Jim Brett

Jim Brett
Alma mater Boston University[1]
Occupation President, West Elm

James "Jim" Brett is a business executive in the field of retail merchandising. Since 2010, he has been the president of West Elm, a home furnishings retailing subsidiary of Williams-Sonoma. He previously held positions at J. C. Penney, May Company, Anthropologie, and Urban Outfitters.

Career

Brett began his career in merchandising with retailers J. C. Penney and May Company.[1]

He was the merchandise manager of the Anthropologie Home brand during 2003–2007.[2][3] Danielle Sacks of Fast Company attributed a doubling of its sales to his introduction of a wide variety of international artisanal items to its offerings.[4] Following Anthropologie, Brett became the chief merchandising officer for Urban Outfitters.[1]

Brett became president of West Elm in 2010.[2] At the time, the brand had yet to turn a profit and was closing stores.[4] He re-focused West Elm from machine-made goods to handmade textiles and merchandise, often made by local craftspeople around the world.[4][5] During the period up to January 31, 2016 (which roughly corresponds with his time as its president), the West Elm brand reported double-digit revenue growth in 24 consecutive quarters.[6]

In 2012, Brett launched West Elm Market, a kitchen and home-goods store with a coffee shop serving La Colombe coffee, where at least 75% of the products are American made.[2][4]

Brett began the West Elm Local program in 2013, designed to give stores distinct regional identities by sourcing goods from local artisans.[6] He also committed West Elm through the Clinton Global Initiative to pay $35 million through 2015 to artisans in 15 countries.[2] Brett entered into an agreement with Fair Trade USA for third-party validation that its goods were being produced responsibly.[7]

In 2015, Brett expanded West Elm into contract furniture for offices through a new line of office furnishings called West Elm Workspace with a "residential aesthetic".[8]

Brett said in 2015 that by 2017, 20% of West Elm's goods would have a Fair Trade USA certification, increasing to 40% by 2019.[9]

In 2016, Brett said that West Elm was entering into the boutique hotel business, with locations in Detroit and Savannah, Georgia. opening in late 2018,[10] followed by locations in Indianapolis, Minneapolis, and Charlotte, North Carolina.[11] Brett, who is a gay-rights advocate, said he had "misgivings" about opening a hotel in North Carolina after the state passed its Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act, which eliminates anti-discrimination protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and genderqueer (LGBTQ) people in public accommodations and mandates that persons in government buildings are only allowed to use restrooms and changing facilities that correspond to the sex identified on their birth certificate. However, he said he ultimately decided that "the best way to effect change is to be there and be part of that change".[11]

Brett was named to the board of directors at Cole Haan LLC in January, 2016.[12]

Non-profit activities

Brett is on the advisory board of Nest, an organization that promotes business development for artisans and home workers operating in the informal economy outside of factory environments.[13][3] He is also involved in the Human Rights Campaign, an advocacy group promoting civil rights for LGBTQ persons.[11] Brett was the largest individual fund raiser for the 2015 AIDS Walk New York.[3]

Personal life

Brett is married to Ed Gray (who formerly operated a home furnishing store in Philadelphia) and lives in Brooklyn, New York City.[2][14] In 2013, The New York Times published a photo essay tour of Brett and Gray's loft in a converted industrial building in Dumbo, Brooklyn.[14]

Honors

He received Interior Design Magazine's "Greater Good" award in 2016, in recognition of his efforts to support small-scale artisanal craft production, financial and literacy education, "fair trade" practices, and sustainable business development.[15]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "James W. Brett Jr.: Executive Profile & Biography". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2016-11-13.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Shaw, Dan (13 December 2013). "Jim Brett's Three-Dimensional Diary". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 "Jim Brett". Nest official website. Retrieved 2016-11-13.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Sacks, Danielle (27 March 2014). "Fixing This One Big Problem Helped Turn Around Struggling Furniture Retailer West Elm". Fast Company. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  5. ↑ Gallagher, Leigh (15 May 2015). "West Elm's handcrafted turnaround". Fortune. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  6. 1 2 Budds, Diana (7 April 2016). "How West Elm Became an Unlikely Incubator of Independent Design". Fast Company Design. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  7. ↑ Gunther, Marc (30 June 2014). "Coffee to rugs and farmers to factories: Fair Trade USA is in growth mode". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  8. ↑ Schneider, Amanda (9 June 2016). "West Elm Workspace Continues to Push the Industry at NeoCon 2016 and Beyond". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  9. ↑ "West Elm Commits To Fair Trade Certification Program". HomeWorld Business. 2015-10-01. Retrieved 2016-11-13.
  10. ↑ Kapner, Suzanne (26 September 2016). "West Elm to Launch Its Own Boutique Hotels". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  11. 1 2 3 Merrick, Amy. "West Elm Gets Into Hotels and Gender Politics". The New Yorker. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  12. ↑ Anyanwu, Obi (21 January 2016). "Cole Haan appoints James Brett to Board of Directors". Fashion Network. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  13. ↑ "Advisory Board". Nest official website. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  14. 1 2 "What I Love | Jim Brett". The New York Times. 2013-12-15. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  15. ↑ "#IDneocon: Interior Design Names People Winners for Third HiP at NeoCon Awards". Interior Design. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
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