Speaker 1: You're listening to Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Messer and
Speaker 1: Bloomberg Quick Takes Tim Stinovic on Bloomberg Radio. Well, the
Speaker 1: Tory Birch Foundation has provided more than one point two
Speaker 1: million in grants to help women grow their businesses, and
Speaker 1: the Tory Birch Capital Program has distributed more than seventy
Speaker 1: five million in loans to nearly forty women entrepreneurs. The
Speaker 1: Foundation gearing up for its Embrace Ambition summit that's next week,
Speaker 1: and we're delighted to have with us Uh joining us
Speaker 1: on the phone in New York City. Tory Birch, of course, founder,
Speaker 1: designer and executive chairman of the company and brand that
Speaker 1: bears her name, and the President of the Tory Birch Foundation,
Speaker 1: Lori Fabriano, both as I said on the phone in
Speaker 1: New York City. UM, welcome, Welcome to both of you. Tory,
Speaker 1: great to have you back on Bloomberg. Lorie, welcome, And
Speaker 1: I've got to say I've enjoyed the conversation story that
Speaker 1: we've had over the years. When it comes to the
Speaker 1: work that you guys are doing with your foundation for
Speaker 1: women entrepreneurs, I have to say your summit I'm curious
Speaker 1: about the tone the conversations coming off the pandemic, coming
Speaker 1: off of again questionable times when it comes to the
Speaker 1: economic outlook that tends to impact minorities and women much
Speaker 1: more severely. So tell us a little bit about what
Speaker 1: we can anticipate Tory next week. Yeah, I mean, listen,
Speaker 1: it's it's very good timing based on some of the
Speaker 1: things that we all have experienced the last two years.
Speaker 1: It's been a heartbreaking pandemic obviously, but women have been
Speaker 1: hit extra hard and two million women have left the
Speaker 1: job force alone, So you can imagine the impact that
Speaker 1: takes on women in general, but the economy. Laurie, what
Speaker 1: specifically are you doing at the Foundation in order to
Speaker 1: help these women who have been affected? Um, well, we
Speaker 1: created one program particular, it's Grants for Women of Color Entrepreneurs,
Speaker 1: and we did that in partnership with the Fearless Fund
Speaker 1: and the Crew and also with some help from Goldman Sacks.
Speaker 1: And that is literally to provide grants very quickly to
Speaker 1: wimen of color business owners that are in danger of
Speaker 1: losing their businesses and we want to see them sustain
Speaker 1: and thrive. But during the pandemic, we also really pivoted
Speaker 1: and became one of the primary resources for women trying
Speaker 1: to get p P P loans and for women in
Speaker 1: general trying to just get the information they needed to
Speaker 1: stay in business. We created a web series and for
Speaker 1: a while it was running literally every single week with
Speaker 1: with news and information that women entrepreneurs really need it.
Speaker 1: And tens of thousands of women have been on these
Speaker 1: on our web series. You know, Tory, one of the
Speaker 1: things I remembered from and it's years ago, and I
Speaker 1: think it's when you were starting your foundation and you're
Speaker 1: talking about, you know, these grants for women and entrepreneurs,
Speaker 1: and you know you had this money to to allocate,
Speaker 1: and yet people weren't coming up, you know, coming up,
Speaker 1: ore are applying for It has changed over the years
Speaker 1: when it comes to Womennili there are sources out there
Speaker 1: and accessing um, you know, financial help and assistance, whether
Speaker 1: it's starting a business. And I think about your summit
Speaker 1: right it's now it's third year. The conversations around double
Speaker 1: standards and stereotypes. How is all of this evolving and
Speaker 1: and fingers crossed getting better? Yeah, I mean, first of all,
Speaker 1: the summit we do every two years, UM and so
Speaker 1: it's going to be I think we the first one
Speaker 1: was in two thousand eighteen, so this will be our
Speaker 1: third summit. Um But but I think, um this the
Speaker 1: system and program wasn't right. Initially. We had to figure
Speaker 1: it out and we needed to sort of crack it
Speaker 1: and realized that women. We needed to find the women
Speaker 1: at the right time in the cycle of their business
Speaker 1: and when they actually needed the loan. So once we
Speaker 1: did that, we saw the enormous need and just the
Speaker 1: program that Lorie just mentioned, I can't even tell you.
Speaker 1: I think there are a thousand of applicants seven seven Salvin,
Speaker 1: that the need is enormous. What are the types of
Speaker 1: businesses that are applying? We are the types of people
Speaker 1: who are applying, give us an idea of of of
Speaker 1: who they are. Laurie where he really runs the gamut,
Speaker 1: and it's from all over the country. I mean, you know,
Speaker 1: we see an Alaskan fisherman, We see cosmetics businesses, we
Speaker 1: see architects, um doctors. Even a company called Barraby, which
Speaker 1: is super exciting is weighted blankets. Yeah, that's one of
Speaker 1: our fellows, um In. But I think straight across what
Speaker 1: the programmed Tori is talking about our Fellows program is
Speaker 1: our signature program, and the women in that program are
Speaker 1: extraordinary and all of them they are. I mean, what's
Speaker 1: also amazing about these women businesses? And it's so wonderful
Speaker 1: because that's who Tori is. I mean, when she started
Speaker 1: her company, she started to really start a foundation. But
Speaker 1: that's what we're seeing women do. There's always a double
Speaker 1: bottom line. They're giving back in an extraordinary are ways
Speaker 1: and they're they're becoming so pivotal in their communities. And
Speaker 1: so it's really our honor to help those kind of
Speaker 1: businesses thrive. Well, what is it Tory too about that?
Speaker 1: I was talking to Um on a panel at Milkin,
Speaker 1: the creator, the founder of Figs, and it's just interesting that,
Speaker 1: like from the get go, women think about, Okay, so
Speaker 1: what's my gift back to the community, and just got
Speaker 1: about thirty seconds and then we'll come back and do
Speaker 1: some more just quickly. When I first started the business,
Speaker 1: I was told never to mention purpose and business in
Speaker 1: the same sentence. And clearly today businesses aren't innovative without purpose.
Speaker 1: Women understand that better than anyone. And so when when
Speaker 1: you talk about the entrepreneurs we work with, it's the
Speaker 1: number one thing they're thinking about is how do they
Speaker 1: create positive change? Hey want to get right back to
Speaker 1: our guests. We are talking with Tory Birch, founder, designer
Speaker 1: and executive chair of Tory Burch, and the President of
Speaker 1: the Tory Birch Foundation, Lori Fabriano, both on the phone
Speaker 1: in New York City. We're talking about the upcoming event
Speaker 1: Embrace Ambition, and on June fourteenth, so it's next week.
Speaker 1: I want to talk more about the event and get
Speaker 1: an idea of what UM folks who are interested can
Speaker 1: can anticipate from it. But Tory, I've got to say,
Speaker 1: we're bloomberg and I'd be remiss if I didn't ask
Speaker 1: you on a day, month, year where we are NonStop
Speaker 1: talking about things like inflation, the health of the consumer,
Speaker 1: the uncertainty of the outlook. UM, how concerned are you?
Speaker 1: What are you guys seeing in your business when it
Speaker 1: comes to the health of the consumer, What about inflation,
Speaker 1: what about supply chains? Give us a snapshot if you would,
Speaker 1: I mean, listen, it's been a journey I would. I
Speaker 1: would say, UM, COVID obviously was extremely tough. We had
Speaker 1: a record year last year and then we see the
Speaker 1: first quarters, it's a lot tougher and and but but
Speaker 1: that's it's still very optimistic and we we don't see um.
Speaker 1: We we obviously are very concerned about inflation and all
Speaker 1: that's coming to supply chain issues are extremely challenging, but
Speaker 1: we're taking one at a time and and our business
Speaker 1: is still extremely strong. Tory, how have you managed the
Speaker 1: supply chain? I mean, what changes have you had to
Speaker 1: make as a result of difficulty getting components, as a
Speaker 1: difficulty in terms of shipping. Very luckily, many years ago,
Speaker 1: about eight years ago, I really wanted to diversify with
Speaker 1: where we produce things so we weren't dependent on one area,
Speaker 1: and I think that has helped us a great deal. Um.
Speaker 1: So we really really manufacture all over the world, and
Speaker 1: when one country is down, we're moving supply chain to
Speaker 1: the next. Well. And when you think about things like labor,
Speaker 1: are you getting all the workers you want, whether it's
Speaker 1: in stores and so on, um or if you are,
Speaker 1: are you finding you have to pay up for it?
Speaker 1: Well we are. We are not having trouble hiring people,
Speaker 1: are having the people we need right now. And you know,
Speaker 1: I think time will tell what the toll that inflation
Speaker 1: has in store for us. What do you mean by that?
Speaker 1: You're not saying yeah, go ah, well, we just don't
Speaker 1: we we are not. We are not seeing the full
Speaker 1: impact that I think that's going to becoming our way.
Speaker 1: So we are preparing the best we can with the unknown,
Speaker 1: which we I think do know that will get will
Speaker 1: get much worse. Well, how do you prepare, as you know,
Speaker 1: executive chairman of the company, how do you prepare for
Speaker 1: for what the unknown is? I mean the concept of
Speaker 1: less is more, less of everything, and everything was more integrity,
Speaker 1: making sure that our teams are in great shape, really
Speaker 1: that they're they're doing doing well, but but focusing on
Speaker 1: on product and innovation. And I think that that's something
Speaker 1: that people are still are still shopping, they're still wanting
Speaker 1: to dream, and that's something, um that we hope will
Speaker 1: not change. I love what you said about less is more,
Speaker 1: and I do wonder. I have a nineteen year old
Speaker 1: and she's very strategic and what she buys, she checks
Speaker 1: where things are made. She wants to understand the company
Speaker 1: and doesn't shop a lot, but what she buys is
Speaker 1: as a mother who pays for it the last right.
Speaker 1: So I'm like I think that the consumer has changed,
Speaker 1: and what's exciting for us is a purpose driven company
Speaker 1: is resonating and super important for for the world and
Speaker 1: people that are buying products they want they want more
Speaker 1: to it than just a product. All right, can I
Speaker 1: ask you? And then we're going to move back to
Speaker 1: the summit. So, Tory, we've talked with you about going public.
Speaker 1: You've told us that you know that's never your fun.
Speaker 1: Is it really completely off the table? I mean, I
Speaker 1: get the benefits of being a private company. I see
Speaker 1: it all the time, public versus private. But I'm just curious. Well, listen,
Speaker 1: I can never say never to anything. I don't think
Speaker 1: you can. But I think being private is a luxury,
Speaker 1: is something that I truly love, and I think that
Speaker 1: we um have no plans whatsoever to think in a
Speaker 1: different way. All right, So let's go back to Embrace
Speaker 1: Ambition summit. It is coming up June fourteenth, which happens
Speaker 1: to be my brother's birthday. Flag Day. Yeah, so talk
Speaker 1: to us about LORI come on back in on our conversation,
Speaker 1: the conversation do you want to be having at this
Speaker 1: event that are so relevant and you have certainly household
Speaker 1: names celebrities. You have people that maybe aren't so well
Speaker 1: known but should be your Billy jan King, which we
Speaker 1: were marveling about on our planning call this morning, that
Speaker 1: later this month is the fiftieth anniversary of the passing
Speaker 1: of Title nine. I mean just iconic, LORI absolutely so
Speaker 1: we do. We have two icons coming, Dolores Herta and
Speaker 1: Billy Jane King, and we're doing that because we're also
Speaker 1: just trying to call more attention to the fact that
Speaker 1: history is one is demonstrates one of the biggest biases
Speaker 1: there are when you look at history books, women are
Speaker 1: in a supporting role or they're not there at all,
Speaker 1: and that is so not true to what actually happens.
Speaker 1: So now a lot of outlets are correcting that, a
Speaker 1: lot of people are correcting that, But there's still little
Speaker 1: girls in school not hearing about all the amazing women
Speaker 1: like Billy Jane King and Dolores her To and many
Speaker 1: many others. So it's important to us that we keep
Speaker 1: highlighting these icons. But in addition to that, we're looking
Speaker 1: at some of the toughest issues that are facing us
Speaker 1: today and how biased impacts those issues. Um, be it
Speaker 1: capital punishment, be it gun safety, be it how we
Speaker 1: exited Afghanistan. There's a number of important conversations that need
Speaker 1: to be had, even though sometimes they're difficult. We're gonna
Speaker 1: talk about what systematic racism is and it's impact. We're
Speaker 1: going to talk about the increased violence and bias against
Speaker 1: Asian Americans. So uncomfortable topics, um, but once that we
Speaker 1: have to have if we're going to have any progress. Laura,
Speaker 1: you also have the trans rights activists Chase Strong GEO,
Speaker 1: who people probably know if they follow from the A. C.
Speaker 1: L u Um talk to us a little bit about
Speaker 1: about Chase. So Chase is in my mind, one of
Speaker 1: the heroes in this world. A Chase is actually not
Speaker 1: going to be at the summit because he needs to
Speaker 1: be imports that day. So he has found as somebody
Speaker 1: as wonderful as the Perez who is coming from Texas
Speaker 1: to talk about what's going on with laws that are
Speaker 1: impacting transgender children in Texas. And we're gonna have an
Speaker 1: amazing young woman, Rebecca who is trans who's going to
Speaker 1: be talking about her journey as well, and Tique Milan
Speaker 1: will be facilitating that discussion. Uh and yes, and another
Speaker 1: huge thing that's happening in America right now that we
Speaker 1: feel we need to talk about. You guys really do
Speaker 1: cover so many of the things that we actually talk
Speaker 1: about a lot big issues. Hey, Tory just got about
Speaker 1: thirty seconds left here. What do you hope once the summit,
Speaker 1: the conversations are had, what do you hope people walk
Speaker 1: away with? You know, one thing I love about our
Speaker 1: summit is that we have these difficult conversations, but we
Speaker 1: give ways to action change and that's something that I'm
Speaker 1: hoping people will walk away with it. If we can
Speaker 1: take change one step at a time and everyone there
Speaker 1: start to look at it that way, we can have
Speaker 1: real progress. Well, both of you, thank you so much,
Speaker 1: good luck with the event, and look forward to uh
Speaker 1: seeing some of those conversations and some of the coverage
Speaker 1: of it and really sparking other conversations certainly around the
Speaker 1: country and around the globe. Tory Birch and the president
Speaker 1: of the Tory Birch Foundation, Lori Fabriano, check out the
Speaker 1: Embrace Ambition Summit June two. That's going to do it
Speaker 1: for us on Bloomberg Business Week, tim quite a week inflation.
Speaker 1: I'll see if the pizza price has gone up tonight inflation,
Speaker 1: have a safe and good week, and everyone