By ASI EFROS
Can you take us back to the time when you first joined Hanky Panky?
It was in 2004 and I was working for a UK brand called Ghost. Many of the multi brand retailers who were clients of Ghost were telling me that a brand called Hanky Panky was selling like “hot cakes” and a few days later I saw the ad for the Sales Director in WWD. (Back in 2004 job ads were posted in print!) I met with the founders several times along with their business consultant and landed the job. I had no experience with women’s intimates (I was coming from affordable luxury — Moschino, Ghost, Aida Barni…to name a few) but I really felt that meeting the co-founders of Hanky Panky and how truly different they were from anyone I had previously encountered in this business, this would be a good fit for me. Endless opportunity for growth because it had a core product that was more democratic. Accessible for many more women than the premium world I had previously been working in and the 100% manufactured in the USA was also very unique.
There was a room full of sewing machines with talented sewers who were making samples and production lines and the room was always humming. The phone was ringing off the hook “where is my order?” because in June of 2004, the Wall Street Journal had published a front page article about Hanky Panky’s thong and it brought it to the forefront of customers and retailers alike and the “cult following that what a bit of a secret” became known and everyone wanted a piece of it. It was a thrilling time!
How did you protect the integrity of the product while scaling the business globally?
Production (up until Covid) was always in NYC so we were able to control and oversee quality on a daily basis and we chose our partners carefully. Who we said no to was as important as who we said yes to and rarely did we misstep. We found great retailers and distributors around the world and we worked together on positioning and how to best ensure brand positioning within each territory.
A CEO engages the talent, creates the right kind of energy and owns the results for the company. They ensure that the resources within the company are connected to the right initiatives.
As the company grew, how did your role as CEO evolve?
My first time at Hanky Panky (2004-2013) I was responsible for sales and marketing. I cared deeply about revenue growth in the right channels and product development to continue to keep the customers engaged with the brand. When I returned to the company in 2019 (after a 6 year hiatus) I was initially the co-CEO with Lida Orzeck, a co-founder of Hanky Panky. The company had been in a period of slight decline so when I returned, I was very focused on returning the business to a period of growth and to ensure that the right attention and resources were being focused on Direct-to-Consumer, marketing and wholesale product expansion.
As my first hire, I prioritized the head of People & Culture. The company had over 140 employees that stretched from manufacturing to performance marketing. We needed a focus on people and employee engagement to build cross cultural bridges and to ensure we were all working/marching towards the same goals. THEN 5 months into my tenure, COVID hit and the world changed as did my focus. I had to prioritize the business (we were forced to shut down for months from a manufacturing standpoint) , manage the layoffs, ensure we protect our team member’s health and keep the business going. My focus shifted from returning to growth and a focus on business development to people’s safety and an urgent need to shift our production strategy. We had to move to a near shore alternative or go out of business as we would have no product left on the shelf. Demand was through the roof and our supply chain had fallen apart in the US. The strategy and the culture had to be revised to meet the reality of COVID and US manufacturing.
Trust, but verify and don’t let urgency override judgment. Even great teams need a clear Key Performance Indicator (KPI) and reporting systems to stay aligned. And I learned that just because something feels like an emergency to someone on your team doesn’t mean it actually is. Your job as CEO is to maintain the broader perspective, not match everyone else’s stress level.
To discover more about the brand’s enduring legacy and products, visit hankypanky.com and to connect with Brenda Berger in her current role as a Fractional & Interim CEO, reach out to her directly to explore how her leadership experience can support your next chapter of growth.
Brenda Berger, Fractional & Interim CEO
Email: brendaleanneberger@gmail.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/blberger/
See more Intimate Talks interviews by Asi Efros on Lingerie Briefs