Gina Thorsen, who takes over as CEO of Jacquart Fabric Products and Stormy Kromer on July 1
It’s only fitting, given that the iconic winter hat that gave the company its name was designed by a woman, that Gina Jacquart Thorsen will be taking the reins at Stormy Kromer from her father, Bob Jacquart, on July 1.
Back in the very beginning of the 20th century, Ida Kromer took an idea her husband, railroad engineer George “Stormy” Kromer had for a warm hat that wouldn’t fly off in the wind, and made it an eponymous reality. The couple started a company around their innovative winterwear, which found quick early success among Kromer’s railroad compatriots, and it produced them near Milwaukee until 2001. That’s when declining sales nearly marked the end of the iconic hat. But Jacquart, who was already running the fabric and sewing company his father had founded in the 1950s in Ironwood, Michigan, Jacquart Fabric Products (maker of everything from bank bags and boat covers to displays for the Smithsonian Institution), saw a huge opportunity. He swooped in and saved it, moving its production to Ironwood with the rest of his business.
Jacquart slowly built the Stormy Kromer brand back up until about ten years ago, when Thorsen took over the role of President of Stormy Kromer. The father-and-daughter duo have driven substantial business growth since then, generating an appeal of quirky trendiness that brought in new generations of customers to add to the die-hard Northwoods folks who’ve forever sworn by the hat. They added apparel items, started a company store, moved aggressively into digital marketing and online sales, and expanded the appeal to women and children. They even added a Critter Kromer for dogs. It’s all paid off handsomely. Revenues are up 92% since 2017, and have grown 20% in the past two years.
Gina Thorsen. Bob Jacquart is third from left. Gina Thorsen is at center just left of her ... [+]
Now, as Thorsen formally moves into the CEO role at Jacquart Fabric Products, Jacquart will transition to the Chairman position of the company. The two credit each other for the company’s success, with a promise of more of the same in years to come.
Thorsen shares a trait common to those working in family businesses and calls Jacquart by his first name. It certainly doesn’t imply a lack of respect, as she was frank about her admiration for him. “Bob has the ultimate entrepreneurial mind,” she said. “He created an 80,000 square-foot of factory starting out of his father’s basement. We want to keep that ability to pivot, but add strategic planning we haven’t done before. We’ll look at where we can take the company with our leadership team over the next three to five years.”
“What I find fascinating,” added Jacquart, “is that after all the love and care we’ve put into the business after 50 years, there are still so many opportunities. Now Gina will have the chance to go after her own opportunities.”
“We want to grow our footprint with existing customers like Tractor Supply and REI,” Thorsen explained. “We’ll look at new areas of the country, and continue to grow the awareness and knowledge of the brand. We’ve been talking about international–we say, ‘Let’s get into New England, then go overseas!’”
The day-to-day nuts and bolts of the business will be a continued focus as well. “As with pretty much everybody, supply chain is an issue for us,” continued Thorsen. “Getting materials into the talented hands we have here is a challenge. But there’s an opportunity, too–we’ve been moving suppliers closer. We buy wool from Asia, Italy, and Mexico, and we’ve been moving more colors and patterns to Mexico. And we just placed a large order to a mill in Connecticut. Supply chain issues have us looking for new opportunities like that.”
The iconic hat: the Stormy Kromer Blizzard Cap.
The new business areas that have brought growth to the brand have presented their own difficulties. “Part of the challenge the past few years is that we’ve seen such a huge speed of growth in our apparel items,” said Thorsen. “We have 16 minutes of sewing in our hat versus 60 minutes of sewing in a coat, for example. We’ve been partnering with other factories to do some of that work for us.”
“We have a Lean person to help us improve our production processes,” added Jacquart. “We’ve been on this family expedition to bring growth in from outside. We brought on two new advisors–Gina has advisors with the business acumen and knowledge to take us to a level I never could.”
It’s been the culmination of a lifelong ambition for Jacquart. “The whole thing of how my family can impact the community is being fulfilled,” he said. “That’s been the dream, and now it’s happening.”
Jacquart is not going away. “I have a unique sewing ownership–I’m a pretty decent sewing machine operator and a really good mechanic. I have a couple of ideas for the plant floor to improve our sewing operations. And I’ll continue to be a sounding board for Gina, and help with decisions on capital investments. It’s still hugely attractive for me to be here. The main goal, though, is to have everyone know that Gina has the reins.”
Thorsen added, “If nothing else, Bob will be our chief tour-giver!”
