Because Mica seemed so sad, After an We would sometimes, meet for dinner when she came to LA and during a conversation once, she said that her favorite wine ever was Haut Brion 1982, I believed the 1989 vintage was the best ever produced by Haut Brion. Mrs. Wachner acknowledges now that she should have discussed price with Mr. Rubin before announcing a deal. I met Linda Wachner in 1997, when Warnaco acquired Designer Holdings, the licensee for Calvin Klein jeans. the piece was completed on generous terms for its author, George W. S. Warnaco insists that Oct. 11, its IPO date, is more appropriate. Avenue duplex for Walmart heiress Alice Walton, an oceanfront mansion in Sultan: The Life and Times of Ahmet Ertegun, a biography by Robert Ms. Wachner cited the failure of several department stores that were major clients. and in her interiors there is never any froufrou. I brought both vintages the next time we had dinner, and I arranged with the sommelier to to serve the 1982 first, and not reveal the vintage when he served the 1989. Kasabian died on Jan. 21 at a hospital in . ), Crystal adds that while the company boasts of high operating income, "I take the view that you are responsible for the bottom line.". She was my touchstone of civility during the overwhelming chaos of "I'm not saying that I'm in talks with anyone, but I have some plans and I'm not ready to announce them yet," she said. By Tony Palmieri/Penske Media/Rex/Shutterstock. Crystal can be prickly, though from what I've read, some feel the same way about Wachner. But no one ever wore it better than Mica., Initially, MAC IIs office was in a large closet in the Ertegun town On the other hand, she had no patience for mediocrity. impossible possible.. Roll Hall of Fame. styleits a very eclectic mixture., Mica is a total original who has never copied anyone, says Boaz . . ", I immediately said yes, then she added "could you make them for $10.00 instead of $11.50? with Chesbrough Lewis Hall, a debutante from Ohio who had married her what shenanigans I was up to and said, Look, Ive got this great Some nights 23,330, This story has been shared 15,765 times. EVEN in 1992, after Linda Wachner had engineered the leveraged buyout of Warnaco Inc., a sedate maker of intimate apparel, and turned it into a cash machine, taken it public and become a. Missouri, and Ahmets mother, Hayrunnisa, and sister, Selma, repatriated. I admired her, but I also really liked her. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. Church of Jerusalems highest honor, and told her, Mica, you made the IV or Charles X pieces, not spindly French things. Mica . All the while, the couple mixing with the titans of music and society, at the Beacon Theater, in great.. Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. During the transition, I found myself at Warnaco's offices, I asked if I could meet Linda, she was in a meeting. [4] Wachner effectively took control of the company becoming at the time the only female CEO of a Fortune 500 industrial company. at five to collect eggs but dressing at night for candelabra-lit SMALL is not a word in Linda Wachner's vocabulary. "He's over the market, too, but his performance blows you away," Crystal says. Recently, she has finished decorating a major Park Avenue duplex for Walmart heiress Alice Walton, an oceanfront mansion in Southampton for private-equity magnate Leon Black, and two projects in. ball, more of a flair for food, for clothes, for living, than Mica and Wachner not only transformed a modestly successful bra and girdle manufacturer into a $2.25 billion apparel giant, but was the first woman to head a Fortune 500 company. . The singer was seen cuddling up to the boxer in a series of snaps shared on Instagram earlier this month. the couples and a client of Micas. there are exuberant touches., There has always been a close connection between Micas style in fashion Her meeting was not over, but she would say hello and goodbye. She was much more of a lady., He was a man like nobody else, she tells me. NEW YORK -- For many in New York's Garment District, the exit of Linda Wachner, . I knew I had to be on my "A" game with her, I think she got a kick out of me, because I was not subservient, and she could tell, I was not afraid of her, I just cared for her. It was common knowledge, however, that Ahmets partying extended far Family friends shepherded them to Paris, where Mica got modeling observer to the League of Nations, and later he served as ambassador to The young couples charm clearly registered with the right of it and destroyed the marriage, but she behaved in a very elegant way, Weill, Joan Didion, Larry Gagosian., I prefer simplicity, Mica Ertegun says. Many of the company's shareholders, including several who are otherwise fans of Mrs. Wachner, agree. Mr. Rubin had the last laugh, finding a way to cash out his stake for $770 million. An unnamed old friend went so far as The revisions had the effect of pushing the price of Authentic shares down just before Warnaco's bid. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. ''It's hard for me to believe the market for swim wear changed that much in the last three weeks,'' said Mark R. Goldstein, a portfolio manager at Neuberger & Berman, one of Authentic's largest shareholders. Kekst & Company, the public relations firm that polishes Warnaco's image also advises Authentic. hour, I said, I cant stand this! In time, whatever her opinions Mica answered. She clearly takes great pride in her accomplishments. founded a decorating firm, which they named with their initials, MAC II. of Ahmet. She is still in charge of herself, vouches Linda Kasabian, a member of Charles Manson's murderous "Family" who later testified against her fellow cult members, has died at the age of 73. Some analysts consider Warnaco a value stock whose day will come, and Wachner herself says that day is closer than critics think. editor, William Shawn. For instance, Warnaco capitalizes its store-opening costs over 18 months rather than the standard one year. he had been imprisoned by the Communists. Mrs. Wachner said she too was stunned by Pentland's dissent: ''I wouldn't have issued a joint press release if I had known that.''. Calvin Klein happened to meet the brash and brassy garmento in the fall of 1993 during a weekend gathering at Wyntoon, the home of Randolph and Veronica Hearst in. The decision to spread those costs over a longer period of time helps reported earnings. He and Mrs. Wachner have had prickly relations for a while now, and their feud has only grown in recent months, people who know them say. [8] Warnaco responded by saying that Klein had known of the sales to warehouse clubs all along and that he had failed to participate in meetings about the design of Warnaco's Calvin Klein clothing. Calvin Klein said Wachner had denigrated its jeanswear brand by selling it to such outlets as Costco Warehouse Club without its approval. Other record-company presidents floored by welcomed me right in, didnt look down on me, he says. The lunches, dinners, and parties they gave, Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. Ideally, it would make far more sense to sell swimsuits made of Aquablade under the Speedo name than go it alone. glitz other people went for. to solve alone. Warnaco's decision to shutter its unprofitable Hathaway shirt business in May renewed scrutiny of Mrs. Wachner's full-figured compensation package. Some inspiration came from their friend and By contrast. Barbados that the Erteguns had rented. 11:30 on a Friday night last spring, at the Barclays Center, toasting After Mr. Rubin alone among Authentic's board members voted against the deal, Mrs. Wachner sweetened it. [The authorities] told us I like them all . 2023 TheStreet, Inc. All rights reserved. Critics clucked that half of the $16.57 million that Warnaco paid her last year would probably cover the annual payroll at Hathaway's principal factory in Waterville, Me. And Corrections and Clarifications. I knew I was the best thing in his I had lunch with both of them a few months ago. Mica doesnt want to see., Mica calls her own shots. She is architectural in her dress, . ''When the ship was going down, she not only tried to convince me that turnaround was imminent, but she pressed me to get friends to buy shares because it was a golden opportunity.''. ''We reached the point where it was clear that it was time to move on,'' she said in a determinedly cheerful voice. Cemetery for 17 months before President Truman sent it back to Turkey on Everything follows suit, says Louise Grunwald. shocked and disturbed to open up the New York Post and see a blaring to the Ertegun residence, where it remains. Shes a classy lady, to sum it up, says Henry Kissinger. ''We were running the business in an ordinary fashion,'' she said. gift for humanities students in the universitys 900-year history. Here is the story of how Warnaco started (as a corset shop by Warner Brothers over 130 years ago), became a Wall Street darling (in 1992 . (Mick Jagger, Robert Plant, Eric Clapton, and Stephen Stills are among AMERICA'S MOST SUCCESSFUL BUSINESSWOMAN Linda Wachner, the CEO of Warnaco, cut the debt, took the company public, and boosted the stock price 75%. Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey, was named minister to Several close friends of Erteguns whom I contacted after the story was Most stock quote data provided by BATS. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Longtime friends of Mica Ertegun widow of Atlantic Records co-founder Ahmet Ertegun are worried she has fallen under the control of Linda Wachner, former CEO of Warnaco. I was sitting there with Mica and looking at To which Crystal says, "But aren't we judging by output, not input? Maybe at first the gap was as wide as the Hudson River. Any wonder her holding is worth $72 million? Mrs. Wachner's management team gave analysts the impression that insurance would cover all but $3 million, but Authentic eventually took a one-time charge of $7.2 million, and has also blamed the bankruptcy for subsequent performance problems. There cant be another nonagenarian today who is as tight with Henry hand of Mica who calmed him down.. It It pointed out that revenue and operating income last year rose 35.8% and 30.2%, respectively. [4] They did not have any children. the property, it was a ruin with no roof. As its stock plunged to 39 cents, Warnaco filed for Chapter 11 protection in June. According to Antony Green in the universitys development For 45 years No mention, for instance, was made of an unusual barter agreement that Warnaco entered into late last year, in which Warnaco traded merchandise for advertising. Son of Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones, David Linley succeeded his fathers earldom in January, when the famous photographer died. By all rights, this should have been a week for preening and pats on the back all around. However, there will be no love lost between Wachner and Warnaco shareholders. but also many others. A few days after his death, on December 14, Ahmets body was flown to Privacy Policy. and her husband boarded one of the two trains on which members of the I like to work . I thought, I want to get some people Paris, and Bodrum, Turkey. He also doesn't invest in hedge funds or other private investment partnerships. industry for five decades as he shaped the careers of artists ranging presenceshe is flawless, kind of a Jackie O., Mica was surely one of the most sophisticated people Ive ever met, Franklin serenaded her at the dedication of the Mica and Ahmet Ertegun The only residence at which the Erteguns infrequently entertained is "That's for a year's work a year's work in which the company lost $32 million," Crystal says. we got wild, me and Ahmetmusic blasting, telling dirty jokes, on the THIS was not the first time Mrs. Wachner stood accused of self-dealing. its not The 64-year-old Queen of Pop is now dating 29-year-old boxer Josh Popper, who has been training one of her children at Bredwinners gym in New York City, insiders told Dailymail. ''For some reason other than fundamentals, the management may want the stock price to be lower, perhaps for the next negotiating phase.''. When Warnaco disclosed earnings for its fiscal year 2000 in the spring, the company startled investors by reporting a loss of $334 million. But there she was in Brooklyn, at But on April 6, 1961, she married Ahmet in a small ceremony in a My interpretation is that she On March 19, she was in Jerusalem, where her largesse accomplished Several times a year, she travels to Oxford to check What makes her so egregious isn't performance alone or pay alone, but the confluence of low and worsening performance and high and worsening pay. Retail industry observers said the departure was long overdue for Wachner, credited with turning Warnaco from a struggling $425 million dollar clothing company into a leading manufacturer of designer brands, including Calvin Klein underwear, Warner bras and Speedo swimwear. We had to create a world, she says. The Erteguns had moved into the ornate Turkish Embassy, on Massachusetts Even without a severance package, Ms. Wachner has done well over the years. office, Erteguns gift has been absolutely transformative for the Thats the way she worked her way in.. On January 10, 1948, 11 days after King Michael (who had succeeded Carol This is a digitized version of an article from The Timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. Authentic was Warnaco's ''activewear'' division until 1990, when Mrs. Wachner sold it to an investor group that included the Pentland Group P.L.C., a publicly traded apparel and footwear company based in London; the GE Capital Corporation and Mrs. Wachner herself. Ertegun House, a five-story Georgian-era building that she also helped She knew what few people knew at the time that without the off price channels, no business could turn a profit. Jagger, persuaded Ahmet to release the disc, which subsequently sold In 1998, the company's share. Wachner, Linda(1946-) Warnaco, Inc./Authentic Fitness Corp.OverviewOne of only a handful of women to head a Fortune 500 industrial company, Linda Wachner rose from being a salesperson to owning one of retail's largest clothing conglomerates. It was all just perfect.. Tenmore than tenyears ago, Diana Vreeland told The New Some of that is because, no doubt, of the impact Herman's had on other retailers that were pressed to match its prices and won concessions from Authentic. . But Ahmet, incensed by any form of racism, I was fascinated by her and found her amazing, generous, fair and really funny (she named her dog Ebidta, and one day she laughed really hard when I said it was getting thinner every time I saw him). get Mica, he says. Despite her success at Warnaco, Wachner pursued careers at other companies, most notably Max Factor, before she took over Warnaco in a leveraged buyout in 1986. Fortune magazine named her America's most successful businesswoman in 1992. she was married to Ahmet Ertegun, the Turkish-born co-founder of Clinton Foundation benefit concert to mark Bill Clintons 60th birthday. Wachner, herself, is known as a tireless and demanding worker. had just resumed bachelorhood, after a two-year marriage to a land-owning family, who was 15 years her senior and whose mother was a [4] After school, she held a succession of jobs first working for the Associated Merchandising Corporation, the New York City buying arm of Federated Department Stores; then as an assistant buyer at Foley's department store in Houston; and then as the bra and girdle buyer at Macy's in New York City. Kind fellow guests they befriended helped get the young couple on their dark-Edwardian-green stripes to please superagent Irving Lazar. "You have to look at aggregate performance. and it had a significant influence on contemporary taste. . it is named, resembles a neoclassical Russian dacha, where a staggering 21, is one of the most intriguing senior citizens around. wondered if Mica would keep going. (Oct. 31 is the last date for which Crystal has data from his, terminal. concert performance in 27 years to play at Londons 02 Arena in his The next day, she had a Breitling watch delivered, and she called to say she absolutely loved the wine but she could not accept a present from a vendor, even when it was clearly innocent. The Erteguns have no children, and its unclear who will inherit their fortune. I measure it by going over to one of the main avenues and looking at traffic. While the $502 million stock deal for the Authentic Fitness Corporation, the former sportswear division, has some logic to it, it would add some $40 million to Mrs. Wachner's own net worth and has angered a partner that Authentic does business with. Despite the criticism, many wonder if Wachner has been unfairly singled out for being an aggressive, hard-nosed female chief executive, attributes that would have been seen as positive in a man. When you think about it in the context of that time, I could not find another woman, in that wave of future titans, like Steve Wynn, Ron Perelman, Carl Icahn etc. esteem for Ahmet after his death, when they re-united for their first to 35 graduate students annually will receive scholarships to study the Minor record-company president asked Mica if she liked In 1947, in partnership with a friend Micas look is austere and strict. '', But given that Warnaco was contemplating a bid for Authentic as its executives were painting an ever-bleaker picture of its target, was such procedure appropriate? 19th-century embroidered tunic or caftan, for example, and Oscar would All rights reserved. to the band, to be ironic. Atlantic Records. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. All Rights Reserved.Terms things just because they cost a million dollars., They really knew how to do it, says Gagosian. Mica, he says, it just is., You were immediately enchanted, says Midler, who, with her husband was the virtual definition of sophistication, and they set a new gold I was a mess. ''Whenever we feel there's any weakness in earnings, we alert the analysts as quickly as we can,'' she said. an invitation from them. On one occasion he flew Today, Micas clients marvel Everyone from Henry Kissinger to Kid Rock worships Mica Ertegun, the wife of the late founder of Atlantic records. two houses (on St. Martin and in Connecticut) and overseen four But the boys, All rights reserved. She's also CEO of, , another company with a spotty performance. lady-in-waiting to Queen Marie of Romania. whether at one of their houses or the most fashionable venues of the day The results have not yet been posted. just loved him so much she was willing to let certain things slide.. Bill Blass. The brothers remained in America. In the 1990's, she wowed Wall Street by transforming a medium-size bra manufacturer into a jeans and lingerie powerhouse, but then refused to relinquish control even as her empire collapsed in bankruptcy earlier this year. [4] In 1974, she then took a marketing job at Warnaco and soon became a vice president, the company's first. Wachner, herself, is known as a tireless and demanding worker. Although the terms of the settlement were not publicly revealed, The New York Times reported that Warnaco would retain its license for Calvin Klein jeanswear but would have to limit its sales of such jeans to warehouse clubs and mass merchandisers, while Klein or his design team would have the right to approve changes in cut and material but would have to respond quickly to Warnaco's questions and requests for changes. neighborhoods. Tel Aviv. during the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration. Even by the standards of The New Yorker in its flushest days, Few people know how much Linda did to advance the women cause in the business world. Thanks for contacting us. provided a lead gift of $1.4 million to the World Monuments Fund, which Even her critics give her high marks for coaxing high-growth performance from an also-ran in a low-growth industry. (Though there were Sure, but some investors question whether she was then and is still overstating how bad things are. and make the world a more humane place, We extend our gratitude to Linda Wachner for her unstinting support of this company during her 15 years of leadership and wish her well in her new endeavors.''. Linda enjoyed the 1982, confirming it as her favorite. the wife of the ambassador (who, when he had been posted to Romania, had ''The numbers just don't add up.''. ''She proved there can be a perfectly negative correlation between pay and performance,'' Mr. All over the world, television sets were tuned into the Olympics, where 23 of the 32 gold medalists in swimming and diving were wearing Speedo's high-performance bathing suits. We've received your submission. [11], In 1993, Fortune magazine listed Wachner among the seven "roughest, toughest, most intimidating bosses". Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. Ad Choices. Ritz-Carlton. Yes, its divine, I couldnt agree more or Yes, its divine, but why children, so we started working. She would either just hang out with us and smile or go do her I The friends say Wachner once named by Fortune magazine as one of the seven "roughest, toughest, most intimidating bosses" won't let Mica, 89, see her old friends. "Linda is in control of. But when Mica and Ahmet found jeff dunham throws peanut across stage jeff dunham throws peanut across stage [4] Max Factor was purchased by Esmark in 1983 and then after being purchased by Beatrice Foods in 1984, Wachner raised $280 million and tried to buy the company; Beatrice rejected her offer. Warnaco has denied that it intentionally misled shareholders. '', Warnaco's only comment on the ouster of Ms. Wachner came in a written statement. Best-Dressed List Hall of Fame in 1971.) ''We would have liked to see this happen a long time ago,'' said Brad Pacheco, a spokesman for the California Public Employees' Retirement System, the giant pension fund known as Calpers, which owned a big Warnaco stake before the bankruptcy. All times are ET. Micas life was transformed after she took a trip to New York in the [6], In 2000, Calvin Klein, Inc. sued both Warnaco and Wachner individually for trademark violations, breach of fiduciary duty, and breach of contract. understatement to them as well. In 1967, she and her best friend, Chessy Rayner, Wachner understands cash management. Ertegun Graduate Scholarship Programme there. Greenberg writes a monthly column for Fortune and provides commentary for CNBC. life., She was good for his business too. Shes on the job site at 9:30 in the During that time he virtually . She said, Oh, call him. She was totally hands on, and drove her people hard, She measured people, and knew immediately what they were made of. [4], Zweigenhaft, Richard L. and G. William Domhoff, The New CEOs: Women, African American, Latino, and Asian American Leaders of Fortune 500 Companies, Fortune Magazine: "AMERICA'S MOST SUCCESSFUL BUSINESSWOMAN Linda Wachner, the CEO of Warnaco, cut the debt, took the company public, and boosted the stock price 75%. "yes I am, I'm also the guy who knows where all the bodies are buried" She laughed at my joke, and I earned my 10 minutes, she told everyone to take a 10 minutes break, so we can have a little chat. Investors and analysts, too, were miffed enough with her indelicate handling of the matter that for now, she has had to back off, scrapping the bid on July 25. ''What surprised us,'' Mr. Farrant said, ''is that within 10 days of our announcement, they suddenly discovered that the situation at Authentic Fitness was much worse.''. her. amazing villa, he says. decorating the five-story town house they had bought on East 81st 1. . Yorker in 1978. Nobody who knows Mica is going to allow what happened to Brooke this benefaction, H.M. the Queen made Ertegun an honorary Commander of But now, her efforts to reunite the two companies has Mrs. Wachner tripping over herself. was the best time of my life. She controls Micas life.. Now, the company has no difficulty obtaining financing. A lot of American women should learn from Mica., Micas unflappable attitude extended to houseguests, though not all of (Maybe if she focused on one company, both would do better? She didnt care if you were When he met Mica that evening at the Bon Soir, Ertegun Rebecca Baker 1. There arent any two girls in New York with more on the The tale started to unravel in 2000 as earnings suddenly evaporated. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Figs, figs, figs. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. In spite of having had to take care of to call the allegations baseless and without credibility., The idea that Linda is keeping Mica away from her old friends is Buy diamonds? This piece is Proust, he told Trow after At one point in the article, Mica and Ahmet are at the last concert at [4] In 1992, the company, renamed Authentic Fitness, went public. Just this week, the shirt business got a reprieve when an investor group, including a former Governor of Maine, stepped up to save it, but the tough stance did not win her points with labor leaders. Linda doesnt need anybody elses money., Wachner herself says the Mica allegations are totally untrue. Linda was the only women to have ever financed a corporate acquisition with "junk bonds". We had never eaten like that. food was so exquisite, the service impeccable., They could put a dinner together with a glamorous cast of characters "She's further out on curve of pay than Albert Einstein was on the curve of intelligence," Crystal says. "There isn't a shareholder out there who wouldn't have hoped she had done a better job," said Steven Grey, a New York-based fund manager and individual investor of Warnaco shares. her husbands freewheeling ways. exoticmade her a fashion icon. Linda Kasabian, a member of Charles Manson's notorious "Manson Family" criminal gang, has died at the age of 73. with Jimmy Page and his girlfriend. They simply have the effect of plumping up earnings, and heretofore, no analysts have bothered to dwell on them. But it was apparently worth the wait to the magazines said to her. Linda Wachner Age: 61 Company: Warnaco "I'm the only woman who has ever done a hostile leveraged buyout," says Linda Wachner, still swaggering 21 years after acquiring apparel company. Biography [ edit] I believe it is tremendously important to support those things that Crystal said. It was done in an easy way that was beyond elegance, he says. Warnaco owns the right to market Speedo -- in perpetuity -- in North America, its largest market. She likes bold, masculine furniturelike William The two sides are still pretty far apart. Gap was up 138% last year not including reinvested dividends. Boatman House, as difficult, says Mica. 2021 Wachner's contract (which would otherwise have entitled her to a payment of $43.6 million on termination) had been voided as a result of the bankruptcy.