Tory Burch Receives Retail Excellence Award From Wharton’s Baker Retailing Center
Tory Burch was honored with the inaugural Retail Excellence Award from the Wharton School’s Jay H. Baker Retailing Center on Monday night, in recognition of her industry leadership in supporting female entrepreneurs.
Held at the Rainbow Room in New York, guests included Jay Baker, retired president and director of Kohl’s Corp.; Jeff Raider, co-founder and co-chief executive officer of Harry’s; Todd Kahn, CEO of Coach; Laurent Claquin, head of Kering Americas; Debra Perelman, CEO of Revlon; Ryan Breslow, founder and executive chairman of Bolt;
Jill Granoff, managing partner, Eurazeo; Steven Sadove, former chairman and CEO of Saks Inc.; Joe Gromek, former chairman of the New School and former CEO of Warnaco Group; Brendon Hoffman,
CEO of Wolverine Worldwide, and Hayley Boesky, vice chairman of global markets, Bank of America.
The event kicked off Wharton’s 2022
CEO Summit on March 1. The theme of the daylong event is “Values + Purpose: Leading the Neo-Renaissance,” featuring mission-driven leaders and companies.
Burch, who founded her eponymous brand in 2004 with a boutique in New
York City on Elizabeth Street, has created unique retail environments that have felt like a home. Today she has 345 stores around the world, including its new global flagship on Mercer Street in New York
City, and sells at 3,000 department and specialty stores globally.
From the start, Burch has prioritized social responsibility, and in 2009 she launched the Tory Burch Foundation to advance women’s empowerment and entrepreneurship by providing access to capital, education and digital resources.
During the cocktail hour, Baker said he established the Jay H. Baker Retailing Center 20 years ago when no students at University of Pennsylvania were going into retail, and they realized they needed to cultivate the next generation of retail leaders. What began with five students now has 150 to 200 students a year.
In accepting her award, Burch, a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, said, “As a Penn graduate, it is especially meaningful to be recognized by Wharton and the Jay H. Baker Retailing Center. I believe so much in the school that I even hired a Wharton graduate, Pierre-Yves Roussel, and then I married him, too, and he’s my CEO.”
Burch said it’s hard to quantify the impact that Penn had on her. While she wasn’t a Wharton graduate studying business and retail, Penn’s College of Arts and Sciences is where she learned all the critical thinking and tapped into her entrepreneurial side.
Being an art history major, it helped her to look at everything through a creative lens, and be open to different perspectives.
Burch was recognized for her industry leadership and support of women entrepreneurs.
“Art is tangible proof that there will always be another idea, always be another point of view. That applies to almost everything, including fashion, retail and building a business,” she said.
She believes “a market is never too saturated if you have a unique vision.”
When Burch started her company, she set out to create luxury products that were aspirational, yet accessible — pieces that were missing in her own wardrobe. She said she also wanted to create a foundation for women. “It was in my business plan from Day One. How do you build a company that can really change the dynamic for women? Particularly women entrepreneurs,” she said.
As a working mother, she said she understood the obstacles that women faced and still struggle with today. “I realize I was fortunate to have more access than others. I wanted to address the gap and help more women fulfill their dreams,” she said.
She said her ideas didn’t resonate with everyone at first, especially potential investors — many of whom were men.
“One told me never mention business and purpose in the same sentence, and others described it as charity work. But their doubt only made me more determined.”
The summit’s theme, she noted, is “a reminder of just how far we’ve been able to come.”
Burch said one of two entrepreneurs are women but they receive just 2.3 percent of venture capital. “With Bank of America’s commitment of $100 million [to the Tory Burch Foundation], we have awarded close to $75 million in loans to over 4,800 women entrepreneurs and we’re just getting started,” said Burch. The foundation’s next Embrace Ambition Summit will take place June 14 at Lincoln Center.
“Embracing my ambition has been part of my journey since I started the company close to 18 years ago,” said Burch, adding that she’s also committed to bringing men into the conversation. “I’m sure many of whom are fathers of ambitious daughters,” said Burch.
From the beginning, it was her dream to demonstrate how doing good was good for business, Burch said. She believes the foundation can help the bottom line, and that “customers around the world are connecting with our mission, and it’s been wonderful to see our employees be inspired as well.…The business is undeniably stronger for it.”
“There’s an old saying that cash is king. Well I say, if cash is king, then culture is queen,” said Burch.