Ronnie Fieg, Kith's founder, argues that passion formed early in life is the most important element of any entrepreneur's success.
Fieg says Kith does not wholesale or license its products, so it controls presentation and can keep stores growing at the same pace as web sales.
Fieg says many luxury companies are overexposed, and he does not need to spend 1,300 to 1,400 dollars per square foot on stores as luxury brands do.
Ronnie Fieg built Kith by serving collectors, not chasing money
Kith shows what a brand looks like when it grows from an early obsession with product. Fieg refuses to work backwards from money, so he serves collectors first, controls presentation by skipping wholesale, and prices so customers get more than they pay for. Hospitality such as Kith Ivy is the next extension of that same loyalty.
Takeaways
Early passion drives entrepreneurial success. Fieg argues that passion formed early in life is the most important element of any entrepreneur's success. He was eight when his mother bought him ASICS Gel-Lyte IIIs, the shoe he later chose from the Onitsuka Tiger archive.
Mediocrity comes from working backwards from money. Patrick O'Shaughnessy observes that every industry has two or three companies doing great work and a sea of mediocrity. Fieg blames that mediocrity on starting from money instead of the product. Senra adds that passion for all of one's work matters most.
Serve loyal collectors before mass customers. David Z drifted toward Broadway tourists, while Fieg wanted local collectors, and by 2009 he was planning a store for dedicated buyers. He says Kith grew by serving existing customers first, since word of mouth builds a stronger bond than Instagram.
Kith controls presentation by avoiding wholesale. Kith does not wholesale or license its products. It is privately held by Fieg and his partner and releases more than 5,000 styles a year. Fieg wants it to stay half digital and half physical, with stores growing as fast as web sales.
Luxury should mean love, not high price. Fieg says people should get more than they pay for, and that many luxury brands are overexposed. His core customers are 28 to 35 and 35 to 44. He skips the 1,300 to 1,400 dollars per square foot luxury brands spend on stores.
Hospitality is next, though product pays better today. Kith Ivy, a 16,000-square-foot padel club and spa in Tribeca with three courts, is the space Fieg is most passionate about. He calls hospitality the future, while product is still the better business. Kith Treats began as a loss leader under 10 dollars.
Fieg stays hands-on in every product. Fieg holds the CEO and creative director roles and is part of every product design. He fitted every sample himself, four hours a week until recently, with about 20 people from materials, merchandising, design and product in the room.
From stockroom to Kith
At 13 Fieg turned down bar mitzvah cash and took a stockroom job at David Z, the shoe chain owned by his second cousin.
He rose to salesperson, assistant manager, buyer and general manager, and built Onitsuka Tiger into a multimillion-dollar business for the chain.
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On this episode 2
Show 1
In 2006 Onitsuka Tiger opened its archive and he chose the Gel-Lyte III. A 252-pair minimum per colorway left extra pairs, which went to Patta in Amsterdam.
A 2007 Wall Street Journal article on his first shoe sold it out. The chief executive of Adidas North America then invited him to a project that became the Black Tie.
Kith began as an 800-square-foot space at the back of Atrium. An Italian party later registered the Kith mark for apparel, and Fieg had to buy it back.