Mickey Drexler

“Apple has beautiful design, beautiful product, incredibly functional. But mostly, it's about picking product, getting behind it, marketing it, and introducing it to a customer. What they've done just inspires me.”

“Don't be buying out of emotion. Buy less if you love something but feel it's a risky item. We don't want overstock. And remember: No profit, no fun!”

“I look at companies as price-players or quality-players. The only way to go with J.Crew was quality.”

“You have to build a team, but someone's got to lead, and someone's got to be unpopular at times.”

“My personal opinion about the world is that it's homogenized.”

“You can't separate the clothes from the stores, from the environment.”

“It takes a long time to get a reputation for quality. There are people in our industry, they're basically copiers. Look at the cars on the streets. They all look alike. But if you put quality into a product, then have it validated, you have huge credibility.”

“When I was young in the business, I felt anything I wanted to buy personally and professionally was always too expensive.”

“The No. 1 thing is the product. The goods have to be good, but I care about how you feel about it.”

“When I started at Bloomingdale's as a buyer, Alexander's was a discounter across the street, and every time Alexander's had something that we had at Bloomingdale's, we'd have to meet price. I didn't really want to be in a business where I had no control over my inventory, the value of my inventory.”

“People like consistency. Whether it's a store or a restaurant, they want to come in and see what you are famous for.”

“I always wanted to have my own company. It was a psychological issue.”

“We buy and sell goods. We buy low and sell higher - that's what we all do to make a profit. But I consider a merchant someone who has a certain intuition and instinct, and - very important - knows how to run a business, knows the numbers.”

“Fashion is guaranteed to never always be right.”

“You banter, and you talk, and you get a sense of the speed of thinking and flexibility... It's not terribly scientific, but I interview a dozen or two dozen people a week, and I get a certain vibe reasonably fast.”

“I define leadership as: Emotionally, you own your business. You own it with passion. And you either have or you don't have an economic investment. But when you have all three of those, you are the boss from Day One, and you care every single day more than anyone.”

“I couldn't stand not controlling my own product from how it's manufactured to how it's sold.”

“The British invented the classic look. Men's apparel was created in London, the great English style. You have to respect this country's suits, shirts, shoes, luggage.”

“Training is expensive, and a lot of kids don't get trained, perhaps. So I also identify with the kid or the person who has grown up in environments like I've grown up in.”

“If you get a pant that fits the woman, as all women know, you get a loyal customer for life.”