EP275 - Mickey Drexler on DTC

Mickey Drexler is the former CEO of Ann Taylor, The Gap, J. Crew, and is a former board member of Apple and Warby Parker. He is currently the CEO of Alex Mill, a digitally native vertical brand, founded by his son Alex Drexler.

He has been dubbed the “Merchant Prince” for his successful turn around of Ann Taylor, and his dramatic transformation of The Gap.

In this broad ranging interview, we cover his distinguished career, his opinion about the recent direct to consumer trends, and much more. The interview is full of juicy tidbits including:

• Getting kicked out of a Levi’s meeting after turning The Gap into a vertical integrated brand with its’ own label.
• His efforts to sell J. Crew to Amazon.
• He turned down Steve Jobs first request to serve on the Apple Board of Directors, and how he later helped Steve and Ron design the Apple retail store.
• Steve Jobs desire to be a direct to consumer brand.
• The pros and cons of intuition versus data to select merchandise.
• His cameo on Breaking Bad.
• How Old Navy was partially inspired by Targets early private label efforts.
• And much more

Episode 275 of the Jason & Scot show was recorded on Wednesday September 8th, 2021.

http://jasonandscot.com

Join your hosts Jason "Retailgeek" Goldberg, Chief Commerce Strategy Officer at Publicis, and Scot Wingo, CEO of GetSpiffy and Co-Founder of ChannelAdvisor as they discuss the latest news and trends in the world of e-commerce and digital shopper marketing.