Spear is being sold at some of the brand’s retailers, including Nordstrom and Bloomingdale’s, and the New York flagship, whose renovation in keeping with Mr. Krakoff’s vision will be unveiled during the first week of September. Updates to the 1,100-square-foot flagship will include an area where some pieces can be customized, a bar that serves tea from the brand Bellocq and a double-sided interactive mirror that shoppers can use to create social media posts. Another pop-up is scheduled in Miami in October, and the brand’s revamped website is to be introduced this fall, too.
John Hardy is a relatively lean operation compared to the billion-dollar corporations where Mr. Krakoff has worked in the past. The company does not disclose its revenue, which Mr. Krakoff placed at “more than $100 million and less than one billion” — but Milton Pedraza, chief executive of the Luxury Institute, a management consultancy in New York City, said, “It’s probably closer to $100 million than a billion.” He added, however, that the jewelry industry’s evolution may work in the brand’s favor: “Since branded jewelry is carving out a larger percentage of the market, there is space for them to grow.”
He said the smaller scale of the business actually had been advantageous to change, “however, it’s always counterbalanced by how many fewer people there are working in the company.”
Still, the absence of bureaucracy, he noted, has allowed him to make significant progress without sacrificing consideration of the creative process: “We have gone fast, but I can say the amount of thought and work that went into it was as much as — if not more than — I’ve spent at bigger brands.”
Mr. Krakoff’s role was not the only leadership position at the company to be recast recently. Jan-Patrick Schmitz, a former Richemont executive, became chief executive in August following the departure of Frédéric Levy after less than six months in the role.
“We’ve been full speed ahead,” Mr. Krakoff said. “I have a good relationship with Jan-Patrick as he onboards, and I am excited to work with him going forward.”
The brand’s agenda for 2024 has been filling up fast. Mr. Krakoff said that a significantly expanded men’s collection, including personalized and customized offerings, would be released and that the Cinta line, the brand’s highest-priced pieces featuring gold and gems, would resurface. “Really, we’re only at the beginning,” he said.
