Advisory Board member Barry Gilbert, CEO of Smith & Hawken

Born on the east coast, Gilbert came to California to attend the University of California at Berkeley during a time he deems “interesting”, 1969. He knew immediately that California would be home, and in an attempt to follow his brother’s footsteps to become a lawyer, Gilbert attended McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento but left partway through to obtain a job in retail. After getting a taste of retail, he went back to Berkeley for his MBA, unsure his degree in Existential Philosophy adequately prepared him for retail. Gilbert notes, “The minute I entered retailing it was love at first sight. I really enjoyed the rapid pace, the interaction with people, and the ability to make people happy with the retail experience. It is also a very challenging business: to your intellect, creativity, stamina, and people skills. It is always changing!”

From operations to merchandising, his experience in the industry is well rounded. He began as a salesperson in a department store, and worked his way up. Working for a variety of merchandising companies including Warner Bros. Studio Stores, Federated Department Stores, and Sharper Image, Gilbert has experienced positions ranging from Store Manager, Buyer, Merchandise Manager, to Vice President. At the heart of his success he credits the passion of simply loving what he does. “I love every minute of being a retailer and enjoy plying my craft.”

It is this passion, applied to quality and position of environmental responsibility at Smith & Hawken that most appealed to Gilbert. Smith & Hawken is a company of passionate gardeners who wish to share the beauty and enjoyment of gardening and the outdoors. He observes, “Today more and more people are spending more time in this place – ‘the largest room in the house’, and want to make it more comfortable. We try to make it comfortable with high quality products that people will enjoy for a long time. If we can also offer products that are environmentally responsible, that’s even better.”

Gilbert credits his talented and experienced team from a variety of disciplines to the outcome: products that are made well and with intelligence. Understanding that his consumers want better products at great prices, Gilbert encourages that they offer value to the consumer through lifelong products. He explains that finding that next successful product is always a fun challenge.” The creativity involved in developing such a product makes it enormously rewarding because when you get it right, you have a product that is enormously successful.” Last Christmas Smith & Hawken introduced a backyard fireplace which was picked up by The Today Show, The NY Times, and Newsweek. Gilbert says, “The entire team felt they had achieved a really big accomplishment.”

Gilbert’s next challenge lies in making his products more readily available to more customers. “Today we only have 50 stores. I’d like to see 250 Smith & Hawken stores - so we’ve got a lot of growing to do.” With growth in mind, Gilbert is in the right company, as Smith & Hawken has nurtured a new passion within him, “I have really become addicted to growing things. Seeing your plants grow from seedlings to healthy, thriving plants is very rewarding.”

Whether enthusiastically learning his consumers’ devotion for gardening, challenging all aspects of the retail industry, or anticipating his own time to join the dog-owners in the office, Gilbert does not shy away from a new experience. Students could truly gain a lot from his energetic approach to the industry and encouragement to open eyes and ask questions beyond the classroom experience. His belief that retail is “not a business you do behind a desk” may just be part of his nature, though his tireless effort to contribute to the industry and his embracement of opportunity are why Barry Gilbert is a valued member of the RMI Advisory Board.