We owe it all to Jerry and Laura

Like many of you, I was familiar with the basic story of Brighton Collectibles that appears on the official website. But I didn't really get a sense of the founders as people until I read this wonderful piece by Cheryl Hall of the Dallas Morning News. It is absolutely worth reading in full, but here's an excerpt:

Brighton was a $28 million men's belts manufacturer just starting a women's belt line in 1991 when Jerry Kohl hired Laura Young to teach his salesmen how to sell to ladies' stores.
Young had spent 10 years in marketing and sales with Ginnie Johansen Designs, a Dallas accessories company, so she knew the ropes. Brighton's ladies' belt business went from $200,000 at 300 stores to $1.75 million at 1,200 stores during her first year on the job.
She and Kohl decided to add shoes, handbags and jewelry.
"At the time, we didn't know anything about making jewelry, and we surely didn't know anything about making shoes," Young says. "So we developed the first Brighton handbags in 1993. Our signature logo was a heart." ... Brighton has added jewelry and footwear, along with a range of other products, and 2008 revenue topped $300 million – the highest ever.

Imagine that: Brighton started as a men's belt store, which I guess explains why they carry men's products today. I had not really understood that. Here is a photo of Jerry and Laura I found on another blog site. (Nice belt Jerry!) Now you can recognize them if you ever see them in your local store. If you do, be sure to say thank you!