For 26 years, Jack McDonald has been the driving force behind Oxxford Clothes, the Chicago-based Cadillac of men’s suits.
Yet a changing of the guard began this week as the retiring chief executive turned over custody of the venerable menswear manufacturer to Chrys Fisher, former president and chief executive of New York-based Hermes of Paris, the U.S. subsidiary of the French luxury-products company.
The transition is more than the usual shift in the executive suite.
McDonald, 72, has been described as running Oxxford “like a castle with a moat,” an acknowledgment both of his high standards and resistance to change.
Fisher, 47, appears to be lowering the drawbridge-if only somewhat-by pushing for worldwide visibility for the brand now sold in the nation’s top specialty stores (Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue and Barneys New York) for prices of $1,200 to $2,500 a suit.
The new steward of the Oxxford style insists “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” saying his job is “not to change but to enhance.”
But even small changes at the 77-year-old company will capture a lot of industry attention, and McDonald is considered a tough act to follow.
“Is there a replacement for Abraham Lincoln? Is there a replacement for George Washington?” asked Derrill Osborn, vice president and director of men’s clothing at Neiman Marcus in Dallas.
“Jack is one of the top clothing men in this country,” said Elbert O. Hand, president and chief executive of Hartmarx Corp. in Chicago.
Self-proclaimed “keeper of the flame,” McDonald has made his mission at Oxxford one of preservation rather than innovation. Resisting cost-cutting measures, he has maintained a rare Old World craftsmanship, said Joseph Incandela, a director of Fine Clothes Inc., a Boston-based holding company and Oxxford’s parent. The tailored apparel is made of the finest fabric and remains 90 percent handmade.
The suits have attracted an elite clientele including former television newsman Walter Cronkite, Robert Strauss, the U.S. ambassador to the former Soviet Union, and President Clinton.
Clinton donned the Oxxford label during the third presidential debate, reported McDonald, who couldn’t resist quipping: “That’s why he won (the debate).”
McDonald’s retirement has been on the drawing board since 1989, when he sold his majority ownership position to Fine Clothes. At that time, McDonald signed a contract to remain with the firm through 1992. He will serve as a consultant for three years.
The search for his successor began about a year ago. Although Fisher had been contacted informally months ago, he was courted intensively after he left the French firm in December.
His selection surprised some. “He (Fisher) was the last person I would have thought of,” said one retailer. Others cited his lack of manufacturing experience.
It was Fisher’s background in luxury goods and marketing savvy that that won him the job. During his eight years with Hermes, U.S. sales reportedly rose to $60 million from less than $10 million.
“We needed someone familar with high-end product positioning . . . in the 1990s you need to understand how to market value. Fisher understands that nuance,” said Incandela. In addition, Fisher brings experience working with an international company, Incandela said.
Fisher is no stranger to Oxxford style. He says he has worn Oxxford suits for 17 years. “Even my tuxedo is from Oxxford,” Fisher said.
And McDonald points out that when he joined Oxxford in 1966, he, too, came from the retail ranks.
McDonald, a Chicago native, spent 13 years at Maurice L. Rothschild & Co., a local apparel chain, before packing his bags in 1960 and moving to Dallas as a vice president at Neiman Marcus. Six years later he returned to his hometown to head up Oxxford.
Fisher hails from Oklahoma, where his family operated Miss Jackson’s, a tony women’s apparel store in Tulsa. Yet Fisher’s retail baptism came at J.C. Penney Co., where he sold socks and underwear to help pay his way through school. He joined Neiman’s in 1970 and left in 1984 to open an Ace hardware store in Tulsa with a brother. Less than a year later, Fisher left Tulsa to join Hermes.
While McDonald and Fisher share retail roots and a love of luxury goods, there are contrasts other than the 25-year age gap.
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McDonald has a passion for consistency in his schedule. “At least six days a week, you know exactly where he is at any given moment,” said Ted Givans, one of McDonald’s nine grandchildren.
Givans, who works at Hartmarx Specialty Stores Inc., said “dignified” also describes his grandfather: “I’ve never seen the man out of a suit or sport jacket.”
McDonald’s courtly manner and eloquent vocabulary create an air of formality; Fisher is more casual.
Fisher is described by former colleagues such as Melissa Parker, executive vice president and chief executive of Hermes’ U.S. operations, as “dynamic” and a man with “a terrific vision.”
“If it’s possible to be extremely extrovertive, Chrys is,” said Fisher’s brother Bill, owner of Miss Jackson’s. “Chrys moves through a crowd quite well . . . he might have been a politician.”
Fisher is a fitness zealot, working out 1 1/2 hours a day, seven days a week. According to some, he will have to expend much of that energy bolstering Oxxford sales, because the brand’s prices are too high and styling is too stodgy.
Oxxford sales totaled about $25 million in 1989. However, volume slipped 10 percent in the next two years and dropped another 5 percent in 1992.
But the picture has brightened for 1993: Spring sales increased “slightly,” and fall bookings are up 20 percent over last year, reports McDonald.
“The world has changed a lot. Clothes aren’t as important as they used to be and lifestyles are more casual,” said James Posner, president of James Posner & Associates, a New York-based retail consultant.
Incandela defends the company’s recent performance. “It’s a matter of opinion” as to whether Oxxford’s classic styling has failed to keep pace with consumer wishes, he said, adding, “It is not clear to us that we have any more problems than any other luxury menswear.”
“He’s (Fisher) lucky to be in the job. The market for quality clothing is improving,” said Hand, noting Hartmarx’s most expensive brand, Hickey Freeman, has been leading company sales gains for 1993 with a 10 percent increase.
Fisher anticipates doubling current sales to about $45 million by 1998. He opposes lowering prices; marketing to younger men via more contemporary fabrics and patterns is a possibility.
Also in his five-year plan:
– Opening a New York office, showroom and a company-owned store. “I think it’s important to establish a New York presence. New York is the center of the fashion industry,” said Fisher, but he stressed that the Chicago facility at 1220 W. Van Buren St. would not be moved.
– Expanding Oxxford’s inventory to include shirts, sportswear and fragrance.
– Exporting the Oxxford label to Canada, Europe and Japan.
“I have a global perspective,” said Fisher “To be competitive today you have to approach the world as a single market.”
Said the new president, “There’s another chapter about to be written.”