Jarrod Kahn was a salesman for a fashion accessory company named Cipriani Accessories that was owned by his family. During 1993, when Jarrod, was riding a train in New York City to meet a client he was reading a fashion newspaper. He came across an article about CK which was a new brand that was launched by the famous Calvin Klein.
Kahn says, “I felt the brand. I felt it was coming”
He also felt that the drive was there and that they really needed a new brand which could bring something new to their customers. Kahn the Northeastern University graduate urged his uncle to set up a meeting with the officials of Calvin Klein.
Cipriani ultimately ended up with the CK license and proceeded in establishing licensing agreements with other such companies which included the Michael Kors and Donna Karan. These companies were involved in designing and selling their accessories as well. By early 2000s Cipriani had expanded into a small leather and cold-weather accessories such as hats, gloves, and scarves.
When Kahn met Calvin Klein, he thanked him and said, “You made my career”, and the response he received made Kahn more enthusiastic. It was, “I gave you an opportunity and you made your own career.”
Kahn is now serving as the group president of accessories for Centric Brands which designs and produces children’s and adults’ accessories and apparel around the world. Kahn has improved so much in his career. He also claims that he has learned a lot and the most important thing that he always sticks to is, there is no substitute for making high-quality products that customers demand.
He also added up saying, “without passion for the product and feel for the business, it doesn’t matter how book-smart you are.” Kahn has suffered learning disability during his studies which he turned up into motivation to succeed in his career. He says, “learning disability doesn’t mean that you can’t be successful or contribute.”
Justin Aaron
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