This interview discusses Annette Green's contributions to The Fragrance Foundation. It begins with a discussion on the history of the company, Green's initial introduction and eventual rehabilitation of the foundation, and it's current position in the industry. Green discusses her involvement with starting the Cosmetic and Fragrance Program at FIT.
Interview with Eugene Grisanti, Chairman, President, and CEO of International Flavors & Fragrances, about Annette Green and the Fragrance Foundation. Discusses the history of trends in fragrance and the history of fragrance itself.
This interview first discusses Dennis Garro's work experience leading up to his move from Macy's to Bloomingdale's in 1986. Garro briefly presents some of the main cultural differences between Macy's and Bloomingdale's as being inherenet within the California culture of Macy's and the New York City culture of Bloomingdale's. Garro shies from comparing Phil Schann (head of Macy's at the time) and Marvin S. Traub (head of Bloomingdale's at the time) other than to say that they were similar leaders. Garro describes Traub and Schann as being the type of leaders who challenge subordinates to continually look for new ways to make a better store. Traub is presented as having a drive to succeed at all things and he says that this is the same way he approaches his work. Garro discusses the Bloomingdale's business style as being merchandise driven as compared to consumer driven, though he does not consider the two as being so different. A discussion of fashion as being about different lifestyles leads to a discussion on Ralph Lauren's designs being fashionable yet traditional. As this was a period when the baby boomer generation was coming into its professional peak, Garro addresses the laid-back business approach of others in his generation, explaining that he as well as his peers are perhaps exceptions. As Senior VP and General Manager of the Men's, Boy's, and Children's divisions at Bloomingdale's, Garro offers insight into the challenges each department faces. He also predicts huge growth in the infant/ toddler division. Finally, Garro addresses the importance of assigning the right person to the right job and this leads to an exploration on the recruiting and staffing at Bloomingdale's. He describes the ideal recruit as someone who is driven, independent, and quick to respond. Garro states that a "thirst for a cultural background is more important than the actual cultural background."
In this interview, Alan Reyburn talks about restuaranteuring in the context of the retail world. Reyburn ran all food operations at Bloomingdale's during the 1980s, including staff restuarants. After briefly describing his past hospitality job working for a cruise line, Reyburn explains that New York City is a restaurant city and the Bloomingdale's client is someone who considers food and dining to be part of the fashionable lifestyle. Reyburn attributes Bloomingdale's Marvin S. Traub for having the total vision that included food operations as part of the Department Store's success. Most notable among Reyburn's projects while at Bloomingdale's was Le Train Bleu, a rooftop restuarant designed to look like the luxury train used by travelers going between Paris and the Mediterranean. Reyburn shares a number of anecdotes about the inception, operation, and overall concept of Le Train Bleu. As Bloomingdale's was one of the few department stores to have its own restuarant at the time, Reyburn explains the challenges specific to running a restaurant within a retail environment. In regards to service, Reyburn believed that good service in the restaurant was even more important to the Bloomingdale's client than good service on the sales floor. Having traveled with Traub for business, Reyburn describes the Bloomingdale's CEO as being indefatigable, an adventurous eater, and keenly aware of his surroundings. He also describes Traub as having more vision than most retailers, seeing a broader picture and having a shorter temper.
In this conversation, Marvin S. Traub talks about his start at Bloomingdale's, and details his first seven positions at the company. He describes the Bloomingdale's customer as being someone who is interested in change and forward fashion, someone who "likes different things at different times" and who expects Bloomingdale's to alert them to the newest trends. Traub expresses his pride at helping to develop the careers of some of the industry's influential designers and executives and credits Bloomingdale's success to its team of talented and respectful employees. Traub talks about the role his wife has played in his life and he discusses his three children and their endeavors. In discussing some of the major changes at Bloomingdale's during Traub's tenure, there is mention of the Country Promotions, the branded shopping bags, the in-house boutiques, and Bloomingdale's role as a cultural center within a community. Traub referes to several different people as role models and peers, including Jed Davidson, Martha Graham, Bill Blass, and his wife, Lee.
As Bloomingdale's VP of Executive Recruitment and Development at the time of this interview, Margaret Hofbeck describes the department store's lengthy training program and how it affects the staffing at higher levels. Hofbeck details the steps that a new hire must take to grow in merchandising and she credits the immediate hands-on training to be what sets Bloomingdale's apart from other stores, in regards to training. Hofbeck talks about her earlier work in advertising and how she was hired at Bloomingdale's to work in labor relations, a position that was created exclusively for her. In regards to Bloomingdale's CEO Marvin S. Traub, Hofbeck credits him as being a pace setter and trend setter. Through Bloomingdale's, Traub has created an entire lifestyle that attracts both customers as well as strong merchandisers. As the one who oversees the recruitment, hiring, and training of all of Bloomingdale's employees, Hofbeck speaks from experience when she describes Traub's ideal employee to be a strong, creative entrepreneur with excellent taste as well as business sense. Hofbeck speaks to the vital balance between the creative side and the business side of Bloomingdale's and argues that the industry, at the time of the interview, needed people with a stronger business sense. This interview was conducted by Estelle Ellis, founder of Business, Inc., a business market research firm.
In this interview, Stravitz focuses mostly on the challenges and successes he has faced in trying to expand the Bloomingdale's model into other markets. In doing this, he covers the importance of paying attention to each market's regional needs as well as ways in which marketing can be tailored to suit a particular market, culturally. At the same time, Stravitz explores what the New York store represents and how that can be carried through in other markets. A larger discussion of the crossover between department stores and specialty stores looks at what makes Bloomingdale's especially strong in both categories. As an example, Stravitz talks about the two "Bloomie's Express" specialty shops which Bloomingdale's had launched at JFK airport a few months before this interview. Stravitz describes the Bloomingdale's customer, across all markets, to be sophisticated, well-traveled, fashionable, and possibly affluent. In discussing his direct boss, Bloomingdale's CEO Marvin S. Traub, Stravitz describes him as deeply caring about the people he works with. He argues that Traub's personal concern for the business as well as the people connected to it result in high expectations as well as a supportive work environment. Traub's encouragement to try new things and his willingness to take the risk and support these ventures, Stravitz suggests, are what make Bloomingdale's an especially creative and entrepreneurial place.
This interview covers broad subjects including women in the retail industry, family work balance, and the evolving role of the department store. The majority of the conversation concerns Bloomingdale's CEO at the time, Marvin S. Traub, with whom Barbara Bass worked closely. Bass talk about Traub's strong relationship with his wife, his high energy, his excellent listening skills, and his long-range style of thinking. Bass describes Traub as being pragmatic, and credits this as the reason why women and men are given equal opportunities in Bloomingdale's. Bass doesn't provide much information about her own job, only to describe her role as that of a "liason between the store line and the merchandising organizations." Though this was a time when there was speculation about the future downfall of department stores, Bass is positive in her statement that department stores will remain relavant as long as they continue to evolve with the customer. While Bass observes trends at this time to be less fast and severe than in the past, she does talk about Bloomingdale's as the birth place and death place of new trends. She then describes Bloomingdale's customer to be upscale, educated, "young-thinking", and traditionally dressed.
This conversation is with Lee Traub, wife of influential Bloomingdale's executive Marvin S. Traub. In this interview, Lee Traub talks about Marvin Traub as a father, a husband, a business man, and a diplomat. She briefly talks about their meeting in 1947 and marriage in 1948 and praises Marvin for being tremendously calm both at home and in work. Lee credits Marvin for possesing a natural confidence that affected the way he was able to work with people and try new things. As the wife of a top executive, Lee provides some personal insight into the Bloomingdale's work environment of the 1960s and early 1970s, recalling a time when the department store was closed on Saturdays. Lee describes Marvin as a gentleman who has made friends with important people all over the world and who operates with a large sense of morality. Lee and Marvin were known as a strong pair and Lee went along with Marvin on several of his international trips. Lee describes her experiences with Marvin in India and France, again pointing to her husband's diplomacy. Finally, Lee attests to Marvin's renowned energy, both physical and mental. In regards to his determination, Lee recounts the story of Marvin being wounded in WWII and how he overcame his debilitating injury.
This interview takes place at a time when Bloomingdale's President Marvin S. Traub was being awarded the "Person Who Makes the Difference" award from the Fashion Institute of Technology. Gordon Cooke discusses the various ways in which Traub's style of leadership and business has made a difference in Bloomingdale's success not just as a department store but as an innovator in the world of promotions and business relations. Cooke uses Bloomingdale's country promotions as examples of Traub's creativity and insight regarding promotions. Cooke discusses the team-syle development of ideas, describing the equal value placed on promotions, design, sales, etc. as being instrumental in the creative development of Bloomingdale's. Cooke credits Bloomingale's with opening up trade with various countries before even the U.S. government had fully developed trade with these countries. Finally, Cooke talks about Traub's collaboration with both established and cutting-edge artists in advertisements and promotions.
This conversation covers very little of Lester Gribetz' life and career at Bloomingdale's. There is a brief intro in which Gribetz lays out his professional trajectory from trainee under Martin S. Traub to his role in merchandising. Like most of Traub's employees at Bloomingdale's, Gribetz praises Traub as a boss and as a person. He describes him as exciting, challenging, enlightened, and demanding. Gribetz attributes Traub's high standards to keeping workers excited and motivated. Traub is described as charitable in a number of the Bloomingdale's interviews but Gribetz shares a specific story of Traub organizing a massive fundraising effort for AIDS research after one of his buyers passed away from the disease. In describing the retail environment, Gribetz explains that a retail career is demanding and varied, and the hard work has discouraged many where others have thrived. Prompted several times to define Bloomingdale's milestones, Gribetz first discusses the team before Martin S. Traub's era and then the transitions and departmental changes that marked a real turning point with Traub. Bloomingdale's food business is discussed as a distinction among other retailers as well as the elaborate country promotions which were at their peak success at the time of this interview. The Bloomingdale's customer is described as being educated, affluent, adventuresome, and inventive. While Gribetz describes these qualities as being somewhat inherent in New Yorkers, he goes on to say that these ideas are present in customers in all regions and that Bloomingdale's still appeals to the mass market because it grants these qualities upon the customer.
Carl Levine describes his early years in the home furnishings business working for his small family business before talking about his start at Bloomingdale's. The Sr. VP of Home Furnishings at the time of this interview, Levine traces the major developments of the Home Furnishings department at Bloomingdale's throughout his 30 years at the department store. Describing the department as "having trouble" when he arrived in 1955, Levine speaks at length about Bloomingdale's decision to manufacture exclusive product overseas with a special attention towards accurate period reproductions. He then talks about working with Barbara D'arcy, the creator of Bloomingdale's innovative model rooms in the 1960s. Levine, who studied furniture and crafts and design at Syracuse University as well as the NY School of Interior Design, addresses the role of education in grooming a successful executive, especially in regards to understanding the history of fashion and design. In talking about Bloomingdale's CEO Marvin S. Traub, Levine describes his strong family life, his essential role as a diplomat in the creation of the country promotions, and his tireless determination and sense of humor. Finally, Levine addresses the concept of the "Bloomingdale's customer", taking into account the increasing number of Bloomingdale's stores across various regions.
