"Ordinarily what drives people is money, by and large the insecurity
of not having it, the insecurity of being labeled a failure," Mow says. "For me
it's career. We must measure ourselves against the very best. That's where
the game of life is. If you measure up to the best, you're already making
money."
"The challenge is creativity. Creating something out of nothing, out of the
mind. Bugle Boy is made out of nothing, like all good businesses."
"I am driven by people saying Bugle Boy is a hell of a company. The ultimate
thing anyone can do is to reach the people. Bugle Boy has revolutionized the
way people dress. It's a name that will be here even when I'm gone."
Among salespeople and consumers Bugle Boy enjoys universal recognition as
a brand that provides consistent quality. "Their young men's lines are
trend-conscious," says an assistant sales manager at a Los Angeles area May
Company department store. An example is its drawstring pants in colorful,
non-denim fabrics, though its main line is more rugged denims. Bugle Boy's
success in the trendier young men's market may be something of a marketing
handicap in the far more conservative men's market. As they go into their
mid-20s most men reject self-conscious fashion statements in favor of jeans
that provide basic comfort and durability--the traditional stronghold of
Levi-Strauss. With its disciplined approach to rugged styling Levis enjoys
across-the-board access to virtually all department stores while Bugle Boy
seems still to be largely limited to middle-market stores like Sears and May
Company. Creating a winning identity for its men's lines will definitely prove
a challenge for Mow.
Socially, Mow claims to have no ambitions. "I never went out of my way to
make a connection I can use. That kind of connection is only skin deep. The
reason a connection is useful to you is because it's useful to the other person.
No one is here to do you a favor. I've seen the whole thing through to the
end--that is very Oriental, to see the whole thing through to the end. It's not
Western at all. Western is, you meet an acquaintence, you get together, you
want to get into something. Typically what you get into is a lawsuit."
Mow doesn't see socializing as an effective way to realize even the most
political of ambitions. "If I want to be Ambassador to Japan someday, I
would actively seek that position step by step. You can only get it through
contributions. With the right amount of money you can see anybody in this
country.
"To be Ambassador to Japan isn't out of the question. Dealing with the
Japanese would be a challenge, especially on the issue of trade." At the
moment Mow has no such desire. "I wouldn't want to be ambassador unless I
were in my 60s. You have to be very wealthy to be a good ambassador."
Mow certainly belongs in the ranks of the country's wealthiest men. In fact,
barring some catastrophe, within five years he will be a billionaire, one of the
world's youngest.
"I stay within myself, within the environment, my family. The ability in this
country to create your own world--that's the ultimate." What Mow really
wants is to spend more time with his 4 1/2-year-old daughter who is in
preschool. "I'm a very private person. You won't see me in the hottest
restaurants. On weekends I'm having dinner with my family, brother,
nephew, mother. I don't go out to show how much money I have or to try to
leverage myself up to the next level. I don't feel I should play golf with some
hotshot because I'm chairman of Bugle Boy. I don't have to even think about
it. That's a part of me."
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