Designer Eileen Fisher discusses how she financed store expansion and production scaling without venture capital in the early years of her brand.
Opinion
Fisher: No one designed simple, minimalist women's clothing in the early 1980s
“And I just had this idea that I could make these simple clothes. No one's really doing it.”
Disclosure
Fisher sold 40% of her company back to employees through an ESOP
“What I did do was sell part of the business to the employees. So we are 40% ESOP, employee-owned”
Insight
Fisher: Japanese kimono's simple shape inspired her brand's aesthetic
“Like, you could really see, like, with the kimono, for example, one shape, you know, for thousands of years, and, you know, they would just do, you know, use different fabrics and different techniques to make it different every time, and, you know, it was beau…”
Opinion
Fisher: No one was making simple women's clothing in the 1980s
“And I just had this idea that I could make these simple clothes. No one's really doing it.”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Fisher: Bootstrapped early orders via staggered delivery and COD payments
“Well, I would have needed about 20 to do the production. And but I got some good advice, actually, while I was at the boutique show, that I deliver a small order first, so I did white just for, like, February delivery, and then I did the other colors for deliv…”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Fisher: The clothing company was profitable throughout its entire early growth
“So it was a combination of credit lines and loans and, you know, self-funding because it was growing and it was profitable. It was always profitable.”