The Clifton Review

The Clifton Review is a tri-weekly column that examines the question of the Clifton project along with the evolution of the war between two billionaires. We covered the start of this war with articles describing the battle over easement rights, the mysterious burning of a home, the blocks to rebuilding, and countless questionable court filings.

The 2018 series salutes fashion mogul Peter Nygard’s Golden Jubilee detailing his rags to riches story and incredible business success over these past fifty years. The Clifton Review will take an inside look at how he did it.

How Does Nygard Do It?

By P.J. Malone

Many business leaders will tell you that it is a challenge to keep good employees loyal to their company especially in this era of millennials who are known to be transient in their employment.

Fashion mogul Peter Nygard has managed to keep a lot of employees loyal to his company for more than twenty-five years. Some employees have been with him for more than thirty-five years. 

We’ve already reviewed his leadership ability and discovered that he finds the right people and helps to develop them; he invests in his employees and allows them to use their creativity; and he empowers his employees including inexperienced young people and women. This certainly makes a big contribution to loyalty.

It would be interesting to discover how Nygard practices the principles outlined by two university professors to be able to keep his employees loyal for so many years.

As discussed in out last Clifton Review, Professors Bertrand Moingeon and Amy C. Edmondson described what it takes to keep good talent. They emphasized the need for organizations to have a mission, vision and core values that are understood, valued and owned by employees. 

This is important because a Gallup study showed that 83% of employees they assessed felt it was very important to believe their life had a purpose, which carries over to the work they do for a company.

So how does Peter Nygard manifest these principles within his organization to be able to have seventy employees who’ve been with the company for twenty-five plus years and many others who have been with the company for more than five years?

Well it begins with his mission. As previously stated by an employee who had been with the company more than 5 years, “What I really like about NYGÅRD is that the focus is on making the whole woman feel beautiful. I love being able to contribute to that!

How does the company demonstrate this of mission making the whole woman feel beautiful? It focuses on the woman’s needs and desires. Women want to feel beautiful by minimizing their flaws and enhancing certain features. Nygard makes a pant that minimizes the ‘muffin top’/stomach and lifts the butt and elongates the legs—SLIMS.

And, he is not just focused on the model-sized women; Nygard is focused on size 6 all the way up to size 20. In the design stage, he tries the pant on different size women so that women of all sizes can benefit from the style and design of NYGÅRD pants.

If employees working for a fashion company believe that they are making a difference in the lives of many women by making them feel beautiful with the company’s fashions, this is very meaningful to them.

When it comes to the company’s vision, Peter Nygard ensures that he has employee buy-in. His company has two annual meetings that are solely focused on the way forward. These meetings are said to involve his employees in a big way.

Employees provide key input on the way forward. In addition, these week-long meetings are said to involve a lot of fun activities for the participants during their down time. Then it culminates with an end-of-week banquet for the entire staff to celebrate and have a good time.

The company’s values of having a commitment to quality fashion, service, and innovative thinking are continuously demonstrated. Employees can see how this has paid off for them in that NYGÅRD is always setting the benchmark for other fashion houses to follow.

Such participation by employees in the mission, vision and values of the company will no doubt always make them feel like an important part of the company and make them want to remain with a company that doesn’t just espouse their values but ensures that it is continuously demonstrated.