Banana Republic: Mel and Patricia Ziegler

How I Built This · 19 Aug 2024 · 1h 31m

What this episode covers

Mel and Patricia Ziegler, former journalists, founded Banana Republic with $1,500 by buying Army surplus, altering it, and selling it through a safari-themed store and catalog. After selling the brand to The Gap in 1983 to escape operational overwhelm, they later founded The Republic of Tea, which they sold after three years to focus on family and travel.

Most relevant to

founders before launch, early-stage companies and companies scaling up

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Banana Republic, The Gap, The Republic of Tea, San Francisco Chronicle
Also
Don Fisher, Mickey Drexler, Napoleon Hill

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