Hue co-founder Sandy Chilewich explains how the legwear startup financed its growing inventory requirements during early retail expansion.
Opinion
Chilewich Forces Retailers to Drop Knockoff Competitors or Lose Her Inventory
“In America, we don't have any competition, to be honest. I mean, within the stores that we're in, if they carry somebody else's, we've told them, If you carry this, we're pulling out, and nobody lets us pull out.”
Insight
Sandy Chilewich Attributes Success to Endurance and Negative Feedback Over Luck
“I don't think luck had anything to do with it. I don't. I think it has to do with Endurance. It's constantly testing yourself, being open-minded, hugely listening to negative feedback. You've got to be able to listen. You have to listen, and you have to make s…”
Insight
Brands Must Kill Product Lines During Growth to Dominate Retail Categories
“You have to kill a bunch of things while you're growing, in my opinion, and a big one that we did was, back then, there were two sections in a women's, if so, if a woman wants a sock or a tight or a pantyhose, back in those days, there were different sections …”
Disclosure
Hue Was Sold in 1991 Because the Co-Founders Could Not Stop Fighting
“I think my relationship was, With Kathy, she and I both, I think we're both kind of, it was just hard to work together, and I, you know, so it was time, and we were together, we were doing this for a long time, so it was time to move on. I would say it was a l…”
Insight
Sandy Chilewich Warns That a Great Product Is Not a Sustainable Business
“And a product is not a business. The Ray Bowls was a great product, and it was not a business.”
Assertion Supported
Chilewich Aggressively Sues Large Competitors Over Design Infringement
“And we've sued people, and we've made big companies stop when they get too close to our designs.”