Many people have asked me how Patagonia has changed since its founders, the Chouinards, transferred their stock to the Patagonia Purpose Trust and the Holdfast Collective two years ago. My answer is: Not much. We are part of a radical experiment that, for 51 years, has consistently demonstrated that business can be done differently and more responsibly. That is who we have been since Yvon founded the company, who we are today, and who we will be tomorrow.
Our success and our impact rely on our business. And our business relies on our commitment to quality product and authentic storytelling in service of our community. Today, we are getting more right than wrong, but we aren’t meeting the high standards we set for ourselves. And while we remain profitable, we are vulnerable to the same economic headwinds many companies in our industry are facing.
Meeting our own standards requires embracing change and focus, and this week begins some major internal changes that are critical for our success in the near term and foundationally important for our next 50 years. We are evolving key functions in our Ventura headquarters to re-focus on building the best product, creating authentic connections through storytelling, and generating even more impact through grassroots environmental partnerships and responsible business practices. The changes will also ensure a more connected and consistent customer experience, remove some of the barriers that make it difficult to get our work done, and support a more vibrant culture.
Throughout this process, we evaluated roles, not people, and made every effort to minimize the impact on our colleagues. New roles were created, some were eliminated and most roles in Ventura are evolving. We bet on our own talent and are filling most of the new roles with internal candidates rather than searching externally. But even still, we had to make the sad and difficult decision to say goodbye to 41 of our colleagues, about one percent of our workforce.
We are grateful to each of them, and I want to be clear that this decision does not represent a failure of people or roles. It means some parts of our company need to be shaped differently from the setup that made us successful in the past. We had individual conversations with them and are committed to a smooth and caring transition. They will receive a minimum of 22 weeks of pay, increasing with tenure, to support their transition, along with financial support to cover health insurance costs for a year and career transition assistance. And LinkedIn community – if you are hiring, reach out to me and I’ll help you get in touch with these exceptional individuals.
We’re aware that our reputation is something we must earn and invest in each and every day. Patagonia has always been a great company; our challenge now is to become excellent in all ways, starting with our products, and to be a responsible convener and mobilizer for the whole community of those seeking to save our home planet.