The Mitchell family has become well known for creating what is arguably the most successful independent multibrand luxury store chain in the U.S.
What isn’t as well known is its commitment to fighting breast cancer. Norma Mitchell, cofounder of the business and grandmother of its current top executives, died of the disease, and many other family members, employees and customers have been touched by it.
Twenty years ago, shortly after the family branched out beyond its first store in Westport, Conn., by buying the Richards men’s store in nearby Greenwich, it became acquainted with the Breast Cancer Alliance, which was based in Greenwich.
“We didn’t have a women’s business in Greenwich, but we were talking to some folks and they said it was a wonderful grassroots organization that could really use some help,” said Andrew Mitchell-Namdar, chief marketing officer and vice president of e-commerce for Mitchells Stores.
He said the BCA, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, focuses primarily on early-stage research. “The government funds a lot of later stage, big trials, but there are very few — almost none — working on early stage, which is needed to be able to apply for larger grants,” he said.
The group also provides breast surgical fellowships across the country. “In big cities, there are specific breast surgeons, but if you’re in smaller markets, the same surgeon that’s doing an appendectomy is during a mastectomy the next day and doesn’t really know the intricacies,” Mitchell-Namdar said. “So they fund surgical fellowships for people to come to New York City, learn the techniques from some of the greatest breast surgeons and then go back and share that with their local hospitals throughout the country.”
The family believed BCA’s work was a worthy cause and decided to host a fashion show as a fundraiser. “Fashion is in our DNA, and this was a way that we can leverage our relationships within the industry to help the cause. That got us started in understanding the need,” Mitchell-Namdar said.
Breast cancer survivor Giuliana Rancic has been a featured guest at Pink Aid in the past.
While their work with BCA continues, the Mitchells went a step further and created their own breast cancer organization, Pink Aid.
He recalled that 16 years ago, a woman who had gone through treatment for breast cancer approached him and thanked him for a $45 wig that a local hospital the Mitchells supported had provided to her. The single mother from Bridgeport, Conn., had lost her hair as a result of the drugs she was given, and it terrified her young daughter, who thought she was “an alien,” he recalled, and refused to hug her when she needed it most.
Money was tight and she couldn’t afford to buy a wig, but once the hospital provided her with one, everything changed and her daughter was once again at ease and happy to provide hugs.
“That planted a seed in me,” Mitchell-Namdar said. “I started to do research and found it’s happening all the time — women going through treatment don’t have the human touch. We need research first and foremost, which is why we still work with the BCA after 20 years. But there was this human side that was not being met by anyone.”
Many of the Pink Aid fashion shows feature multibrand participation, including menswear.
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So Mitchell-Namdar called his family together for a brainstorming session and they agreed to host a luncheon in Westport to raise money for patients who had trouble paying their bills because of their medical costs.
“We had modest goals,” he said. “If we raised $30,000, how many $45 wigs and services could we provide? And boom, $300,000 was raised at that luncheon and we knew we had struck a chord.”
So working with three of the donors — Amy Katz, Amy Gross and Renee Madis — they created Pink Aid, whose goal is to provide “compassion until there’s a cure,” according to the organization’s website.
Mitchell-Namdar said Pink Aid’s mission is to provide emergency aid assistance to those struggling during treatment, whether that means paying an electric bill, rent, offering wigs or lymphedema sleeves. “Can you imagine in your darkest moment your lights go off and you’re literally and physically, mentally in the dark,” he said.
“We provide Uber cards because sometimes women are nauseous from treatment and they can’t afford a taxi and they don’t want to take public transportation for fear of getting sick. So guess what they do? They don’t go to treatment,” he said.
He said one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetimes and one in three find financial hardship as a result. But that’s where Pink Aid can make a difference. Since creating the nonprofit 16 years ago, $25 million has been raised and 65,000 women have been helped.
Although the organization started in Connecticut, it has expanded to other markets where the Mitchells have stores, including Long Island and California. “We got a little slowed down because of COVID, but last year on our 15th anniversary, we were able to hit all 50 states,” he said. “We call it turning the map pink.”
Pink Aid uses fashion shows in its stores with support from key vendors including Brunello Cucinelli, Michael Kors, Vince, Kiton, Lela Rose and Donna Karan. On Thursday in Westport, the store will host a sold out Pink Royale gala featuring a Veronica Beard fashion show. Tina Knowles and Olivia Munn — who Mitchells calls “warriors,” or survivors — will be on hand to speak about their experiences with the disease. A gala will also be held in Huntington, N.Y., on Oct. 21.
The Pink Aid fundraisers also include a show with “warriors,” or breast cancer survivors.
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Then on Oct. 22, Wes Gordon will present the Carolina Herrera collection in the Greenwich store as a fundraiser for the BCA. Between the two Connecticut stores as well as the unit on Long Island, the company raises $4 million a year.
On Sept. 30, the family hosted an event on the West Coast in the new Wilkes Bashford store in Palo Alto, Calif. Smaller events are held around the country throughout the year.
The organization has an executive director and four staffers that review applications from potential recipients, as well as a cadre of volunteers. If an application is approved, Pink Aid will send money directly to the utility companies or landlords through a process they call Pink Purse, to give patients “breathing room,” he said.
And the decisions are made quickly, typically within 48 hours.
“We’re really super proud of the work that we’re doing,” Mitchell-Namdar said. “We’re continuing to expand because the need is there to really want to make a difference.”
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