The Ledger
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Retailers cannot sustainably charge consumers a price premium for carbon neutrality
“I could say, I'm gonna be carbon neutral, and you're gonna pay an extra 10 bucks for every unit of clothing in our stores, and because how consumerism works, and how markets works, and economies work, it would be a very, ah, noble thing to do, but you wouldn't…”
Chouinard says relying on customer feedback is too late for true innovation
“If you wait for the customer to tell you what to do, you're too late. So we were our own customer, and I think that was the secret of coming out with products that a lot of the products people didn't even know they wanted or needed.”
Chouinard claims the faster a business grows, the faster it dies
“And in fact, that's why the faster a business grows, the faster it dies also.”
Retrofitting radical workplace flexibility into existing companies is destined to fail
“I've had other companies come to me and say, oh, I love that idea. I think I'll institute it in my company. I say, forget it. You'll fail. Because you have to start with the very first person you hire.”
Chouinard insists Patagonia will never sell out or go public
“We're not gonna sell out. We're not gonna go public.”
Copying Patagonia's flexible work policy fails without early cultural buy-in
“And you know, I've had other companies come to me and say, oh, I love that idea. I think I'll institute it in my company. I say, forget it. You'll fail. Because you have to start with the very first person you hire.”
Patagonia will never sell out or become a publicly traded company
“We're not gonna sell out. We're not gonna go public, and so it's good business.”
Patagonia's advertising budget is only 0.5% of its total sales
“In fact, our advertising budget is one half of one percent of sales, and so I wait for the customer to tell us how much to make.”
To understand entrepreneurs, study juvenile delinquents who reject the status quo
“If you want to understand the entrepreneur, study the juvenile delinquent. Because they're saying, you know, this sucks, I'm going to do it my own way”
Chouinard says Patagonia has no interest in producing inexpensive clothing lines
“And I'm not interested in, in coming out with a line of inexpensive clothes.”
Patagonia spends only 0.5% of its total sales on advertising
“We, in fact, our advertising budget is one half of one percent of sales, and so I wait for the customer to tell us how much to make.”
Chouinard takes five months off yearly to fish, barely calling in
“You know, I take off from June until November. I'm gone. I got a place in Jackson Hole, and I go fishing every day, and I call in maybe three times in the five months that I'm gone.”
Being your own target customer unlocks non-obvious product breakthroughs
“So we were our own customer, and I think that was the secret of coming out with products that, a lot of the products people didn't even know they wanted or needed.”
Chouinard rejected 18% loans from mafia figures during Patagonia's 1980s crisis
“In fact, my accountant introduced me to some mafia guys who wanted to loan me some money at 18% interest, which I turned down, but what saved us is, is we got some personal loans from some friends and pretty much Fired some management that got us into this pro…”
Entrepreneurs should learn by doing incrementally rather than through exhaustive planning
“If I get an idea, I immediately take a step forward and see how that feels. If it feels good, I take another step. If it feels bad, I step back. You know, it's different than people with a scientific view where they think everything out to the nth degree befor…”
Chouinard takes five months off annually to fish, checking in thrice
“I take off from June until November. I'm gone. I got a place in Jackson Hole, and I go fishing every day, and I call in maybe three times in the five months that I'm gone.”
Yvon Chouinard refuses to produce a line of inexpensive Patagonia clothing
“And I'm not interested in, in coming out with a line of inexpensive clothes.”
Patagonia runs mobile trucks that repair damaged clothing from any brand
“In fact, we've got a truck that's going around the country, repairing people's clothes, no matter whether they're Patagonia or not.”
Concept2 Is Exploring Patagonia-Style Purpose Trusts for Company Succession
“We're studying that right now, actually. And, you know, we've looked at things like what Patagonia has done, and, you know, they become kind of this poster child a little bit for this idea of the purpose, trust.”
Patagonia cold-called Circ to recycle warehouses of unrepairable used garments
“One of our first cold calls was from Patagonia, and they have a take-back program where you can come in with a Patagonia garment that's used, it doesn't matter how old, it'll give you some value for it, and then they try to resell it. Or they'll even try to re…”
Yvon Chouinard never took outside investment and owns 100% of Patagonia
“He never took a penny of investment, by the way. He still owns a hundred percent of the company.”
Chouinard: Patagonia operates North America's largest garment repair center
“In fact, we now have the largest garment repair center in North America.”
Women comprise 70% of Patagonia workforce and all upper management
“I mean, I have probably 70% women working for me. I have women in all upper management.”
Patagonia reportedly achieved $750 million in annual sales last year
“Patagonia reportedly did three quarters of a billion dollars in sales last year. Their best year ever.”
Women make up approximately 70% of Patagonia's workforce and upper management
“I have probably 70% women working for me. I have women in all upper management, and I don't wanna lose them.”
Patagonia operates North America's largest garment repair center
“In fact, we now have the largest garment repair center in North America.”
Patagonia generated a reported $750 million in annual sales in 2015
“So despite the fact that endless growth may not be Ivan Chouinard's thing, Patagonia reportedly did three quarters of a billion dollars in sales last year. Their best year ever.”
Yvon Chouinard never took outside investment and owns 100% of Patagonia
“He never took a penny of investment, by the way. He still owns a hundred percent of the company.”
Strava was modeled on Patagonia and Virgin rather than tech peers
“We made a list of if we had been founders of XYZ company, what would it have been? And it was telling because It wasn't a bunch of Silicon Valley companies. I don't think there was, I mean, maybe, maybe we put Apple on there. I can't remember, but otherwise it…”