WELL-SUITED SUCCESS
Selling convenience pays off for shop-at-home clothing company that makes $270 million a year.
By Jeremiah Johnston
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The Tom James Company is the world’s largest manufacturer and retailer of custom-made, luxury clothing. With over 95% of its manufacturing in the USA, Tom James is a vertically integrated company serving more than 500,000 clients, through 122 offices, with more than 1,000 employees.
For more than 40 years, Tom James clothiers always come direct to their clients, offering lines of custom, made-to-measure and ready-made executive apparel, constructed in one of their 8 U.S. manufacturing facilities.
Each Tom James client purchases directly from one of the company’s well-trained professional clothiers, who provide clients with wardrobe consultation on a variety of fashion topics such as wardrobe coordination, current trends, proper fit and cloth selection, necessary collection pieces and attire for specific occasions.
The wardrobe to-go business formula is working beautifully; sales for the company hit $270 million in 2007.
Additionally, Tom James’ wholesales a full product line of diversified brands through specialty and department stores including Neiman Marcus, Saks, Bergdorf Goodman, Barney’s and others. More information can be found on their Web site at www.tomjames.com.
The company’s headquarters is in Franklin, Tennessee, and the Showroom is in New York City. There is a Training Center in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. The global blockbuster firm operates 45 offices in 45 states, the United Kingdom, France, Holland, Australia, Germany and Japan.
The company was founded by Spencer Hays. According to Jim McEachern, Senior Executive Officer of the Board, “Spencer grew us in Ardmore, Oklahoma, and Gainesville, Texas. Much of that time Spencer lived with his grandmother, who was a seamstress. When he was very young his father left his mother, his sisters and his brothers.
“Spencer’s grandmother taught him the value of good work habits and maintaining a positive mental attitude. She also gave him his first selling job. He learned the value of dramatizing the products when she put pretty bows around the necks of kittens and puppies for Spencer to sell.
Spencer’s grandmother taught him ‘There is a destiny that makes us brothers. None goes his way alone. All that we send into the lives of others comes back into our own.’ Spencer learned the lesson well. He’s been motivated to put as much into the lives of others as he can and that accounts for his extraordinary success.”
In the 1950s, Spencer attended South-western College and sold books to make money. He recruited a team of students to sell for him and over the next five years he built a workforce of student sellers for the region’s colleges.
In 1964 he managed a political campaign for a man running for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. The man worked for Genesco, which owned both English American Tailoring Company and Individualized Shirts. Spencer thought the clothing companies represented a terrific business opportunity.
He eventually set into motion a plan to open the first location of Tom James Company in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1966. Tom Ed James, Mack Islbill and Jim McEachern were the first employees.
According to McEachern, “When Spencer decided to start the Tom James Company, his motive was to provide opportunity for earning unlimited income and building net worth. At the outset, we didn’t have a stock purchase plan, profit sharing or 401k plan, but even from the beginning Spencer intended to set up a plan for us to purchase stock so we could share in the equity growth as we helped build the company.”
Today, Tom James partners are earning $100,000 to $250,000 from personal sales and $100,000 to $1 million or more in leadership pay. Many are becoming millionaires or multi-millionaires through their Tom James stock, profit sharing plan and 401k plan.
The company also seeks to educate the clients it serves and provides a lot of interesting information, such as choosing the right color palette for the proper occasion:
Navy is appropriate for important meetings and presentations. Attorneys should wear navy for opening statements or when meeting with a new client for the first time; bankers should wear navy for an important client call; builders/developers should wear navy for dinner with a client after the closing of a deal. Navy means authority. It is the best color for negotiating and is the universal color for power.
Charcoal conveys a sense of security. Charcoal is great for a salesperson meeting with their boss or meeting with a client to pick up a check for an order. Charcoal is a good choice for an attorney delivering a closing statement, visiting a potential client for the second time or meeting with another attorney to settle out of court. Charcoal works for bankers trying to retain business when competing with another bank. Executives should wear gray when acquiring new businesses, attending stockholder’s meetings or making important financial decisions.
Earthtones portray a person who is down-to-earth and understanding. They are your best rapport-building colors. Earthtones are a good choice for anyone meeting with an unhappy client or investor, reviewing an employee, meeting with a small business owner or attending a staff meeting. Attorneys can wear earthtones when visiting a client who just lost a case, for depositions or for meetings with associates. Earthtones are a good choice for builders/developers when meeting an architect for lunch. •
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