James Rhee, Executive Chairman & CEO, Ashley Stewart and Founder & President, FirePine Group

1. Closing Keynote: Leading with Kindness
James Rhee, Executive Chairman & CEO, Ashley Stewart and
Founder & President, FirePine Group

4. • FOUNDED IN 1991 – FIRST STORE IN BROOKLYN, NEW YORK
• ORIGINAL MISSION:
•“PLUS-SIZE”
•AFFORDABLE HEAD-TO-TOE FASHION
•FOR AFRICAN-AMERICAN WOMEN
•URBAN NEIGHBORHOODS (DOWNTOWN, STRIP CENTERS)
• MARKET SOURCING WITH EMBEDDED DESIGN; WEAR-NOW
• NATIONAL FOOTPRINT WITH A “GLOBAL AURA”
• HEADQUARTERED IN SECAUCUS, NEW JERSEY

5. www.ashleystewart.com
• Failed business model – decade+ of operating losses
• Careening towards 2nd bankruptcy within ~3 years
• Lack of corporate credibility – externally and internally – no credit
• No Wi-Fi; defunct e-commerce platform; DSL store connectivity
• Quantitatively challenged
• Mall-store dominated real estate portfolio
• Toxic culture - Top down reporting + fear
• Nascent but misdirected social media effort
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6. 5

9. • TRANSPARENCY – EXPOSURE OF CORE VALUES
• TRANSCENDENCE OF VALUES AND OXYMORONS & DUMBBELLS
• SOCIAL COMMERCE, MOBILITY AND VELOCITY
• THE GREAT DIVIDE: TIME/SPACE CONTINUUM VS SOUL
• LOYALTY & AUTHENTICITY – EMPATHETIC, BEHAVIORAL CRM
• MARRIAGE OF MATH AND EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE (AND “TQ” AI?)
• SUSTAINABLE INNOVATION AND ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE
• REDEFINING ASSETS & LIABILITIES – GOODWILL

10. • SALES APPROACHING $200MM
• DOUBLE-DIGIT PROFITABILITY
• E-COMMERCE DEMAND UP 13X+ FROM 2011; 89 STORES IN 22 STATES
• E-COMMERCE PENETRATION OF ~40%+ (INDUSTRY LEADING)
• BUDDING MEDIA & EVENTS BUSINESS
• SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS  ALTERNATIVE MARKETPLACE??
• INDUSTRY-LEADING ASSET PRODUCTIVITY
• SUCCESSFUL MONETIZATION EVENT IN JUNE 2016 AND ACCELERATING
BRAND MOMENTUM

17. In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we raised $100,000 for the American Cancer Society in 2015.