Tom Ford
I think this is a great interview and he was very honest at various points, esp about the recent runway show and how he could have done better. I don't think I have seen him being that honest before about his own 'failures'. In other interviews, he always seemed to put on a facade, very protective and careful about what he has to say about Tom Ford the brand, very well rehearsed at times, almost an invisible barrier he upholds everytime he is interviewed.
Tom Ford is egoistical, and that is nothing new, and that is who he is and that is what makes him interesting. Aren't we all used to it by now? And I still enjoy reading what he has to say.
On the topic of being the top 5 luxury brand & its identity:-
Based on what I have seen, Tom Ford's men collection seemed to have a stronger identity compared to the women's collection. Overall, it seems like he is still trying to find a common ground for the brand as a whole and as much as I like Tom Ford the brand, I don't think he is quite there yet. Yes, he has over 60 stores worldwide but he is no match for Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Chanel, etc at this present time. In less than 10 years? We shall see.
I have been to many of his stores - shop-in-shop in Selfridges & Harrods in London, Holt Renfrew in Toronto, stand-alone boutiques in Shanghai, Hong Kong, including the flagship store in Madison Ave, New York and what I have noticed is, no matter how luxurious the set up is, how picky To Ford is with the setup (Tom Ford has his entourage of designated staff that travels to specific stores to draft up floor plans and orders specific wood panels from Germany - measured up and shipped from there to the stores around the world so that the finalised Tom Ford store has the Tom Ford identity), what I find personally is that the stores are lacking space. They are lacking land space (that is always a challenge as large land retail space is hard to find, esp if you are looking for a prime location as well). I find that the stores are simply too small and too cramped up. Even the flagship store in my opinion. The stairs is pretty tiny. The alley upstairs leading to the shoe section is tight as well. Step into LV, Gucci, Chanel, what you have is massive space, and that is luxurious. Tom Ford store needs to be huge, and it needs to feel spacious. And it needs to have a wider variety of collection available in the store.
One thing I don't understand is limited variety as well as availability of Tom Ford RTW collection in the stores. Yes, it is meant to be exclusive - I am sure the price is exclusive enough but it needs to have a reasonable stock. I can only speak from the stores I have been to, mentioned above. I remembering reading so much about Tom Ford boutiques online and in magazines, and when I finally made it to the stores, I was a tad disappointed by the limited variety of RTW available in stores. I was ready to make my purchases but I had a hard time finding what I wanted. I had to hop a few stores to get what I want, and eventually, did a MTO for a blazer. Staple coloured shirts ran out of stock in most stores because they brought in low quantities - as I was told consistently. The shoes were also quite limited in variety even in both shop-in-shop in London - both Selfridges & Harrods (that was 2012) with exception of Madison Ave. HK fair pretty poor in terms of shoe collection as well, and Melbourne & Sydney are the worst - only 4/5 varieties. It is a shame really.
If Tom Ford is able to address these issues and he will be closer to getting where he wants to be. I know I love shopping in relatively big boutiques and where there is a reasonable variety of RTW available for browsing & subsequently purchasing, I'm sure that is a general consensus, too - correct me if I am wrong. Given so much hype on marketing, it has to match in the stores themselves. That is my opinion.
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