Patagonia. Not wanting your money.
Patagonia seems to make every wrong decision in business, and yet it has never been more profitable. The best sales strategy on earth might be genuinely not wanting your money.
THE GIST ON PATAGONIA: "When Honesty Pays"
What does Patagonia do?
It makes about a billion and a half dollars a year by actively repelling customers. It tells you not to buy its products. It repairs your old jacket for free instead of selling you a new one. It has run ads on Black Friday telling people to stop shopping.
And the weird part?
Four years ago the founder gave away the entire three billion dollar company to a climate non-profit, kissing goodbye to a hundred million dollars a year in profit. The family kept two percent of the shares, not for the money but for the voting rights, so no future CEO can deviate from the mission.
Revenue hasn't dropped. If anything it has gone up.
Why does it work?
We live in a world so full of spin that sincerity has become rare, and rare things are valuable. Trust is now the scarcest resource in the economy.
The founder once said every time he made a decision that was best for the planet, he made money. The simplest way to manage a narrative is to just mean it.
Is Patagonia genuinely good, or brilliant marketing?
Your take. One tap, then see how everyone else voted.
Quick answers
What does Patagonia do that other brands don't?
It tells you not to buy, repairs old jackets for free and has run Black Friday ads telling people to stop shopping.
What did the founder do with the company?
He gave the entire three billion dollar company to a climate non-profit.
What did the family keep?
Two percent of the shares, for the voting rights.
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