History Of Tommy Hilfiger

Tommy Hilfiger has become almost like a household name for some. The company is one of the most famous designers in the fashion world.

Thomas Hilfiger grew up in an Irish-American family in Elmira, New York. Hilfiger never did what his parents wanted him to do. Instead of pursuing a career in engineering; Hilfiger would take trips to New York City and buy jeans. He would then customize them and resell the jeans in a downtown Elmira store called Brown's.

Later on, Hilfiger opened his own store called The People's Place. This store became very popular with the teenagers. In fact, it became so popular that it held more social functions than it sold clothing. Because of competition from a a new mall; the Amot mall, Hilfiger's shop went bankrupt. He was only 25-years-old.

Hilfiger moved to New York City and continued to design clothing. Both Calvin Klein and Perry Ellis offered Hilfiger design positions but he turned them down with ideas of greater plans.

He created the Tommy Hilfiger Corporation in 1984, but did not go public until 1992.

Soon Hilfiger became known for his signature line in menswear. He was also known for his jeans line which he expanded to include women's wear as well. Hilfiger's revenue was in excess of $1.8 billion by 2004 with more than 5,000 employees. Hilfiger had become a success on his own.

Through rumors of personal battles with his ex-wife, Hilfiger remained a success. It wasn't until sales had begun to decline that he decided to sell. He sold his company in 2006 for $1.6 billion to Apax Partners. Phillips-Van Heusen, owner of Calvin Klein bought the Tommy Hilfiger company for $3 billion in 2010.

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