A conversation with Kip Tindell, Chairman and CEO of The Container Store.
Terry: I’m here with Kip Tindell, Chairman and CEO of The Container Store. Thank you very much for agreeing to visit with us.
Kip: Glad to be here.
Terry: I thought I’d start by you giving us the elevator pitch on The Container Store, what it is today, and what it is you all do.
Kip: Well, what we really do is give our customers the promise of an organized life, and I think that’s really a substantial benefit to everybody. Somehow, when we started the business in 1978, we had some inkling that people would be short of time and space, but we had no idea that people would be as multitasking and short of time as we all are today. I think that’s been a great tailwind to our business, a little bit like, you know, conscious eating has been a tailwind to the Whole Foods business.
But if you’re getting two kids ready in the morning to go to school; they’re disorganized, and you’re disorganized, it’s a mess, it’s not fun. But if everybody’s organized, it can be fun. When you have enough time, maybe the sandwiches are cut in a heart shape, you know? Everybody’s on time, everybody’s happy. It’s a beautiful morning rather than a terrible morning. So, if you’re reasonably well organized, you have a much better chance of accomplishing everything you want to get accomplished in life…