Tommy Bahama CEO on the evolving business

Tommy Bahama has built an entire business around the idea of escape.

Since launching in 1992, the brand has expanded well beyond its signature camp shirts into a lifestyle business with men’s and women’s apparel, home goods, restaurants and, more recently, resorts.

Today, it has more than 160 stores worldwide, all tied into its core identity of the relaxed island lifestyle.

Doug Wood, who has spent the past 25 years at Tommy Bahama and now serves as CEO, spoke with Retail Brew about how the company has evolved, why women’s apparel has become one of its fastest-growing categories, and what role hospitality plays in the brand’s long-term strategy.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

How has the brand evolved since 1992?

The first big shift was shifting from being a very men’s wholesale-centric brand to being a true lifestyle brand with women’s, men’s, home accessories, and restaurants. When we opened our first retail store—we were actually in Naples, Florida, back in 1996—we opened it with a restaurant, and so restaurants have always been something that we’ve done. It’s really shifting that whole mind frame of the company from selling the product to other retailers and having them sell it versus having that relationship with the guests.

How did that happen?

One of our biggest struggles was getting the women’s side of the business to take off because we could see her in our stores shopping for him. She’s making 85%–90% of all purchasing decisions in the home. Then having that hard conversation with ourselves, saying, “We need to improve our women’s product because she’s looking at it.” She’s actually not buying it because it’s either not fitting what she wants or it’s not delivering the same type of quality that we were doing in men.

Now our women’s business is right there comparable with men’s. We’re still about 65-35 men’s to women’s, but that women’s piece is growing. In some of my markets, it’s 50-50.

Do most of your customers who come to the restaurant also shop at your stores, or are they fundamentally different?

I wish every time somebody went out with their friends for a drink, they went in and bought a shirt or a dress. Oh my God, my business would be so good. The answer is yes, no, and maybe. That’s what happens with regard to how food and beverage works with the retail store. Our job is to make sure that when a guest comes into one of our restaurants or bars, or in one of our retail stores, that they have this consistent and great experience.

I don’t want people going into [a restaurant] thinking I’m trying to sell you a shirt. My biggest thing here is hospitality. That means, “Hey, you’re going to be treated well. The food is fantastic, great service, and you’re going to want to come back for that.”