James Brett is a business executive in the field of retail merchandising. He was the CEO of J.Crew from July 2017 until November 2018. He previously held positions at West Elm, J. C. Penney, May Company, Anthropologie, and Urban Outfitters.
Career
Brett began his career in merchandising with retailers J. C. Penney and May Company. He was the merchandise manager of the Anthropologie Home brand during 2003–2007. 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. Following Anthropologie, Brett became the chief merchandising officer for Urban Outfitters. Brett became president of West Elm in 2010. At the time, the brand had yet to turn a profit and was closing stores. He re-focused West Elm from machine-made goods to handmade textiles and merchandise, often made by local craftspeople around the world. During the period up to January 31, 2016, the West Elm brand reported double-digit revenue growth in 24 consecutive quarters. 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. Brett began the West Elm Local program in 2013, designed to give stores distinct regional identities by sourcing goods from local artisans. He also committed West Elm through the Clinton Global Initiative to pay $35 million through 2015 to artisans in 15 countries. Brett entered into an agreement with Fair Trade USA for third-party validation that its goods were being produced responsibly. 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". 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. 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, followed by locations in Indianapolis, Minneapolis, and Charlotte, North Carolina. 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 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". Brett was named to the board of directors at Cole Haan LLC in January, 2016.
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.
