Ron Frasch discusses new business plan for Proenza Schouler

New York - Yesterday, the announcement that Castanea Partners purchased a minority stake in Proenza Schouler swept the entire fashion industry. On the heels of that announcement comes the potential business plan for the increasingly prominent women's luxury wear brand. Ron Frasch, the former chief merchant of Saks Fifth Avenue, is now the company's first establishment chief executive, and he already has some plans in place for the company.

To put it quite simply, his plan can be summed up into one word: handbags. Frasch enters Proenza Schouler's world as their interim CEO with a long-term board seat. As part of his business plan, Frasch has said he will get the company to manage expenses better. His primary focus, though, is their handbag business. Frasch told The New York Times, "We need to get the handbag business moving again; it’s slowed down a bit over the last year and a half, and it’s our highest margin business, with the greatest opportunity for growing points of sale."

Aside from Proenza's PS1, the brand has not had a bag that has been a really big hit since 2008. Yes, their handbags are still selling, but none of them were exactly making any handbag of the year lists. While the brand has hoped to eventually enter the men's wear market in the near future, Frasch has said that their immediate priority is handbags. Frasch is hoping to help Proenza find their "go-to category".

Proenza to focus on handbags, shoes, and managing expenses

Frasch is currently looking at working on making their signature staples dresses and knitwear. Frasch is hoping that Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez, the designers of Proenza Schouler, will start giving customers more fashion as he felt the pre-fall collection didn't have enough fashion, and customers want fashion from them. He also has plans for the company to work on shoes, which he says could be a major business for them.

While most new investment business plans follow a three-to-five year model, Proenza is expected to be on a seven year model. While Proenza has major status among the fashion elite crowd, and have certainly made a name for themselves in the world of luxury, catapulting them to the level of the household name luxury brands, like Marc Jacobs, Prada, and Alexander McQueen, will take some time. If Frasch has his way, the rest of the world will know Proenza Schouler's name. “As much as we in New York and fashion know the brand, the rest of the world doesn’t really know it. We have to correct that,” Mr. Frasch was quoted saying to The New York Times.