The 25 most influential people in retail
Getty Images/Theo Wargo
The retail industry is incredibly competitive, especially as young people are spending less on apparel.
But some people in the industry are innovative and powerful.
These are the most influential people in the industry — they help shape the way we shop.
Mickey Drexler
Who he is: Drexler is the chairman and CEO of J. Crew.
Why he's influential: Drexler has been called the "Merchant Prince." He worked at Ann Taylor and Gap before helping shape J. Crew into a huge success.
Drexler's team is also powerful. Creative director and brand president Jenna Lyons is known for quirky sartorial taste. Somsack Sikhounmuong helped define Madewell's signature "cool girl" look, and now J. Crew is hoping that he'll help reshape the core brand. He was tapped to spearhead J. Crew's women sector during a major corporate shakeup in June.
Amancio Ortega
Who he is: Amancio Ortega is the cofounder of Inditex, which houses the fast-fashion behemoth Zara. He's the world'ssecond-richest man.
Why he's influential: Ortega was the richest man in the world for a few minutes,Forbes reported. Inditex — and Zara — are reshaping the way people think about fast fashion and challenging the industry by churning out runway-inspired designs at a rapid pace.
Mark Parker
Who he is: Mark Parker is the CEO of Nike.
Why he's influential: Few companies innovate as steadily — and as competitively — as Nike does. Parker has been praised for his leadership abilities.
Olivier Rousteing
Who he is: Rousteing is Balmain's creative director.
Why he's influential: Balmain is beloved by the Kardashians and considered a prodigy(he's just 30). Balmain brought high fashion to the masses with its wildly popular collaboration with H&M this fall.
Karl Johnson Persson
Who he is: Persson is the CEO of H&M.
Why he's influential: H&M is an incredibly popular fast-fashion chain. It brings high fashion to the masses with its high-profile collaborations such as its recent collaboration with Balmain.
Stefan Larsson
Who he is: Larsson is the CEO of Ralph Lauren; he replaced Lauren in the role this fall.
Why he's influential: Not only was he tapped to replace Lauren, but he made waves as the Global President of Old Navy, where he helped reshape Old Navy to become the success story of Gap Inc.
Tory Burch
Who she is: Burch is the designer and co-CEO of her namesake brand.
Why she's influential: Burch's bags, flats, and apparel are certainly popular, but she's set on maintaining the brand's luxury; this fall, she vowed to maintain the company's privacy by not going public. Burch continues to innovate; she launched an athletic-wear line called Tory Sport.
Leslie Wexner
Who he is: Wexner is the chairman and CEO of L Brands (formerly Limited Brands), which houses Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works.
Why he's influential: Victoria's Secret holds the market share of lingerie — 61.8%, according to IBIS World. Wexner is credited with making Victoria's Secret appealing to women.
Ed Razek
Who he is: Razek is senior creative at Victoria's Secret and CMO of L Brands.
Why he's influential: Razek is the mastermind behind the iconic Victoria's Secret Fashion Show; he helps cast the women.
Michael Kors
Who he is: Kors is a designer and the chief creative officer for his namesake brand.
Why he's influential: Michael Kors' accessories and apparel are extremely popular among young women, even if the brand's ubiquity has been threatening its luxuriousness.
Ralph Lauren
Who he is: Executive chairman and chief creative officer of Ralph Lauren.
Why he's influential: Even though hestepped down from his position as CEO of his namesake brand this year, Lauren's influence is still strong. "When they start designing things I can’t understand, I'll quit," Lauren said to The New York Times. "But I don't feel like I'm stepping back now."
Brian Cornell
Who he is: Cornell is the CEO and board chairman of Target.
Why he's influential: Cornell's focus on fashion has made Target popular with young people. Cornell also made Target more inclusive with its plus-size line, Ava & Viv.
Kanye West
Who he is: Although he was initially known as a rapper, Kanye West is now a double threat to pop culture as a fashion designer.
Why he's influential: Kanye has carved his niche in sportswear; his Adidas clothing line sold out nearly instantly, and his Yeezy shoes are incredibly popular. Footwear News named the Yeezy Boost "Shoe of the Year."
Jennifer Foyle
Who she is: Foyle is the global brand president of Aerie, American Eagle's lingerie subsidiary.
Why she's influential: Foyle has helped Aerie become the body-positive lingerie retailer for young women, with its unretouched photos.
"We definitely had a creative moment where the team got together and we just said, 'Really, what's happening today with millennials and the next generation?'" Foyle told Business Insider. "And we really felt like girls today are just more independent and stronger than ever. Since nixing Photoshop, Aerie's sales have soared.
David Jaffe
The "I'm no Angel" campaign embraces women of all sizes.
Who he is: Jaffe is the CEO of Ascena.
Why he's influential: Ascena houses many major women's apparel retailers, including Dressbarn, Catherine's, and Lane Bryant, the last of which has become known for an anti-Victoria's Secret ad campaign. This year Ascena swept up Ann Inc. in a merger.
Lee Holman
A woman walks into a store of yogawear retailer Lululemon Athletica in downtown Vancouver
Who he is: Holman is the first creative director of Lululemon.
Why he's influential: Holman, formerly Lululemon's SVP of the women's division, was tapped to take on this game-changing job this fall. Before joining Lululemon in 2014, Holman spent time at Nike in several positions, including creative director. He has worked at Burberry and Abercrombie & Fitch. According to a release at the time of his promotion, he would "oversee both Men's and Women's product design."
Neil Blumenthal
Who he is: Blumenthal is the cofounder of Warby Parker.
Why he's influential: Warby Parker known for its socially aware ethos. The company — previously an e-commerce brand — has launched brick-and-mortar stores.
Kevin Plank
Who he is: Plank is the CEO, chairman, and founder of Under Armour.
Why he's influential: Under Armour, which prides itself on its underdog ethos, has grown explosively in 2015. Plank has told tales of the company's underdog years, showing just how far it's come.
Do Won Chang
Who he is: Chang is the CEO and cofounder of Forever 21.
Why he's influential: Like it or not, Forever 21 is here to stay. Its dirt-cheap fast fashion is very popular with young womenwho want runway-inspired looks for less.
Tadashi Yanai
Who he is: Yanai is the founder, CEO, and president of Fast Retailing, which houses Uniqlo.
Why he's influential: Yanai has been credited with getting men to love shopping; Uniqlo's basics are hits with men.
Terry Lundgren
Who he is: Lundgren is the Chairman, CEO, president, and director of Macy's Inc. It operates Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, Bloomingdale’s Outlet, Macy's Backstage, and Bluemercury stores.
Why he's influential: Macy's may bestruggling, but Lundgren remains a prominent force in retail. He's incredibly candid about Macy's woes.
Emme
Who she is: Emme is a plus-size supermodel and activist who launched "Fashion Without Limits" at Syracuse University. The program teaches budding designers how to design for plus-size bodies.
Why she's influential: Emme launchedFashion Without Limits because a big reason retailers don't sell to larger women is they don't know how to, she says. Emme is looking to solve the problem by going to the root of the problem — where designers are taught.
Ashley Graham
Who she is: Ashley Graham is a model who has become an activist and businesswoman in her own right.
Why she's influential: Graham has been changing the way retailers treat women. Her lingerie line with Addition Elle gives plus-size women the opportunity to wear sexy — not dowdy — undergarments.
Doug McMillon
Who he is: McMillon is the CEO and president of Walmart.
Why he's influential: McMillon has been coming up with ways to keep Walmart ahead of the competition, be it by innovating e-commerce to compete with Amazon to usingnew barcode technology to help eliminate long lines. Fortune called McMillon "the man who's reinventing Walmart."
Eva Chen
Who she is: Chen is the head of fashion partnerships at Instagram and the former editor-in-chief of Lucky.
Why she's influential: Instagram is crucial to fashion and retail companies, and can greatly influence what people buy. She joined the team in July, Women's Wear Dailyreported, and now can help Instagram continue to push its partnership with brands.
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