The Book Wild Company: The Untold Story of Banana Republic was published on October 2, 2012. The book is about 195 pages long. It was written by Mel and Patricia Ziegler, the founders of Banana Republic. Within each chapter, Mel and Patricia’s voices are alternated, each telling the story from their own perspective. The tone of the book is honest, funny, and personal. The story is a biography which recounts the seemingly impossible startup of Banana Republic. The book discusses managing and running the company over the years, until the couple decided to sell it. It is unique because it also discusses life outside the company, including how the couple met and how the company changed them over the years. Mel and Patricia were just a young couple,
…show more content…
It is there where he met Patricia, a sketch artist. They met through work, fell in love and got married. One day, they both decided to surprise the other by quitting their jobs. They found work in freelance jobs that paid well, but were too irregular. One day Mel came home with a book titled Think and Grow Rich. Inside it presented three questions. The first was “how much money do I want to make?” The second, “how long will I give myself to make it?” The final question was “How will I make it?” The couple decided to answer the questions separately, then compare answers. Their answers were the same: a million dollars, five years, and start a business. The only problem was what business to start. Mel left for a freelancing trip in Australia and on the last day visited a military surplus store. While in the store, he found a khaki bush jacket and decided to buy it just to see what Patricia would say. When he arrived she could not take her eyes of the jacket and it inspired them to create their own business. They decided to combine the $1500 in their bank accounts and would use it to buy and sell anything like the bush jacket. They found a military surplus supplier in the United States named Zim, short for Zimmerman. He owned a warehouse that was stacked floor to ceiling with military surplus items. While looking through piles of clothes there, they realized it was not going to be an easy task. They finally found a huge pile of khaki shirts, called Spanish paratrooper hats. They were finely woven and Zim sold them 500 for $1.50
It is there where he met Patricia, a sketch artist. They met through work, fell in love and got married. One day, they both decided to surprise the other by quitting their jobs. They found work in freelance jobs that paid well, but were too irregular. One day Mel came home with a book titled Think and Grow Rich. Inside it presented three questions. The first was “how much money do I want to make?” The second, “how long will I give myself to make it?” The final question was “How will I make it?” The couple decided to answer the questions separately, then compare answers. Their answers were the same: a million dollars, five years, and start a business. The only problem was what business to start. Mel left for a freelancing trip in Australia and on the last day visited a military surplus store. While in the store, he found a khaki bush jacket and decided to buy it just to see what Patricia would say. When he arrived she could not take her eyes of the jacket and it inspired them to create their own business. They decided to combine the $1500 in their bank accounts and would use it to buy and sell anything like the bush jacket. They found a military surplus supplier in the United States named Zim, short for Zimmerman. He owned a warehouse that was stacked floor to ceiling with military surplus items. While looking through piles of clothes there, they realized it was not going to be an easy task. They finally found a huge pile of khaki shirts, called Spanish paratrooper hats. They were finely woven and Zim sold them 500 for $1.50