TCS is a pioneering retailer in the storage/organization category, with the typical location having about 19,000 square feet and 10,000 SKUs. There are currently 62 stores across 22 states.
This monring I had a chance to interview the company’s president and chief operating officer, Melissa Reiff. By the way, she was uber excited!
So here’s what she had to say:
How was the IPO process?
It was really fun. And I got to ring the bell. The founder of the company, Kip Tindell, insisted on it because my father was a stockbroker.
Since the beginning, the Container Store has had something called a “yummy” culture?
We run our company based on seven Foundation Principles (note: you can find them on p. 87 of the S-1 filing) . This is not just a piece of paper or a plaque on the wall. The Seven Principles are part of our heart and soul.
Some say that by being public, our culture will change for the worse. But this is not going to happen. Instead, we'll continue to grow our yummy culture.
At the core of the Seven Principles is the idea of being an employee-first company?
That’s right. We want those who sell solutions, not just items. To do this, you need to hire smart, talented, motivated, confident people. And they deserve as much training as we can give them. For a first year employee, we provide about 260 hours.
The training is like a stairway to heaven. It involves formal classroom training, e-learning, coaching on the floor.
We must do this if we want to do well. Our turnover is only about 10% per year but the typical retailer is often over 100%. We want employees to stay with us and retire with us
Another key part of The Container Store success is something called “conscious capitalism”?
Kip was actually the college roommate of John Mackey, the founder of Whole Foods (WFM) and the author of “Conscious Capitalism.”
The idea is that capitalism should not be a zero-sum game. It can benefit all stakeholders, whether employees, customers, vendors, the community or shareholders. A company has the responsibility to do right by all of them.
We really believe in this and think it can create great companies.
Tom Taulli (@ttaulli) operates MasterCFO, which provides consulting services to business owners for financings, tax preparation and budgeting/reporting.
