Peter L. Harris
Encyclopedia
Peter L. Harris is a prominent retailer, who now serves as a consultant to retailers around the country.
into a middle class Jewish family. He is married with three children, Michael, David, and Richard.
. He became the Chief Executive Officer
of the company 13 years later. Under his leadership, Gemco achieved $2.2 billion in sales - the peak for the company. It was then that Harris became a member of the Young Presidents Organization.
In 1985 Harris became an investor partner at a troubled FAO Schwartz. There, he turned around the company to become a leading toy store. Notable features were the characters around the store, a singing clock, and a teddy bear outside stores. It is often said that his time at FAO was the peak of the company, and toy industry.
His time at FAO left a lasting mark on the retail industry, as he invented the concept of "entertainment retail." Entertainment retail is the philosophy that the customer should have an experience while in the store, a personal interaction between consumer and retailer. The effects of his time at FAO can be seen most directly at Toys "R" Us in New York
where a Ferris wheel
is available for the customers' amusement.
Harris' career continued at video game company Accolade and then Picture People until it was sold to Hallmark Cards
. Harris employed the entertainment retail philosophy here too, where photographers would wear fun, spin hats and children could play with a giant camera.
In July 2000, new owner-representative of the San Francisco 49ers
, John York
, hired Peter Harris to replace Carmen Policy
as President & Chief Executive Officer. Harris stayed for a four years but did not renew his contract. In his short time with the team, he jumpstarted the process of building a new stadium, an effort still underway.
In 2004 Harris was named the CEO of leading boat-supplier West Marine
in Watsonville, California
where more than 4,000 employees worked for him. He resigned in December 2007.
Currently, Harris is a Senior Managing Partner at Eaglepoint Advisors, a subsidiary of Kurt Salmon Associates. Eaglepoint is a crisis-management firm that specializes in retail and consumer goods markets.
Biographical Information
Harris was born on December 17, 1943 in Stockton, CaliforniaStockton, California
Stockton, California, the seat of San Joaquin County, is the fourth-largest city in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. With a population of 291,707 at the 2010 census, Stockton ranks as this state's 13th largest city...
into a middle class Jewish family. He is married with three children, Michael, David, and Richard.
Career
Peter Harris began his career in the Central Valley of California stocking shelves at GemcoGemco
Gemco was an American, particularly California chain of membership department stores that was owned by San Leandro-based Lucky Stores, a California supermarket company which has since been acquired in the 1980s by American Stores Company, which was later acquired by Albertsons in 1999. It operated...
. He became the Chief Executive Officer
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
of the company 13 years later. Under his leadership, Gemco achieved $2.2 billion in sales - the peak for the company. It was then that Harris became a member of the Young Presidents Organization.
In 1985 Harris became an investor partner at a troubled FAO Schwartz. There, he turned around the company to become a leading toy store. Notable features were the characters around the store, a singing clock, and a teddy bear outside stores. It is often said that his time at FAO was the peak of the company, and toy industry.
His time at FAO left a lasting mark on the retail industry, as he invented the concept of "entertainment retail." Entertainment retail is the philosophy that the customer should have an experience while in the store, a personal interaction between consumer and retailer. The effects of his time at FAO can be seen most directly at Toys "R" Us in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
where a Ferris wheel
Ferris wheel
A Ferris wheel is a nonbuilding structure consisting of a rotating upright wheel with passenger cars attached to the rim in such a way that as the wheel turns, the cars are kept upright, usually by gravity.Some of the largest and most modern Ferris wheels have cars mounted on...
is available for the customers' amusement.
Harris' career continued at video game company Accolade and then Picture People until it was sold to Hallmark Cards
Hallmark Cards
Hallmark Cards is a privately owned American company based in Kansas City, Missouri. Founded in 1910 by Joyce C. Hall, Hallmark is the largest manufacturer of greeting cards in the United States. In 1985, the company was awarded the National Medal of Arts....
. Harris employed the entertainment retail philosophy here too, where photographers would wear fun, spin hats and children could play with a giant camera.
In July 2000, new owner-representative of the San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
, John York
John York
John C. York is a retired American cancer research pathologist, married to Marie Denise DeBartolo York, and former co-owner and current co-chairman of the San Francisco 49ers. The Yorks have four children: sons Jed and Tony, and daughters Jenna and Mara.York was born in Muskogee, Oklahoma...
, hired Peter Harris to replace Carmen Policy
Carmen Policy
Carmen Policy is an attorney and American football executive who is best known for his front office work for the San Francisco 49ers during the 1980s and 1990s. Policy, a native of Youngstown, Ohio, joined the San Francisco 49ers in 1983 as vice president and counsel...
as President & Chief Executive Officer. Harris stayed for a four years but did not renew his contract. In his short time with the team, he jumpstarted the process of building a new stadium, an effort still underway.
In 2004 Harris was named the CEO of leading boat-supplier West Marine
West Marine
West Marine is an American company based in Watsonville, California which operates a chain of boating supply and fishing retail stores. They operate over 300 retail stores in North America.-History:...
in Watsonville, California
Watsonville, California
Watsonville is a city in Santa Cruz County, California, United States. The population was 51,199 according to the 2010 census.Located on the central coast of California, the economy centers predominantly around the farming industry. It is known for growing strawberries, apples, lettuce and a host...
where more than 4,000 employees worked for him. He resigned in December 2007.
Currently, Harris is a Senior Managing Partner at Eaglepoint Advisors, a subsidiary of Kurt Salmon Associates. Eaglepoint is a crisis-management firm that specializes in retail and consumer goods markets.
Trivia
- In the Tom HanksTom HanksThomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American actor, producer, writer, and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies, gaining wide notice in 1988's Big, before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title...
film BigBigBig is a 1988 romantic comedy film directed by Penny Marshall and stars Tom Hanks as Josh Baskin, a young boy who makes a wish "to be big" to a magical fortune-telling machine and is then aged to adulthood overnight...
the toy-company owner MacMillan, played by Robert LoggiaRobert LoggiaRobert Loggia is an American film and television actor and director.- Early life :Loggia, an Italian American, was born on Staten Island, the son of Elena Blandino, a homemaker, and Benjamin Loggia, a shoemaker, both of whom were born in Sicily, Italy...
, is based on Harris. The character is portrayed as fun, eccentric, and youthful - words often descriptive of Harris. - Attended Whittier CollegeWhittier CollegeWhittier College is a private liberal arts college in Whittier, California. As of January 2009, the college has approximately 1540 enrolled students.-Overview:...
, where he played centerCenter (American football)Center is a position in American football and Canadian football . The center is the innermost lineman of the offensive line on a football team's offense...
on the footballAmerican footballAmerican football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
team, and was a catcherCatcherCatcher is a position for a baseball or softball player. When a batter takes his turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. This is a catcher's primary duty, but he is also called upon to master many other skills in order to...
for the baseballBaseballBaseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
team. He went on to play AAAAAA (baseball)Triple-A refers to the highest level of play in minor league baseball in the United States and Mexico.-Purpose:Triple-A teams' main purpose is to prepare players for the Major Leagues:...
baseball. In high schoolHigh schoolHigh school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
, he lettered 6 times (for basketballBasketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, footballHigh school footballHigh school football, in North America, refers to the game of football as it is played in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both of these nations....
, and baseball).