Alumnus Says Brand Purpose Is a Key Element to Success

Going back to the origin story is part of the proven methodology alumnus Richard Dickson ’90 uses to build successful brands. In a return to his University of Maryland roots during Homecoming Week, Dickson spent the afternoon of Friday, Oct. 18, at the Robert H. Smith School of Business talking about his own journey from Terp to leading toymaker Mattel and to today, as he ushers top fashion retailer Gap, Inc., into a new chapter as its CEO.

Dean Prabhudev Konana moderated two separate sessions on campus with Dickson—one with students and one with faculty, staff and advisory council members as part of Smith’s Advisory Council Day. During each session, Dickson talked about the role of technology in the fashion industry, sustainability challenges and, of course, bringing Barbie to the big screen.

The common thread in Dickson’s success story, from his beginnings in the retail training program at Bloomingdales, to creating successful e-commerce site Gloss.com, was leaning into the humble beginnings of a brand and its relevance to consumers.

“Purpose can make a brand immortal. And that’s essentially what every brand needs to understand and discover,” Dickson said, as he explained how he was able to grow Mattel’s iconic Barbie brand beyond the doll during his tenure at the renowned toymaker. It’s a methodology that Dickson believes can “be applied to any brand that’s looking for either its revitalization or its continued growth.” It starts with the question as to why the brand exists and what its relevance is in relation to that origin story.

Hi, Barbie!

When Mattel called Dickson, Barbie had a 96% doll market share. “They wanted me to come in and develop Barbie.com and turn a doll into a brand that was more lifestyle oriented.” His first step was to go back to the beginning and really understand what the Barbie brand was about. “Barbie’s original purpose was to inspire the imagination of little girls to imagine that they could be anything they wanted to be. And that was an origin story from the founder who developed this brand for her daughter, Barbara,” Dickson said, adding that in 1959 there was a limited path for girls and women to imagine.

Dickson served as an executive producer of Greta Gerwig’s hit 2023 film “Barbie,” and said he credits a “big part” of his evolution as a brand leader to the conversations around the script development. He said he embraced the idea of “being uncomfortable” and exposing some of the challenging conversations about the brand because “people would rather us be more authentic and create progress and recognize its not perfection,” resulting in more brand affinity. He said working with trusted, genius creatives like Gerwig, and stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, also encouraged him to take the leap.

A Gap for All Generations

In 1969, a couple from San Francisco wanted to create a place where people of all sizes and all ages could get their jeans. Dickson said what Don Fisher, the founder of The Gap, was really saying at that point was “inclusivity.” The Gap, which was originally called “The Generation Gap” until Fisher’s wife, Doris, removed the word “generation” from the title, was a store that sold jeans, records and tapes. Today, it is the second largest specialty retail apparel business in the country.

“The process of Gap as a pop culture place of inclusivity that bridged the generation gap had grown, but also sort of lost its relevance at some point. So now we are on the journey to say, how do we get that relevance back? We go back to the origin story,” Dickson said. He referenced new commercials for The Gap with singer Troye Sivan and fashion collaborations with Cult Gaia and Madhappy as part of that journey. The retailer’s portfolio also includes brands Old Navy, Banana Republic and Athleta.

Technology, Sustainability and Fashion

Dickson said Gap, Inc., is in the “early stages of a digital first mindset.” He added that it is not just driving new tech to become a tech company but using technology to enable the business and brands to deliver better customer experiences. He added that it’s moving from what was bricks and mortar and e-commerce to an omnichannel experience, where the digital tools enable a more seamless connection.

Having recently returned from a meeting with the Fashion Pact, a consortium of CEOs forging a nature-positive, net zero future for fashion, Dickson said, though there are well-intentioned programs, there aren’t enough and that organizations need to do “bigger, more meaningful work.” Dickson added that consumers are not willing to pay more today for recyclable materials or products made from sustainable processes. He said that marketing principles need to change to encourage consumers to support businesses who are trying “to do more of the right thing.”

Love What You Do

Dickson said when he was a teen, his mother would encourage him to sit down and write out his goals. A year ago, she sent him a memento from his own origin story: a framed picture of what some of those goals were. “Literally, every one of those visualized destinations for my personal journey came true,” Dickson said, referencing the goals of being president of a fashion company and living in California as a few that he had put down on paper at age 17. He stressed that achieving those goals didn’t just happen, but part of what he believes in life and in business is having a “long view” and knowing where you want to go.

“I get out of bed everyday and can’t wait to engage in what I do. I don’t work, I live.” Dickson encouraged the audience that as long as you are doing more of what you love and less of what you like, “the balance of life works out really well.”