PRESIDENT AND OPERATING DIRECTOR OF CALVIN KLEIN INC. TOM MARRY ARRIVES FROM NEW YORK TO DUBAI TO PRESENTATION OF A NEW COLLECTION OF SC. ON OUR PARTY, IT WOULD BE AN UNMISBATABLE OCCASION TO MISS THE OPPORTUNITY TO MEET AND TALK WITH THE “RIGHT HAND” OF MOST KELVIN KLEIN. And we did not miss. MET WITH TOM MARRY IN THE WONDERFUL DUBAI HOTEL PARK HYATT AND TALK ABOUT THIS, ABOUT THIS.
Mr. Murray, why did you decide to connect your life with the fashion world?
You know, I’ve always been interested in fashion, not for the sake of fashion, but because this industry is closely connected with commerce. And honestly, not even the fame of Calvin Klein brand interested me in the first place. I just at some point realized that the fashion industry is such a dynamically developing industry that even the artistic components did not play such a big role in my choice of field of activity. Plus, the brand that I represent today seemed extremely interesting to me. I was curious what I could bring to this industry from a business perspective. Fashion is a constantly changing quantity. These are four, and sometimes even six seasons a year, depending on which of our brands we are talking about.
This is indeed a very interesting business. And people come into the fashion industry in a variety of ways. My specialty is psychology, in addition, I got an education as a marketing specialist. That is, I professionally studied advertising and marketing technologies, taking into account the behavioral reactions of people to various kinds of promotions. I also play tennis and ski. It was with skis, in general, that my career began. Many years ago, in 1973, I worked for a company that produced clothes and accessories for skiers. Then the same company began to produce clothes for tennis players. It was then that I realized how interesting it all was to me, how much pleasure I received from my work. Then I devoted my career to other categories of fashion, having worked for several years in the perfume industry. Now I’m quite calmly understanding what the SK unit is doing, producing fashionable perfume lines for men and women. But still, I gained my main experience precisely in the segment of fashionable clothes, which I am very proud of.
All CK brands, from jeans to perfumes, are well known to customers around the world. What do you consider the strongest links in the company's marketing policy?
The market challenges us every day. But we are lucky because, as you already said, Calvin Klein brands are well-known all over the world, and are one of the most recognizable. All this thanks to the high-class image of SK on the world stage. Today we are increasing our presence in all countries. First of all, I consider our largest market segments to be perfumery, where the annual turnover is more than two billion dollars, as well as our jeans and underwear, thanks to which, in fact, the name Calvin Klein has become so widely known outside the United States. Jeans and underwear are also more than two billion dollars a year business. Our plans are to double the turnover of each of the segments I have mentioned, at least twice, and annually. How to achieve this? Constant updating of existing products and the launch of its new types. All our products are supported by very strong advertising campaigns in different regions. We spend about $ 15 million a year only on advertising in international media, with the goal of recognizing IC products in each country. But advertising in itself hardly gave anything if not for the excellent quality of all our products. That is, for the popularity of the UK brands, it is worth thanking both the media and those who directly produce all the brand's goods. Today our production facilities are located in more than 70 countries of the world. That is, we are talking about a giant business. And it works without a glitch.
You came to Dubai to present to the public a new collection of SK. What, in your opinion, is unusual and interesting in it?
We have been operating in the market of Dubai and neighboring countries of the region for several years. I came here a couple of years ago, and I had a very good impression about this country and the region as a whole, since during my previous trip I visited both Oman and Qatar. Today we have 18 stores in the countries of the region, nine of which are in Dubai. And fortunately, they all work at a very high level, if we talk about trade.
The purpose of my current visit is the presentation of the new spring-summer CK Calvin Klein collection, which will also be attended by our creative director Kevin Carrigan. Representatives of local and regional media are invited to the presentation. And for me this is a unique opportunity to chat with people, tell them about our opportunities and plans for the development of the brand, not only in the Middle East region, but also around the world.
What do you think about the future of SK brands in the markets of Russia and the CIS countries?
Already today, Calvin Klein in Russia and the CIS countries is among the most popular and beloved by customers brands. We started to promote our products in these markets about ten years ago, starting, of course, with a jeans line. And today, in my opinion, all our products are sold very well. When I look at the percentage growth in popularity of UK brands around the world, the best numbers are shown by countries such as China, Korea and Russia. Now noticeable and rapid growth is also shown by India and Iran. These, of course, are not so large markets, but still. As for Russia and the CIS countries, we very seriously count on the growth and development of SK brands in these countries for the period of the next five to ten years. Russian buyers take our brands with a bang. Even the famous Russian super-model Natalya Vodyanova became the face of our brand in 2003 and remained until 2007. And this is a very revealing fact.
What else do you see the reasons for such popularity?
I think that one of the main reasons why Russians love Calvin Klein is the simplicity and at the same time, the sophistication and sexuality of our clothes, which are very modern and in tune with the current generation of residents, both Russia and other countries. Believe me, all SK products that we released on the markets of Russia and the CIS have always had positive reviews from consumers. All the other reasons, it seems to me, we have yet to analyze for ourselves to understand what lies the main secret of the popularity of the UK.
If we talk about the potential of the Russian market, I believe that Russian people dress very fashionably and are well versed in the latest trends. That is why we are interested in working and developing our product in Russia and the CIS. And if you look at the situation around the world, you will see that Russian buyers are the most active audience today, and focused on high-quality, fashionable and luxurious products. This applies, you understand, not only to our brand, but also to all our main competitors, both in the segment of jeans and casual clothes, as well as in the segments of perfumery, watches and underwear. Summarizing all of the above, I emphasize that the "Russian" market is very interesting to us, and we will continue to work on it.
Today, many former top models, such as Mila Jovovich, Kate Moss and others, are launching their own personal collections of clothes, cosmetics or perfumes. None of the models turned to the UK to start a joint release of anything nominal?
Usually, though not always, we start working with unknown talents, which later become very famous, thanks to cooperation with CK. So it was, for example, with Kate Moss, who first appeared for commercials at the age of 18, with Natasha Vodianova and other famous people today. Maybe one day the times will come when we will conduct some kind of joint campaigns with celebrities. But nevertheless, the SK brand is an independent and promoted brand, and we will not begin production of any registered “under” brands. But you can think about advertising campaigns.
Which brand do you prefer?
Of course, CK, All that I’m wearing is from the collections of Calvin Klein. Even a perfume. I prefer to dress at our store on Madison Avenue in New York, and have never regretted my purchase.
Is it a commitment to corporate identity? And the truth is said that you made all employees of the company maintain the corporate identity?
Yes and no. The truth, of course, is that I want to match the corporate image of our company. And I succeed. But, I think, even if I did not head Calvin Klein Inc., I would prefer to have this brand in my wardrobe. Because of their quality, above all. And the business style is very impressive to me.
As for our employees, this is indeed so. I forbade them to place photographs, toys and plant flower beds at their workplaces. All stationery - staplers, folders, pens and even ink in them should be black. This is the corporate identity of the company. Even the screensavers on their computers, our employees must approve with management or choose from those that are offered on the company's official website. And by the way, I didn’t invent it. This idea is wholly and entirely owned by Calvin Klein himself, who believes that nothing should distract from productive and creative work. He just had no time to follow this, so I follow.
New York, where Calvin Klein is headquartered, is one of the world fashion capitals, along with Paris, Milan, London and Moscow. Do you think whether Dubai will ever be able to claim the title of the capital of world fashion?
I think Dubai has a very great future. And taking into account everything that is happening here now, I believe that Dubai will very soon, in the next fifty years, be recognized as the new world capital of haute couture.
What would you like to wish our readers?
I would like to thank all buyers from Russia and the CIS for the support that they provided, are providing, and, I hope, will provide our products in different countries of the world, in their homeland, and here in Dubai.
And the day after our interview with Tom Murray, we went to a social party at Four Seasons Golf Club in the Dubai Festival City area. All guests of the evening were met personally by Tom Murray, President and COO of Calvin Klein Inc. and Kevin Carrigan, Creative Director of ck Calvin Klein and Calvin Klein Jeans.
Guests, including many Middle Eastern and international celebrities, such as singer Diana Haddad, Jason Butler, model Helena Yakovlevich bin Dry, Charlie Chuck, Rahaf Al Tawil, Dr. Nicholas Alyssa and Marina Alissa, Christina Lee and many others, were presented a new spring-summer Collection 2008 ck Calvin Klein and Calvin Klein Jeans. Living models in clothes and accessories from SK represented a unique art installation, and were placed inside giant glass cylinders, creating the complete illusion of a living wax museum.
The presence of Mohi-Din Binghendi, president of BinHendi Enterprises, the famous Lebanese couturier Walid Atalla and director Nahla Al Fahad was also almost present. The Dubai presentation took its place of honor on the list of those already held in Tokyo, Shanghai, Beijing, London and New York. Next year, SK is planning a second round of such events, dedicated to the 40th anniversary of the company, in several other major cities of the world.
