Wild Company

August 6, 2012
With no business or retail experience and $1,500, the Zieglers tell their remarkable tale of creating one of the most cutting-edge fashion businesses in the world, Banana Republic, with determination, grit, and boldness. Mel Ziegler, a journalist at the San Francisco Chronicle, and Patricia, an illustrator and courtroom artist at the same paper, were inspired after a visit to Australia’s “disposal stores” to form a company which would use as its theme the “transformative power of clothing,” buying surplus U.S. military goods from auctions to stock their California store. The Zieglers overcame several obstacles, including a warehouse flood, unfilled orders, manufacturing woes, and unreliable workers. Calling their venture a “seat-of-the-pants” business, they concoct a wholly original catalogue that brings in a flood of orders and the rest is history, with a host of profitable stores worldwide. With a new store in Paris and billions of dollars in capital today, the impressive business adventure of the Zieglers’ Banana Republic is a pleasure to read.