"Buckley was the brand's president between 2006 and 2010, when True Religion was a luxury brand that sold jeans priced between $300 and $500 at Neiman Marcus and Barneys. Buckley helped grow revenues to more than $300 million a year, but after he left, the brand hit hard times, as it struggled to adapt to e-commerce. It filed for bankruptcy in 2017 and again in 2020."
"Buckley's strategy is interesting. He's rebuilt the business around the Black and Latino customers who have been loyal to the brand from the beginning. Under his leadership, the brand has rethought everything from pricing to design to marketing with these consumers in mind. (While none of True Religion's top leadership is Black, Buckley says the company's employees "reflect the brand's consumers.") "We didn't change our target demo," Buckley says. "This was the True Religion demographic all along, and it was our job to embrace them.""
Michael Buckley returned as CEO of True Religion six years after previously serving as the brand's president from 2006 to 2010. During his earlier tenure True Religion sold luxury jeans priced $300–$500 and generated over $300 million in annual revenue. After Buckley left the brand struggled to adapt to e-commerce and filed for bankruptcy in 2017 and 2020. Buckley rejoined in 2019 after leading Differential Brands Group and executed a turnaround that doubled revenues and delivered record profitability. He rebuilt the business around Black and Latino customers, revising pricing, design, and marketing to reflect those consumers.
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