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Meet Fashion Powerhouse, Laura Young, President of Brighton
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Join us on the Kick Your Boots Up Podcast for the last episode of Season Two as we sit down with Laura Young, President of Brighton Collectables, Inc. and Leegin, and a proud graduate of Southern Methodist University-Cox School of Business. Discover Laura's journey from Tyler, Texas, to leading major brands in the fashion industry, and hear her insights on how she navigated her path to success. Plus, Laura shares her best piece of business advice for aspiring leaders. Don’t miss this inspiring episode filled with valuable lessons from one of the top executives in the industry.
Transcript
00:00:00
Speaker
Hey everybody and thanks for listening to the kick your boots up podcast Don't forget like subscribe and share this with your friends if you like what you see and even if you don't that's okay, too It's all about the views. No today. We are about to have some boss babe talk. I'm so excited that Laura is on You're going to get to know a little bit about her, but before you do, I just want to kind of set this up a little bit and tell you who she is. Laura Young is the president of Brighton, and if you're not familiar with Brighton, you should be. Go to your local boutique, go to stores all around you. They have purses, bags, jewelry, you name it. They have it.
00:00:31
Speaker
And what's really unique about Brighton and the tie there is that not many of you guys know that we actually get to use licensees for our product here at Justin. So we get to have products that have the Justin name. So she's actually the president as well of Legion, which is our belt ah licensees. So you're going to get to learn a little bit about their story and how it all started for them. But before we do that, Laura, thank you for being on the podcast. I'm so excited you're here. I can't wait to talk to you about it all. Thank you so much for having me. This is a real treat and to be sitting right in the Justin showroom. Right across the street from your showroom too. That's so cool. And if you've been watching the podcast for long enough, you know that from time to time, we have some recordings happening at the WISA show at the Dallas Market Center. So right now to set the stage for you guys, just so you know, WISA is a big,
00:01:16
Speaker
three day in august It's a three-day, four-day, five-day event that happens at the Dallas Market Center. It's the Western and English Sales Association show where all the merchants have the opportunity to buy, sell, trade, you name it. It's happening in here. So, Laura, I know your schedule is so busy while you're here. and We're all busy. Yes, yeah. Well, I do appreciate you taking the time to be here. And before we get to know a little bit about Legion, everyone that's listening to the podcast knows that they got to get to know about who the person is first. So tell us about your story and how you got to where you are today.
00:01:46
Speaker
Well, that's a long journey. it has we long journey like Exactly. buts Exactly. Buckle up. No pun intended since we make belts all over. Yeah. Well, you know, I joined ah Legion and Jerry Cole in 1991. So wow, 33 years ago, it was pretty amazing. Pretty amazing. 33 years of Western knowledge, industry knowledge. Yes and believe me when when I started um jerry had Jerry Cole is the founder um of the business. He and his wife Terry actually um were high school sweethearts and in high school they um
00:02:19
Speaker
had a little boutique and they sold jeans like back in the late 60s and early 70s and they bought belts from a company by the name of Legion L-E-E-G-I-N and it was owned by a couple of um they were kind of hippies and they made belts and they made leather sandals and they sold their belts to Jerry and Terry in their booth and that was they were called Legion belts And very shortly after um afterwards, Jerry and Terry bought Legion from Lee and Jenny. Lee and Jenny were surfers and that they lived near Venice Beach and they actually preferred to surf than make belts. And so they decided they wanted to move to New Zealand where the surf was better. So Jerry Cole and his at the time, ah Terry Cole, they bought the belt company and they started making belts.
00:03:04
Speaker
And that's how it started. The rest was history. And for you, when did you come into play in Legion? So I joined Jerry 20 years after he'd been the owner and founder of Legion, making Legion belts for men and some unisex belts. He sold Jean belts and sold some private label for people like Banana Republic, The Gap. And way back in the day, he made some Western belts for Larry Mahan. I know. Legend. Exactly. And so he'd been making men's belts for 20 years and he decided he wanted to make ladies belts because quite frankly, ladies shop a little bit more than men shop. We do spend the money. That's right. So in the summer of 1990, he started making some ladies belts and he had 37 salesmen. 35 were men, two were women, and they weren't that interested in selling men's belts. having women's bills. They were interested in selling the men's bills to men's stores. That's what they knew. That's what they knew. They sold them to nice quality men's stores. They sold them to western stores and that's in jean shops and things like that. But they really weren't that interested in calling on lady stores. So one Sunday afternoon I got a phone call from Jerry Cole and he was wanting to learn a little bit about the ladies business and I had done that for 10 years. Wow. And so that's how it kind of started with a phone call with Jerry.
00:04:24
Speaker
Okay, so think back, I guess 33 years now, so let's say 43 years. Whenever you first started, you were fresh out of college. SMU you went to? I went to SMU. Okay, so think about when you were first out of college and you were getting ready to get that first big job before, 10 years before you moved to Legion.
00:04:40
Speaker
What was that like for you do you? Do you remember a specific moment in time where you're like, I was eating ramen until? Yeah, because when I graduated from SME, we had this routine when you graduated at our house. You practiced this routine with my with my father. you returned You got your credit ah diploma in one hand and you returned the credit cards in the other. So this was the summer of 1980. And yes, I was ah not eating very well. And I didn't have a job yet. But anyway, make a long story short, a sorority sister of mine. I was a Kappa at SMU and a sorority sister of mine made belts in the little floppy botas like women wore back in the days as they were starting their careers. yeah And um I joined her in September of 1980 to help her with her ladies belt business and and scarf business. And um so I was there for 10 years and, and
00:05:29
Speaker
And that's what I did. I helped her in marketing and then ultimately became the vice president of marketing for her company after for 10 years. Oh, my goodness. And did you when you first graduated college, did you ever think in a million years that not only would you be at a belt and scarf company for 10 years, but then that you would go on to be at another belt company? Never, never. And i when I left ah Jenny Johansson and moved to Corpus because my husband had gotten transferred and I thought it'd be a good idea to go with him. fresh sorry yeah I gave her a year's notice and my husband moved to Corpus and I stayed in Dallas for with our kids and found our replacement and then I moved down there and about a year and a half later I got that phone call from Jerry Cole. and That was life-changing too, I think. it well Well, I'm so glad I answered the phone. We might not have called back. but But it really, it really was amazing. And basically he was doing some due diligence to potentially talk to Jenny Johansson's father. Anyway, that didn't all work out. And he asked me, would you like to have dinner? And, um, so I had dinner with him right here in Dallas at the mansion on turtle Creek and we hit it off. And, um, the factory at that point in time, they were still making that they were still making belts in Los Angeles. In Los Angeles, yes. So you were here in Dallas. So I guess for 33 years, you've been commuting from Well, Taylor, Texas area, Texas area. That's right. To LA. I have commuted to LA for 33 years. Wow. um You asked the question, did I ever think like, yeah when I just joined Jerry, I actually literally started part time because I had a consulting job with a designer sportswear company here in Dallas. and a little jewelry company. So at Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, I'd fly from Corpus to Dallas and work Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday with Airstrom Roberson. And then every other Thursday, I would work with Foree Hunsickerford of Medallias. She made those sterling silver luggage tag earrings. And then I started part-time with Jerry Cole. And I just never dreamed. He just wanted some help with his sales force. He had 37 salesmen, 35 were men, two were women. Like the opposite where I came from where all 28 were women He just wanted some help to get the men's sales reps to call on men stores I mean women's stores with ladies belts and that's how it started so we never dreamed we'd have a business like this Oh, I can I can only imagine that you didn't and for you to have the the the knowledge that they were needing is so valuable You you immediately started the job with so much value bringing it to the table. And so I can't help but ask I normally ask this question towards the end, but right now I've got to ask you, what is your best piece of advice for someone that is maybe just going out of just graduated college, trying to get into an industry that is their niche, or um pass out another piece of advice for someone who um is loving their career, but wants to maybe take it to the next next level?
00:08:04
Speaker
Well, I think you got to follow your heart and you got to find you got to find your passion. And it's so important for you to find your passion. And I, for me, I love people and I really love leading and helping people be their best. So I just think you got to find your passion and you got to be yourself. You got to be true to yourself. You know, always do the right thing and be authentic. So that that would be probably my advice. That is such good advice, truly, because there's been so many times in my career, even just the short time that it's been, of kind of like an identity crisis, and you have to be able to go back to who you are, your core values, and that makes you you. you know that makes and So that's such great advice. Well, you know, if you think about your parents, you know, they always say, do the right thing. You know, you are the company you keep, meaning hang out with the right people yeah um and do the right thing. Just do the right thing. And I think that's sort of always been sort of foundational for me. You know, what would mother think? you know oh for sure, especially if you can relate to a small town. Right. they like you cant Because I grew up in Marshall, Texas. Exactly. And your parents knew what you did before you got home from school. So don't even let me just tell you, if you did something bad, your name was on the water tower.
00:09:12
Speaker
dont know That's even worse. That is even worse. Well, it's funny that you brought that up about um being relational and staying true to yourself and people will like you that better because I was literally just in the bathroom speaking with a random girl that I just met in the bathroom about we're not necessarily in any kind of business here at WISO. We're in the people business. You know, it's all about networking and who you know and getting to know everyone. And I think for you, that's been the kind of keys to success for you, getting to be able to go to Brighton. So I guess let's transition a little bit more into that. um You said you started part time. I want to revisit that because that is a success story right there. You know, you you weren't, you were hustling, you were back and forth. right And then eventually you probably went on full-time. Tell us about that, how you got there. About a year and a half later, you my job really in the beginning was to help these salesmen, the 35 men, the two women, go call them lady stores, more so than the men's, the men's stores, and to help them sell in these ladies belts to lady specialty stores. And that's what I did just one at a time. And I just had a strategy and um of getting them focused. We didn't redesign anything. We just you know said, you know,
00:10:16
Speaker
and We need to teach you how to execute show up and show them as was my motto You know I said if you show up at three stores ah a week Call show the line twice you'll get an order and write me a note by midnight Saturday night and every Sunday night I published on my first little lotus spreadsheet all 37 salesmen's names so if you were you know Frank Mumford three calls two demos one order you know David Bennett one call one demo one order if you didn't write me I'd say no show and I published the results and I'd write each 37 salesmen back on the individual note and we'd do the same thing and we did that from May till December of 1991 and instead of selling
00:10:57
Speaker
two uh 300 lady stores we ended up selling 1200 lady stores instead of selling 200 000 we ended up selling a million 750 just by getting salesman focused laura so that that's what we did that's how we built the ladies belt business And, you know, as a girl, a female, I can't help but cheer you on because you really, it took a lot to get those men in order. We can relate to that in the boot industry, you know, the Western industry and as a whole, there's probably primarily predominantly men. And so good for you. But yeah so but i got it you got a picture of this. So it was May of 1991. And let me just tell you what had just happened okay and but in January of 1991.
00:11:34
Speaker
leg Legion and Jerry had gotten the license for Justin. And so when I joined to try to get these men to want to go call on lady stores, they wanted no part of that because they were so excited to have the license for Justin. I mean, that was pretty remarkable. So I had a lot of competition trying to get still trying to get these men'stors men's sales reps to go call on lady stores. But the place was buzzing because it was such an honor to be given the opportunity to be the licensee for Justin. And then in 93, we got the license for Tony Lama. And that was like literally for a company to be able to represent both Tony Lama and Justin. I used to joke it's like a beverage salesman getting coke and Pepsi.
00:12:18
Speaker
So two of the best names in the industry. So it's been an amazing journey when the western part of the business, the women's part of the business, the men's part of the business. um And you know we primarily sell independent specialty boutiques, not department stores. So that's how we built our business. and and that's about the people because these are independent small owner operated stores for the most part yeah um that make their livelihood and and the western industry is and mayor i mean that's how can't get much more Americana than that. No you can't and I think that provides hope to a lot of small business owners out there. That's right. I feel like a conversation I just had with a small business owner today this week or yesterday but this week
00:12:58
Speaker
I feel like we're getting outnumbered by the big box stores and Amazon, let's just say that right now. And it was really cool to hear this from you guys that you're like, no, we care about everyone, but especially the small guys. We care about them and empowering them and giving them the tools to then be able to go and sell. Well, if you think about it, Jerry Cole and his wife, Terry, were the small guy. They had their own little boutique back in the day, so they never forgot what it was like to be the small guy. And that's sort of been a guiding principle of us, is to help independent owner-operated retailers to make money. And we sell some bigger stores, like of course we sell Cavender's and Boot Barn. Of course, we love them. Absolutely. and they're amazing, but foundationally, it's thousands of these small businesses throughout America that have made our business. They add up, like change makes a dollar, and then a dollar makes five dollars. That's right, save those pennies.
00:13:54
Speaker
Yes, which nowadays I feel like is a little bit harder with inflation and that's a whole nother podcast episode, I'm sure we should. I don't know. My husband still has a coffee can that we keep our tinnies in. Okay, good. Well, I also appreciate that too, because i my husband and I are old school and we have ah a drawer that we, or a jar that we keep and um we'll separate, it whenever it gets full, we'll separate the quarters from the other coins. yes And the quarters usually go towards like car washes or vending machines or stuff. And one day we might get there. We might have a time where there's no coins left, you know? Yeah, exactly. Be careful. One day I accidentally, when I dropped the coins and I dropped my wedding ring and lost it for eight months. Eight months? In the jar. I found it. I found it. I've been married for 41 years to my high school sweetheart. You made it through that. i made that then While we're on the podcast, what do you think is the the secret to 41 years of marriage? Well, I traveled to California a couple of times a month. so you know i'm
00:14:51
Speaker
No, you know what? You have to just be kind to one another. And you know, look, I picked him out early. I couldn't even date when I met him in Marshall. And so I sort of knew right away, it took him about 11 years to figure it out. But anyway, it's been a great 41 years. He's an amazing, kind, amazing person. Wow, and I am starting to relate to that. Whenever people say that as a single girl, I used to be like, yeah, okay, you know, that's so gross. But truly I'm year two, so very new and a marriage and year one was hard. I'm not going to lie. I feel like year one is a little bit more challenging, but it is, it's so beautiful. And when you support each other, you become a great team. Well, listen, he brings me my coffee every morning when I'm home, which is pretty good. And he always makes sure my car's topped off with gas. So for those of you guys, bring her coffee and make sure she never has to pump gas.
00:15:38
Speaker
And flowers sometimes, right? Yes, flowers sometimes. Yes. ah That's so good. I love that. And um speaking of other gifts, belts, that's a good tie in. Let's kind of break down Legion's line a little bit, um because now we have more opportunities for even more women's belts. yeah um So yes, it is. There's a lot of men's options, right but maybe talk through some of the things we can expect. Like right here, this is a beautiful one to talk about, too. There's totally, there's different levels. Tell us about all of that. Well, first of all, we make ah um we make most of our belts in the United States. Oh, yes, that's key. We make about 85% of our belts in the United States with factory workers in Los Angeles. Wow. And it's multiple generations of people that work in our factory. And we have sometimes three and almost four generations of people who are really are hands-on their craftsmen. And um we have this our designers are there. They're footsteps away from the craftsmen that are in the sample making room, tooling and making the first samples before we make the dye. So everything is made by is made by hand. And it's um is really remarkable. I remember the first time that I flew to Los Angeles for Jerry to show me the factory. And if you've ever remembered the Norma Ray, it was like walking in, it was like the Norma Ray of belts. It was just like buzzing. But these people are passionate about their hand craftsmanship. And
00:16:57
Speaker
And um that's what we're so proud of. We make it our belts with the finest top grain leathers. We never use splits or or any fillers or PBC or any of that. um are All of our buckles are literally hand drawn with a sketch, a pen and pencil sketch. And then they are carved out of silver and then the molds are made and they're all unique on their own.
00:17:20
Speaker
Laura that's so interesting and I can't wait to talk more about it so just one second you guys will be right back we're going to take a quick break and when we return we're going to have props and be able to walk you through the belt making process stay tuned. My dad is a tradesman and he relies heavily on his work boots to carry him throughout the day.
00:17:36
Speaker
He looks for things like comfort, durability, and the wide variety of safety features that Justin Work Boots offer. These are safety toe, soft toe, waterproof, electric hazard, oil and slip resisting, and more. Your work gear matters on the job site, and your work boots are no exception. That's why my dad and millions of others rely heavily on Justin Work Boots.
00:17:57
Speaker
Get yours today at justinboots dot.com and use code KYBU15 for 15% off your next purchase. That's code KYBU15. Hey everybody, we are back from commercial. Thanks for tuning into the Kick Your Boots Up podcast. As always, like, subscribe, share this with your friends. Right now, Laura is going to walk us through the belt making process the best way we can here on the podcast. um And we brought some props in. We have a few different things. And so I don't know where you're going to start, but I want to start with this piece. It's pretty heavy.
00:18:27
Speaker
This is what you call a die? That's what you call a die. And every single design that we make starts with a pen and pencil sketch. So if you think about this belt right here, this belt would start with someone designing this buckle. And the buckle is actually a piece of metal with additional leather that's actually inlaid into it. But it would start with a pen and pencil sketch, as would the design of the embossing on the belt. Wow. But what's really unique about and each each buckle is uniquely designed. Yes. as Is the design of this embossing. OK. OK. So this embossing, however.
00:19:04
Speaker
is starts with the sketch and then a steel die is made for each single design. okay And it's got to be made for each single size as well. So these are made um one by one and then they they're they go into a machine and they're heat pressed into the leather to create the relief and the embossing that you see in here. And then these are then hand painted or sprayed and hand painted almost like a piece of furniture. If you think about them, they're rubbed so that they get the beautiful patina and the different shades of brown that you use. So it's a lot that goes into each and every piece and that's just a part of it. Yeah, that doesn't show about stitching it or putting the buckles and the snaps on. So that's just a little tip of the design where it starts with inspiration, pen and pencil sketch, and then the dies, and then the manufacturing. You know, that sounds pretty revolutionary. It sounds like you guys have created a pretty good process, stamping process, and same here, even. Talk about this process, too, because the leather starts bare. So it starts with bare Latico, and then it goes through. It's embossed, and then it's hand-painted.
00:20:20
Speaker
one shade and then another shade and then it continues to add colors to it to get it to its final stage and they're they're sprayed and then hand rubbed in between and then of course it's stitched and voila it ends up as the final buckle and belt the finished product the finished product we joke sometimes people think you put a cow on one side of the machine and out pops um a belt but no there's so many more steps to it than that I love that. Maybe you guys should start doing a campaign that's like, eat more chicken or something yeah like shit like the Chick-fil-A cows. That's so funny. Well, thank you for sharing this with us. We're going to take a quick break and get set, and we'll be right back to finish the story.
00:21:02
Speaker
Since 1879, our iconic boots have been trusted on ranches, job sites, and beyond. Now we bring that legacy to our new Justin Jeans. Our jeans are meticulously crafted from a blend of materials, offering uncompromised comfort and toughness. Boots, jeans, and clothes built for men demand nothing less than craftsmanship and style. Find a retailer in your area at JustinBoots dot.com. Oh, for real. And there's so much I could ask there. So I wish we had all the time in the world, but I do want to ask you a little bit going back to this is so relatable to boots. You know, everything is an artisan. Right. How do you find people that are so creative and care about their work and do the belt, the belt, like have a passion for belts?
00:21:47
Speaker
Well, they don't always start out making bills, you know, they start out as craftsmen. Okay, so we have and sometimes they start out as apprentices. So like, because some of the people in our sample making department have been there for 3040 years, as you can imagine, they can't do this forever. yeah And so we created a apprentice program and we recruited students um and some some people from other parts of our factory that maybe did did something else. Maybe they were in on the ah buckle, you know putting on the snaps in the buckle. yeah Maybe they were in a different part and we brought them into the apprentice program and they became sample makers. So we really had to sort of you know um evolve the department so that you continue to have fresh and and seasoned.
00:22:31
Speaker
Yeah. And well, how many I'm going to put you in the hot seat just for a second. And it's okay if you don't know the full answer, we can talk through it. How many steps does it take to make a belt from start to finish with the buckle with the snaps? So many steps. I can't even think about that. No, so many steps. So and when you go to put on your belt, you think, Oh, wow, this is probably so simple with a machine or something, but it is way deeper than that. Yes, it is way deeper than that. you know First of all, you've got to start with the leather. you've got to start with the leather And then the people in the factory that um that cut the leather, that's a skill because you really have to try to figure out how to get the maximum yield out of each and every scan. And then think about scans. Think about your body. Do you have any scratches anywhere on your legs or wherever? wherever we'll think about cows. They have barbed wire. So you really have to maneuver um cutting the leather out. And then of course, um there's just so many steps. You'll have to come to the factory sometime or we should get some video and show. but fun We'll have to bring the viewers along. Absolutely. We'd like to do that. Yeah. And that speaking of that, talk about saving money and stretching your dollar, having, having a cow hide that's cut out in an awkward pattern as it is, just being able to get,
00:23:40
Speaker
boom 10 straight lines for a belt is a lot. Do you know how many belts you can get from one height of leather? Depends on the height. Depends on the height. Depends on the height. So yeah, that's fair. But either way, that is so incredible. And i I just want everyone out there to know that there's different levels of belts too. If you want a plain, simple work boot or work belt, that's okay too. That you guys make it all. And then I've even seen like the Concho type for the women. haves We have Western work belts that are really more plain, you know just good on a strap of leather, good solid buckle. We have tooled belts, we have fancies, we have a show belts, we have braided belts, we have concho belts, we have ah chain belts for women, all different kinds. Yeah, and they're beautiful. And i I will say too, my husband has lost, we've kind of been in like a workout weight loss challenge. My husband has gotten down to his high school weight, which is so not fair. oh dear But his belt has become like the one thing he can't live without because all of his pants don't fit. And so you guys, even if you don't realize it, it's a huge tool as well. it is Because literally a tool belt, you know? Yeah, that's right. it We can fix him up. Yeah. Yeah, no, for sure, no, he he actually wears them. Of course, he knows someone. He's got connections. We make sure that that he is wearing the jeans, the boots, the belt, everything, but yeah, he loves it. he loves um The fact that he needs it too is is really cool. so um Laura, thank you so much for enlightening us on the belt industry. Who knew that it would have taken so much and that there was so much that goes into this. I so appreciate you taking the time to sit with us and we've learned a lot, so thank you. You're very welcome, it was a pleasure, thank you.
00:25:16
Speaker
And if you're out there listening, please don't forget, like, subscribe, share this with your friends. If you have questions about the belt industry or how belts are made or anything that you want to ask Laura, feel free to comment below and we'll send them her way. Also, we can't thank you enough for joining us on the kick your boots up podcast and we'll see you the next time you kick your boots up.
00:25:34
Speaker
Thanks for joining us on Kick Your Boots Up. I'm your host, Taylor McAdams, and we can't wait to share the next story of the West. Until then, feel free to like, subscribe, and leave us a review. Follow us on social media at Just In Boots to keep up with our next episode, and we'll see you the next time you kick your boots up.