Someone Behind the Success Kate Spade
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| Kate Spade |
Great things can come from
anywhere, even deadlocks. Katherine Noel Brosnahan is one of the people who
managed to prove it. Not familiar with the name, what about the name of Kate
Spade?
Yes, Katherine Noel Brosnahan is
the founder of Kate Spade brand. She married her husband, Andy Spade, and has
since changed her name to Kate Spade. He also uses the name as a fashion brand,
namely Kate Spade New York (NY), which in 2015 and managed to gain sales of up
to US $1.24 billion!
In fact, once Katherine began his
career as a journalist. How could she build Kate Spade NY to such a huge
success now?
Born in Kansas City, Missouri, on
December 4, 1962, Katherine spent her childhood there. Entering college, he
moved to Arizona to study in journalism at Arizona State University and
graduated in 1985. There he met her husband, Andy Spade, who studied
architecture majors. After graduation, both moved to New York City in 1986.
Katherine also worked as a Style Editor at Mademoissele, a women's magazine.
Years of work at Mademoissele in
fashion, Katherine realized that she had never found a bag in the style that
fitted her. On the other hand, he also began to feel bored working at
Mademoissele, but did not yet know where to take his career. Thanks to advice
from Andy, Katherine was finally decided to get out of Mademoissele for the
creation of a product bag in accordance with his wishes. He plunged himself in
researching the style of bags on the market, cloth used, production costs, to
marketing.
In 1996, the first Kate Spade NY
store officially opened in Soho, NYC. Eight months later, there was a
journalist from Cleveland Research Co. who offered to buy some of Kate Spade
NY's shares as they were interested in the growth potential of her brand. Since
then, Kate Spade NY continues to experience positive developments to be able to
penetrate the international market.
Initially, Katherine only produced
six models of large handbags of brightly colored nylon material. Over time, he
also expanded to create other products, ranging from shoes, wallets, glasses,
pajamas, to stationery and personal organizer. In fact, in 2004, Kate Spade at
Home was officially launched to provide a collection of home decorations, such
as wallpapers, bathroom fixtures, and beddings. In the same year, Kate Spade
also has thirteen stores spread across the US.
In addition to the types of
products mentioned above, Kate Spade NY also produces perfumes. Kate Spade NY's
first perfume product was launched in 2003 and was given the same brand name as
Kate Spade. In 2010, Kate Spade re-launched a perfume called Twirl. As one of
Kate Spade's 20th birthday celebrations in 2013, a new perfume called Live
Colorfully was launched. Every Kate Spade NY product is sold in a special
package, with a card containing a brief description of Katherine and Andy's
journey.
In 1998, when the growth of Kate
Spade NY began to look fast, Katherine managed to get total sales up to US $27
million. A year later, Neiman Marcus Group, the parent of a department store
named Neiman Marcus, bought 56% of Kate Spade NY shares for US $34 million. In
2006, Neiman Macus Group acquired Kate Spade NY by acquiring the remaining 44%
of the shares.
After Katherine was no longer the
owner of Kate Spade NY, the company also appointed Deborah Lloyd as president
and Chief Creative Officer. Previously, Deborah had worked in several other
well-known fashion brands such as Banana Republic, Burberry, Kenzo, and
Hechter. Until now, he still holds the same position in Kate Spade NY.
So what did Katherine do now that
she no longer belongs to Kate Spade NY? Apparently he has a new fashion label
named Frances Valentine, who will later sell more shoes than bags. As a form of
support for his new brand, Katherine decided to change her name to Kate
Valentine. Moreover, it turns out the name Valentine has a special meaning for
him. Valentine is the name of the father of his mother because he was born on
Valentine's Day. So, he has absolutely no negative intent behind the name
change. All done purely to distinguish his name from the brand Kate Spade NY.
After more than twenty years, Kate
Spade NY is still able to develop as a fashion brand without leaving the
hallmark of the initial design of the character Katherine thick with fresh and
fun nuances.
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