YouSaid · the spoken record

Charlie Clifford

lines on the record: 77
first: 2022-07-25
most recent: 2022-07-25
sittings or episodes: 1
sources: podcast

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“Did that was not an easy number to reach an agreement on, but we reached a number on the value and it was for a fixed amount of money and a percentage of sales up to a cap for a number of years.”
2022-07-25 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tumi & Roam Luggage: Charlie Clifford · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yes, it was. It had four very capacious outside pockets. Our designer had to come up with the concept of putting upside down U-shaped flap opening. So if you imagine the way a hatch opens on a ship. Well, this would open the other way. The U-shaped tongue would flap down, and you had a very wide, easily accessible opening. So it was easy to see what was inside the pockets, and they were very easy to pack and unpack.”
2022-07-25 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tumi & Roam Luggage: Charlie Clifford · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“In 1983, we did introduce our ballistic nylon line, our garment bag, which was designed by Jeff Brotelson before he left, became our best-selling piece. Widely sought after in the industry because from a functional standpoint, we ended up, thanks to Jeff's work with the best design garment bag in the industry. So from 1983 to 1985, we had begun to recover thanks to the movement into nylon luggage and the designs that Jeff Furtelson had come up with before he left the Samsonite.”
2022-07-25 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tumi & Roam Luggage: Charlie Clifford · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“He did not want to leave, and I was determined to see it through. And there were a couple of times that I attempted to backtrack and say, well, let's find a way to resolve different points of view and set up a working relationship, and we'll see this through together. But unfortunately, I was not able to repair the damage that was done by the fact that I was the one who had approached him and suggested that I would buy him out. And during that period, while we were having these negotiations and discussions, unfortunately, other people in the business became aware of it. We lost Jeff Brotelsen, our designer who was hired by Samsonite, our most important salesperson who was a terrific guy, a very charismatic figure, who everybody in the company loved and his customers loved him. So that two-year period from 1983 to 85 was a struggle.”
2022-07-25 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tumi & Roam Luggage: Charlie Clifford · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Well, unfortunately, the real tension began when I decided that the business would be better off if one of us were running it. And I approached him and offered to buy him out. It was unexpected. It was out of the blue, and he was quite disconcerted by my suggestion that I wanted to buy the business, and that meant he would leave if he agreed he would leave and go on do something else. The discussions were on and again off again and lasted the better part of two years because we couldn't come to an agreement.”
2022-07-25 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tumi & Roam Luggage: Charlie Clifford · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Let me just say he was more comfortable with the type of operation that we were running. I started pushing to put more features into the bags and to essentially to upgrade the products that we were selling. Because it became, again, pretty clear to me that there was a terrific opportunity selling more expensive products to frequent travelers. As we would have discussions about whether we want to do that, there was risk involved. It was quite expensive for the time. So we were able to function and do things together, but it was clear that we were seeing things somewhat differently and the financial crisis of the company certainly exacerbated whatever differences there were.”
2022-07-25 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tumi & Roam Luggage: Charlie Clifford · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“We weren't creating demand, we were getting sales because we were distributed by stores where people were frequenting looking to buy bags, but we were not creating any pull through demand.”
2022-07-25 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tumi & Roam Luggage: Charlie Clifford · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“I think one of the major differences was that I began to feel we had to build a brand. We were existing because we're offering a nice product, a differentiated product, but we had no brand loyalty among consumers.”
2022-07-25 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tumi & Roam Luggage: Charlie Clifford · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Well, certainly when a company is under duress like that, there's a tension that everybody in the company is aware of. Before this started, it was apparent that we had some different views as to the best way to run the business and we had different vision for the business.”
2022-07-25 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tumi & Roam Luggage: Charlie Clifford · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“We had use of the money, but the deposits were going first to the bank and then we had use of it. The money was not going to repay the loan. They were letting us run our business, but they just wanted to take greater control because they were concerned about whether or not they were going to get repaid. And there was certainly a big brother mentality to the relationship. No question about it.”
2022-07-25 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tumi & Roam Luggage: Charlie Clifford · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Well, they were certainly concerned, and they began to watch over the business very carefully. They looked at our budgets, our cash flow. They insisted during this period that we set up our receivables so they would go into a lockbox.”
2022-07-25 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tumi & Roam Luggage: Charlie Clifford · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yes, we had gathered with them to talk about quarterly results over lunch, and I can vividly remember the atmosphere changing from one seconds to the next, one minute to the next, when we told them that we had actually lost money the last quarter. The tone of the conversation sobered up very quickly. And before the end of the afternoon, got a call from the banker saying that they wanted us to come down and talk about the business the next week. So we went down on a Monday and they were in a very traditional classic bank building. And I can recall getting off the elevator, walking down the hall to the office number they had given us, and the sign on the frost, a glass above the door said Asset Recovery Department”
2022-07-25 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tumi & Roam Luggage: Charlie Clifford · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“I'm not sure how we survive with that type of interest rates because our bank was our best business partner, which is another segment of the story”
2022-07-25 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tumi & Roam Luggage: Charlie Clifford · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“It was tough times. Inflation was spiraling out of control. At one point during this period, prime interest rates went, I believe the height was 21.5%, over 20%.”
2022-07-25 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tumi & Roam Luggage: Charlie Clifford · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Well, there were a couple of things, perhaps four or five years into this process. I remember discovering the fact that luggage, as you might surmise, as an infrequently purchased product, people buy a piece of luggage and use it for a number of years. But many people do own a variety of travel bags, a variety of luggage. So we felt that if we moved into the luggage stores, we could do a lot more business. And as we made this transition, we discovered that most travelers didn't want to buy a large leather suitcase because they felt that it might get damaged during transit when it was checked by the airlines. So we felt that moving into a fabric, a synthetic material would help us to penetrate this market.”
2022-07-25 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tumi & Roam Luggage: Charlie Clifford · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“I don't remember thinking we were crushing it. I think we were happy that we were making progress and we made progress for another five or six years, steady progress. But I think any entrepreneur part of what motivates you, you're always looking over your shoulder. And we certainly weren't fat and happy. We weren't making a killing in terms of being able to take a lot of money out of the business. We were still very much of a mom and pop business. So happy with the progress, but by no means thinking we had made it.”
2022-07-25 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tumi & Roam Luggage: Charlie Clifford · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Most important product originally was indeed leather duffel bags. They were made from a very rustic leather. They had kind of a handcrafted look to them, which they should have because they were made by leather artisans. And they became very popular because they were very well priced. I believe our most popular size at the time was selling for $49, then $55, then $59. So tremendous value would be several hundred dollars today. We found a ready marketplace for them in stores where people were crafting leather sandals and making leather belts. They were unhappy to buy our leather bags because their customers might think that these bags were being made in the back of these stores where indeed they were making some products for themselves.”
2022-07-25 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tumi & Roam Luggage: Charlie Clifford · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“It's basically a ceremonial knife that was used back in the Incan days. It's got a Peruvian god figure on it, and the bottom of the knife is a curved blade. It was also used as a symbol used for wall posters by the Peruvian Tourism Promotional Agency. So the Tumi figure was a figure that was near and dear to my heart. And when we were trying to come up with a name, I thought Toomey was one that would travel well. For some people it sounded Italian, for other people Finnish. It sounded, it was very easy to pronounce for the Japanese. So I thought it was a name that would travel very well over time.”
2022-07-25 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tumi & Roam Luggage: Charlie Clifford · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“That's correct. A nice guy, smart guy. He was not involved in leather goods, but he did have experience importing products from Colombia.”
2022-07-25 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tumi & Roam Luggage: Charlie Clifford · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“That's right. The two fellows who own the majority of the company, they were reluctant and did not want to focus on leather. So with their blessing, I essentially had an introduction to their leather supplier in Colombia found through my original business partner, another leather supplier, and we set off to focus on the leather business.”
2022-07-25 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tumi & Roam Luggage: Charlie Clifford · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“I should have mentioned those at the outset. They were selling some leather handbags and some small leather duffel bags that were made in Colombia, very rustic, very rugged, a very natural leather for the most part. Very well priced. That was a good price value relationship. So I felt that we should focus on that category because unlike handcrafts, which patterns would vary and sometimes what people ordered at a wall hanging or a rug, it would come in slightly differently because they were made by artisans. The sizing might be different. The colors might be different. So I thought that leather bags would offer the opportunity to focus on a product that had a lot of handwork in it, but essentially be able to be reproduced consistently the same way every time.”
2022-07-25 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tumi & Roam Luggage: Charlie Clifford · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“There was a reasonable amount of enthusiasm, particularly in the gift store market, but in the northeast I was able to sell to Bambergers in New Jersey and Bloomydale's in New York to their gift departments. And we enjoyed a pretty good business there.”
2022-07-25 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tumi & Roam Luggage: Charlie Clifford · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Georgia and his business partner, Dana Danielson, another XP score guy, were bringing in handcrafted rugs, hand-loomed rugs, wall hangings, hand-carved gourds, hand-knit sweaters, costume jewelry that was made by hand, and I became their regional salesperson. I was calling on and visiting stores in the Northeast, going to trade shows, and basically helping them sell their various products.”
2022-07-25 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tumi & Roam Luggage: Charlie Clifford · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Papent And Learned from another friend, another P-Score friend, that George Millard had set up a company that was importing handcrafts from Peru and actually several other South American countries. The name of the company, the trading name was Lomeline, and George had been an associate director of the Peace Corps in Peru and went on to be head of the Peace Corps in Uruguay after leaving Peru. Lovely guy.”
2022-07-25 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tumi & Roam Luggage: Charlie Clifford · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“The period I was there, I carried on communications with my old friend for the Peace Corps, and we talked about potentially starting a business together. And because we had a wonderful experience in Peru, first thing we thought about was potentially getting involved with importing Peruvian handcrafts.”
2022-07-25 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tumi & Roam Luggage: Charlie Clifford · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yes, I was definitely restless and I recognized that I would probably do better in an environment that was not a corporate environment. Almost all of my friends were in the corporate world. They were moving up. They were happy. But I guess I had enough independence and was enough of a maverick that I felt that getting involved in something that was more entrepreneurial, that my own thing would be more interesting and ultimately more satisfying.”
2022-07-25 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tumi & Roam Luggage: Charlie Clifford · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Lacking in support for a small businesses and for entrepreneurs. And in some of the other areas of proof, they had developed industrial parks. They would have all of the... Electricity, all of the infrastructure that businesses need to operate. So there was another Peace Corps volunteer for the MBA program by the name of Jerry Papantonio, who was assigned to Chiclayo along with us. And Jerry and I work with a group of people under the sponsorship of the Chamber of Commerce, and essentially set up a local group of business people to encourage them to organize and promote the idea of Chiklayo getting an industrial park.”
2022-07-25 · How I Built This with Guy Raz · Tumi & Roam Luggage: Charlie Clifford · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT