Retail Redefined

HEIR FORCE ONE

The entrepreneurs keep coming, it seems. JR and Loren’s daughter, Amber, is headed down the same path. “It think it’s hard when you grow up in a family of two entrepreneurs, where their whole life pretty much revolves around business, not to have it in you.” Amber’s natural tendencies, however, are in fashion. The Parsons fashion student is actually working on an eight-piece collection, which she’ll call Lumière—a term that means “light” in French. The offerings are meant to fall in the $50 to $300 price category and include such pieces as the side-studded, supple leather mini-shorts Loren wore on her last birthday party aboard Utopia 3, giving the VIP guests a sneak preview of just how shining a light Lumière promises to be. “It’s a passion project for her,” says Loren. “I’m always more the sales person; she’s always more the creative. She makes it to see it and I’m like, ‘ok, let’s sell it!’” Innate talent coupled with her family’s ability to sky-rocket any product into the super stratosphere means things are looking up for young Amber who Loren says “has never had the desire to work for anybody but herself…I think it comes from causing her to believe that she can achieve anything she wants, and urging her do those things. I actually think she’ll be better than JR and I because she has the best of both of our qualities, but she doesn’t have the bad in either one of us.” The tender words may speak more to Loren’s genuine love and desire for greatness for all those close to her.

PAY IT FORWARD

Loren and JR really wish for better for everyone, and consistently do their part to make that happen. As a common thread throughout our conversation, giving back was always on their lips. And of course, that includes philanthropic efforts. The couple has been actively involved with the Make-A-Wish Foundation for more than a decade, are major proponents of both Alicia Keys’ Black Ball and Denise Rich’s Angel Ball, and have recently joined pal Eva Longoria in bringing the Rally for Kids with Cancer to the Miami area. “The Make-a-Wish Foundation is about taking a terminally ill child and granting them a wish that they might not ever get to experience. For me that is huge, and I’ll always be a part of that program,” explains Loren. “And Eva and I will be doing our second Miami Rally for Kids with Cancer in April.” Rally for Kids with Cancer is an organization that aims to provide funding for Cancer patients from the diagnosis to treatment stages, and works tirelessly on researching promising therapies. “It’s different from other charities in that we get to physically see the kids, talk to them, and interact with them. Sometimes when you’re involved in charity you never have the opportunity to interact with the people that you’re trying to help. In this case we do. Its something for me that is very personal and dear to my heart.” Unlike traditional fundraising events, which most often include black-tie galas and cocktail receptions, Eva, Loren and JR chair what’s called The Rally for Kids with Cancer Scavenger Cup—an exciting and effective fundraising initiative that get’s the community involved in an interactive way.

ABRACADABRA

While JR and Loren have worked so hard to make magic for others, whether by allowing them to achieve unprecedented amounts of success through Market America, changing lives through philanthropic efforts, or collaborating with friends on projects that have garnered massive attention and as a result massive revenue streams, the real magic is the one that exists between them.

“You know some people can’t work with their husbands or wives,” says Loren. “But we’re great business partners because we both have tremendous drive and passion.” The couple, who anyone who has had the pleasure of spending any time with can attest, are a pair with deep love, admiration, and respect for one another, and work daily to make sure the spark’s still lit. “Our bigger problem is to remember that we’re still married and have a personal relationship. After 22 years we try and focus on all the things we love about each other and all the things that make us happy, and I think it’s made our relationship much better and our friendship and appreciation for each other as well.” This sometimes means creating a set of rules to live by. Recently Loren has put the “no staff in the house after 7 p.m.” rule into effect; recognizing that while she would love to have the help after a long day and a house still full of company-that usually includes friends and colleagues bouncing ideas off each other in that sort of fun, evening-time, think tank sort of way-she is happy to make the sacrifice in order to give JR the little bit of private time she knows he values so much. “He does the same for me. It’s a give and take. If you focus more on giving than taking, it works so much better.” Another mention of that golden giving thread that runs rampant. Other rules read like a Ridinger version of Tiffany Table Manners, including laws of dining etiquette: “When we’re out at dinner we have a new rule: no BlackBerries. Let’s focus on us and the conversation. I’m going to have your attention and you’re going to have mine.” No easy feat for two people who are constantly dreaming up new ways to change the world; but imagine the power behind any idea ever born in the lock of their gaze—now that would be revolutionary.

– Interview by Kamal Hotchandani