Ron Frasch
55, Vice Chairman, Saks
By Kristina Zimbalist
Fall 2005 Style & Design
If you were in the front row at shows for the collections in the past
few decades, you probably saw Ron Frasch, who has attended them in his
positions at Bergdorf Goodman (chairman and CEO) and Neiman Marcus (head
of ready-to-wear), among others. "It's the most fun part," he says, "but
I know the minute I get too comfortable with what looks good to me, it's
time to adjust my eye to something that looks a little more radical."
That self-awareness has served Frasch in his latest role as vice
chairman and chief merchant at Saks Fifth Avenue. When he arrived less
than two years ago, he noticed two things: the store had grown too
comfortable with what looked good to it, and the time was right to
adjust to something a little more radical.
To that end, Saks has deep-sixed its once coveted private label to
showcase key designers, revamped its floors to create mini-boutiques and
focused on new talent, including Tory Burch ("explosive business for
women who work who don't want to wear suits," Frasch says) and Valextra,
a high-end accessories label.
"We're trying to create a store with a point of view—maybe like a
woman's closet, where you've got more expensive things, less expensive
things, sexy things and classic things," Frasch says, "but they all have
one point of view: yours."
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