that there is a whole generation of entrepreneurs that forgot about fundamentals like making a profit. I think the good companies will endure, but they will have to adapt.
R.M. I love the resale space - particularly sites with a unique perspective or model like StockX; or that have focused on owning a particular community, like Grailed for streetwear and GOAT for sneakerheads. I think these players have built something that can endure or even thrive in a downturn. My sense is that brands should get into owning their resale presence by bringing the most expensive, rare and cool items in house. Own the top of the pyramid from a product and customer standpoint. For everything else, help the marketplaces with authentication, pictures, listings, product description etc. and take a very small cut of these transactions, without experiencing the costs of running these capital-intensive businesses.
Brands spend a huge amount of capital and time fighting counterfeits, tracking resale value across platforms, and trying to understand and control their presence in the secondhand world. You and I have talked about this a lot. Enabling brands with data and tools to manage these areas is the killer app.
R.M.: It is going to be an interesting time in fashion. As the houses get more powerful because of their size and the diversity in their brands, I think they will be more insulated from the hardships to come than the independents. Without money being poured into the economy via stimulus and stocks at the lows as of late, consumer spending is going to be tough to maintain. We have started to see it in some earnings calls where sales are down twenty, thirty or even forty percent in select businesses. Independent brands that remain outside of the Kering, LVMH and Richemont houses will be ripe for acquisition. I am excited about Salvatore Ferragamo appointing Maximilian Davis as their new Creative Director. I think he’ll be a breath of fresh air for a historic brand. Looking back, of course hindsight is 20/20, the shift to digital was probably overstated a bit and like most pandemic pops - Zoom, Peloton, etc. – consumers are going to return to more in-store shopping. I don’t think it will be as high as 2019 levels, but digital focused companies will have to make sure they are ready in real life. Brands are finding it more difficult to find good talent at the store and corporate level. In talking to friends across the industry, it seems this is apparent in luxury and in mass retailing.
J.E.: Would you build your own brand?
R.M.: I would, but I sure as hell would not do it alone. I would first want to find the right creative team on the brand and design side and then look for a niche in the market to make us unique. Maybe the design, distribution model, marketing, but something needs to set us apart. There is a certain amount of longevity missing from brands and collections these days. It is always about the next collection, next collaboration, and next campaign. Honestly, it was hard to keep track of when I was working at the brands so I cannot imagine how the customer feels when they are bombarded by ten to twenty brands at once. I am not sure this is the right solution, but I like how Aimé Leon Dore has seasonless collections. I wish I was around when people like Yves Saint Laurent or Mr. Dior were designing true couture that would last a lifetime. I know it sounds counterintuitive to much of my sentiment about the fashion and venture market, but I feel that now is a great time to start a business.
J.E.: I heard a rumor that you have a TV series in the works.
R.M.: A close friend, Jeffery, and I were joking around about many of the things we experienced working in the fashion industry over the years. Feuds, politics, unbelievable personalities and more. One of use made a joke about writing the ‘Succession of fashion’ - which I am sure is a phrase that is overused in the media landscape - but we paused for a second and looked at each other and both immediately said ‘I’m in’. Jeffery is an amazing creative but has an incredible understanding of the business side. And I come from a traditional business background, but love the fashion history side, making us good a good complimentary match from a knowledge, experience and skill set standpoint.
We started digging into popular shows like Billions, Empire, Ballers, Industry, Succession, The Morning Show, The Newsroom and Suits, that fetishize different industries, capture family drama, and the struggle to gain and maintain money, control, and power. Yet, nothing that accurately portrays the high stakes game that is the fashion industry. Maybe we are biased, but the business of fashion is a way more interesting premise than being a lawyer or news anchor. Fashion is an industry we are affected by and take part in, whether we like to admit it or not. Society at large has this fascination with fashion whether it be what the First Lady is wearing, the amount of pollution the industry is causing or turning the hottest new creative director into a full-blown celebrity. There is a diversity of stories here that have not been tapped into.
Media is a tough business for those who have worked in the industry their entire lives so we have no illusions that what we want to do will be an instant success, but we are going to find a way to make it work. We are in the process of looking for the right partners and writers to work with on the pilot script.
J.E.: I’m sure I’ll enjoy your show, just like I enjoy your children’s books.
R.M.: All of my co-workers at Gucci had no idea of my side hobby, so it was quite the hot topic the day you brought it up and it definitely led to some sales. I started doing this when I was at Ralph Lauren. My boss at the time, Nishma and I were sitting in the office late one night eating dinner and finishing some work. We were making jokes about other things we would want to do with our lives. She made a joke to me about writing a children's book since I am just a big kid; which is something I take a lot of pride in - not taking myself too seriously. Children have an amazing wonderment and curiosity toward the world, and I have tried to make a conscious effort to not lose that spirit.
After she suggested it, my wheels started turning. When we returned to the office the next day, I had already sketched out a first draft. I was lucky to have some great co-workers at the time who would look through sketches, fonts, formatting etc. with me in between meetings.
My first book, ‘The Adventures of Veggie & Angus Burger’ was published in 2017. I had some mediocre offers from publishers, so I decided to self-publish. Looking back, the book definitely wasn’t my best work, but the fact that I was able to get through the project from start to finish and genuinely enjoy it was exciting. On top of that, having the chance to read the book to my nieces, nephews and friends’ kids, to watch them laugh at the jokes and puns is the best part. I now have four books including, The Adventures of Veggie & Angus Burger, Mr. Kitty’s Kitchen, Girls Poop Too and Little Kitty in the Big City.
R.M.: The coolest thing I have ever done with the books was going back to my elementary school to read the books to my second grade teacher’s class. My mom had kept all my stuff from when I was a kid and found a note from this teacher saying that I had a great sense of humor. It was a special moment to show her that note twenty years later and be able to be there with her class.
J.E.: Do you have a favorite?
R.M.: By far ‘Girls Poop Too’, which I feel like I should give the backstory. I was babysitting my two nieces one day and they were really cranky. I couldn’t figure out why for the life of me and then I realized they needed to use the bathroom. One of them told me that they were embarrassed because they thought it was un-lady like. I think some boy made fun of one of them at camp or something, so like any good children’s book author, I went and bought them the popular book Everyone Poops -literary classic by the way. When I read them the book, they firmly stood up and told me that the book was for boys, which gave me an idea to write Girls Poop Too for them. They were also my test subjects when I was writing the book and working on the illustrations with my friend Cecelia. Just like in business, the different points in which you receive honest feedback in order to change a product, strategy or in this case, a rhyme or illustration is key. Kids are brutally honest so when they didn’t like something they were sure to tell me, but I think because of this, the book turned out to be wonderful.
J.E.: Self publishing seems like the way to go.
R.M.: When I was writing and trying to sell my first book, I received some lowball offers from publishers who were basically going to own me and my work for a seemingly small upfront payment, which is really an advance on royalties. Some publishers even said that if they didn’t sell enough copies of the book, they had the right to take back my advance.
There are certain advantages to a big publisher, like marketing and distribution. They can get your book into five hundred stores at the snap of their fingers and they have no problem spending thousands of dollars on marketing if think they think there will be a return on their investment. But, if your book does blow up, which is rare, you don’t see any of the upside because there are so many middlemen taking a cut. Working through these books has taught me a lot of great lessons in business on top of allowing me to flex my creative side.
R.M.: I was early on to the Web3 stuff because of my books. Certain parts of the Web3 space are really creator friendly, particularly NFTs. I always thought it was nuts that the person doing the hard work of creating art, writing a book, etc. gets left out of the secondary market. I think this will be a key part of this space, but, my advice to brands would be to start engaging with communities as opposed to targeting audiences. They will have a lot of work to do there, but I think brands have a closer relationship with their consumer so the stretch may not be as wide as they think. All of these Web3 things, especially when done by brands, need to focus on value and utility, and brands will have to be a lot more involved with the creation process for value and utility than they have been thus far. It’s a big opportunity but they’re going to have to hustle and be competitive to make it work.
J.E.: You have a hustle and competitive nature that I feel whenever we talk. Where does that come from?
R.M.: My competitive side stems from being an identical twin. Growing up, my brother Joe and I were constantly competing with one another in everything. Sports, school, anything really. It was probably unhealthy at points. But now, with my work and his venture-backed startup Otherworld, we channel that energy into helping and learning from each other. The pressure of work is nothing compared to the pressure Joe and I put on each other growing up. It makes me feel like I can take on anything.
R.M.: I always had drive and began to develop my hustle when I was first exposed to a business environment. I got an internship during my senior year of high school with Mission, a company founded by serial entrepreneur Josh Shaw. I was a dumb kid who thought I knew everything and the guys that ran the company, Josh Shaw, Chris Valetta, and Adam Geisler were so good to me. They introduced me to equity models where their athletes like Dwyane Wade, Mia Hamm, Steve Nash, and Serena Williams were all equity partners in the business instead of paid endorsers. They also didn’t take outside venture funding to launch the company. They all put in money and didn’t take a salary for a period of time. They were ahead of their time in a lot of ways and always found creative ways to get things done.
On top of running an interesting business with top athletes they were good people. I can’t even tell you how many times I messed up and they didn’t fire me - thank you Adam. At one point, the CEO of the company pulled me aside and told me: ‘trust and judgement are the two biggest things I can ever teach you about in business and life. If you have bad judgement, people wont trust you, and if you don’t have trust, any relationship is doomed to fail’. I am paraphrasing of course, but I think about that conversation at least once week. It is how I have tried to conduct myself ever since and I am grateful for their mentorship early on in my career.
J.E.: Last but not least, I like to ask people, where are you at? Or have you been anywhere recently outside of the big city?
R.M.: I recently left Gucci to take some much-needed time to regroup and spent the better part of early 2022 on Hilton Head Island. I am lucky that my wife and I we were able to spend a lot of time down there during the heart of the pandemic and it has become our home away from home. If there is any place to clear your head and plot next steps this is the place to do it. I walked on the beach, read two dozen books, and worked on passion projects I had been putting off alongside some picture-perfect weather. It is paradise - no filter of course.