Page 29 - February 2020

Living the aunched in 1993, the founders of Tommy Bahama
Island Life
A place without deadlines or demands, where guests have the
space to reconnect with simple pleasures, Tommy Bahama gives
people the chance to breathe freely, live spontaneously and relax
in style. Here, RLI speaks with CEO Doug Wood to learn more
TOMMY BAHAMA RESTAURANT BAR & STORE Newport Beach, California, US
about a brand that mixes fashion with an F&B offering.
TOMMY BAHAMA MARLIN BAR TOMMY BAHAMA RESTAURANT BAR & STORE
Palm Springs, California, US Newport Beach, California, US
28 RETAIL & LEISURE INTERNATIONAL FEBRUARY 2020
When you take all three of them things together, you are
constantly messaging what is going on,” explains Wood. “Then
started a wholesale brand based on the refined
and unhurried attitude of coastal life. What
on the restaurant side, you are working with influencers
L started as a casual, upscale menswear collection
quickly evolved into a unique luxury lifestyle brand. through Yelp and you are holding food events where people
can take pictures of your food and post it on Instagram to
include both men’s and women’s apparel, home and beach under the same umbrella, the company faces two unique
The offering of the company has grown over the years to
help spread the image of Tommy Bahama.”
Running what is essentially two different businesses
goods, all mixed together with a thriving restaurant and bar
business. Everything that bears the Tommy Bahama name is
sets of employees, different levels of expectations and two
created with an unwavering sense of quality.
Worldwide there are now 164 retail locations, 20 of which different sets of customer wants and needs. But Wood is
adamant that when it all comes together, it’s fantastic and
include a Tommy Bahama Restaurant or Marlin Bar. While incredibly rewarding.
the F&B aspect of the business has been present since the “Our vision for the company is to create this exceptional
beginning, it has grown at a slower pace, something that will island lifestyle brand that inspires you to relax. Our niche
be changing moving forward. is bringing apparel to what guests want to wear on the
Marlin Bars, and everything we create in the future will have weekends and what you want to wear when you go on
“We have a new restaurant concept set to rollout called
vacation, that’s our job,” says Wood.
locations,” explains Doug Wood, CEO of Tommy Bahama. business it is still growing, it is a financially stable and healthy
a Marlin Bar, so we will have new retail stores with a bar
While Tommy Bahama may not be considered a giant
brand… yet, after more than a quarter of a century in
attached to it, allowing us to bring experiential retail to our
There are currently five Marlin Bars in operation in
company whose best days are ahead of it instead of behind
it, which is something that Wood finds incredibly exciting.
Florida and Palm Springs, with five to six new locations in
Based in Seattle, Washington, the Tommy Bahama offices
the pipeline for the next 12 months in Florida, California,
Nevada and Hawaii.
are actually situated in and around the Amazon campus,
offering all the motivation Wood will ever need to keep the
The company’s US store business started in 1996 in Naples,
company moving forward.
Florida and has grown to over 160 locations since. In terms
of international retail expansion, their largest international
“People talk about pushing the boundaries in every possible
market is Australia, where they launched in 2006 and now
because the likes of Amazon can simply outspend everyone,
have 13 freestanding stores after the opening of its latest unit business on the planet and making everybody work harder
this year in Sorrento, outside of Melbourne. Their retail units but it’s not about spending. It’s about speed, innovation and
in the country stretch right up the coast, from Sydney, up the constantly thinking through your lens. So for our brand lens,
Gold Coast and all the way up to Port Douglas. what makes sense for our guests and what is going to entice
The company also operates nine stores in Canada them to keep coming back,” concludes Wood.
alongside solid online and wholesale trade in the country.
During the conversation with Wood it becomes apparent “We have a new restaurant concept
that Europe, and particularly the UK, is a place he would very
much like to take the brand to one day, but as with many set to rollout called Marlin Bars, and
countries, it is all about finding the right partner to help bring everything we create in the future will
the brand to European shores.
Being a brand that operates in both the retail space and have a Marlin Bar, so we will have new
the F&B space, does that alter how the company operates retail stores with a bar attached to it,
across social media?
“We’re like everybody in the retail space; we have got a allowing us to bring experiential retail
strategy for a combination of Facebook, Instagram as well to our locations”
as influencers that are out in the market that we work with.
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