From Bankruptcy to Billions: What Meeting the Brooks Brothers CEO Taught Me

From Bankrupt to Billions: What Meeting the Brooks Brothers CEO Taught Me

It’s not every day that you get to meet a CEO.

However, on April 10th, 2024, the Frank G. Zarb School of Business at Hofstra University welcomed back current Brooks Brothers CEO and distinguished alum Ken Ohashi to campus.

Ken’s impact on Brooks Brothers has been extraordinary.

As a company, Brooks Brothers has been around for quite some time.

206 years to be exact.

Founded in 1818, Brooks Brothers is the oldest apparel brand in continuous operation in the United States.

During the pandemic, things appeared bleak for Brooks Brothers.

Ken recalled days when stores would end up with negative sales resulting from customer returning their online orders in store.

Work from home was quickly becoming the new normal, dress codes for offices were becoming more and more casual, and events like prom and graduation were cancelled all throughout the country.

I'm sure we all remember what that looked like...

As a result, Brooks Brothers filed for bankruptcy in July 2020.

Just two months later, Ken assumed control of the company.

At the time of his take over, business was down 70%.

Since then, Ken has revitalized and breathed new life into the company. In remarkable fashion (no pun intended), Brooks Brothers has recovered from bankruptcy to achieve a near billion-dollar valuation.

Ken offered several unique perspectives on business, entrepreneurship, and life circumstances.

Below are 3 powerful takeaways from him that stuck with me.

1. Embrace your Heritage!

Ken is the son of immigrant Japanese parents. He grew up in Elmont, NY.

Ken credits much of his success to his heritage and ethnicity. Through his parents, he learned the value of a dedicated work ethic.

He recalled his father, who worked in the restaurant business, leaving as early as 11 AM and not returning home until 2 AM for up to six days a week.

That’s a 15-hour workday or a 90-hour work week.

Flashforward to the present, Ken and Brooks Brothers are headquartered in New York City, in the heart of a cultural melting pot.

Heritage is personal and unique to everyone. By embracing and connecting with our roots, we may discover ventures previously unexplored.

Earlier in his career, Ken served as the Senior Vice President of International and Global Licensing for Aéropostale. In this role, he oversaw the brand’s development in key areas such as business development, merchandising, planning, corporate and store operations.

Under his leadership, Aéropostale experienced rapid and expansive global growth. In less than five years, Aéropostale expanded into new markets across Asia, Europe, India, the Middle East, North Africa and Latin America and opened over 300 stores in 17 countries.

Ken stressed the importance of cultural sensitivity, awareness, and adeptness.

He also noted the value of doing boots on the ground market research.

Understanding what your clientele wants in theory versus in practice are two very different things.

To understand your client’s needs, it’s crucial to live like they do, experience the same things they do, and learn to understand their culture.

What consumers respond well to here in the United States, can vastly differ to what other regions of the world will respond well to.

Celebrating our heritage and culture helps us gain an authentic understanding of ourselves. For those in global business, this can be a fantastic way to build relationships and connect with partners and clients.

As humans, we have a deeply rooted desire to want to be heard and understood.

What better way than through learning cultural norms, styles, and traditions of the area?

2. Live the Values

From bankrupt to billions is not something that happens accidentally.

That is a result of meticulous planning and strategic foresight all of which started with Ken.

When he took over the company, Ken had two goals in mind:

Make the company profitable and build a company he would be proud of.

When asked about this, Ken responded how he wanted to “build the right culture and value system and encourage my employees to constantly learn and be curious. We are never done learning, and I think that journey is important for every successful leader.”

In order to have others buy into the changes you want to make; you have to uphold those values in an exemplary manner.

Brooks Brothers recent resurgence has been a result of Ken cultivating an environment where employees are encouraged to try new things and given reassurance when mistakes happen.

In the fashion industry, this kind of environment must be immensely helpful for the creative process to thrive. How can innovation prosper without offering the freedom to explore?

Brooks Brothers has taken timeless staples in fashion and reimagined them with a modern twist.

This has played a massive part in the company’s recent success.

3. What’s the Worst that Could Happen?

Ken knew exactly what he was walking into when he took over the company.

Who in their right mind would want to take over a failing company in the middle of a pandemic?!

What really stuck out to me was the overwhelmingly positive, borderline delusional, attitude Ken had in making his decision.

He recalled thinking, “the business was down 70%, and it was challenging but I thought to myself, I’m going to do this, and it is going to be fun. I mean, what’s the worst that could happen?”

I loved this take from Ken. It should serve as a reminder that even if you don’t have all the answers, you should still trust yourself enough to overcome potential problems that come your way.

If you are reading this, I want you to remember that you have survived 100% of the worst moments in your life.

All those times when you didn’t know what to do, where to go, or how to fix something… you managed to get yourself out of that position.

Admittedly, Ken recognized that his decision to take over the company may have been a little, “naive in the sense that I didn’t really overthink it.”

Life presented Ken with an incredible opportunity and he jumped on it with no hesistation.

Analysis paralysis is real.

There are moments in life where you need to put a brave face on and take a leap of faith.

If you don’t bet on yourself, who will?

Final Thoughts

Ken Ohashi’s return to campus was an incredibly valuable experience.

One thing is clear: Ken’s approach to leadership radiates through him by how he carries himself.

Ken is a testament of embodying his company’s values and culture.

He recognized he was speaking to the next generation of business leaders and wanted to share the wisdom he’s learned throughout his career.

He arrived wearing a perfectly tailored sports coat and jeans.

His passion for fashion and love for what he does was clear for everyone in the room to see.

By living authentically true to oneself, I believe we can all accomplish incredible things.

Ken Ohashi’s work at Brooks Brothers bears witness to this.

-JC