The J. Peterman Company

Retail Apparel and FashionOhio, United States51-200 Employees

When I was seven my plan was to become Marco Polo. I had a change of heart when I was eight and decided to go into professional baseball. My father was patient. I threw too high. I threw between his legs. I wasn’t big enough. I had no talent. Having no talent can be a great gift. In my case, it gave me determination. My dream actually came true. I played professional baseball when I was 20, 21, and 22. Then it ended. 

I started looking for work. When asked why I left my last job, I said it was because I couldn’t hit a curve ball. I still had 307 other dreams left, but I decided to go back to the first. I still wanted to be Marco Polo. 

After baseball, I found myself traveling too. As a salesman. In Wyoming, I made a purchase that changed my life. It was a full-length horseman’s duster that had all the character, romance, and adventure I dreamed about. I wore it in Chicago, New York, and San Francisco. People noticed.

I started this company selling that coat, and we carry it still. Like many of our products, it takes you on an emotional journey – living life the way you wish it was. We’ve never been in the apparel business. We’re in the emotion business. 

When we started, we broke all the rules because we didn’t know what the rules were. If I liked something, I was sure there was someone else who would like it, too. Our “Owner’s Manual” catalogue only featured one item per page, we used paintings of items versus photography, and each item was accompanied by intensive romantic copy. These were all things the “experts” said we couldn’t do. Thirty years later, they’re still telling us that. 

I trusted my gut, and I trusted anyone who loved that duster as much as I did. It’s an unspoken kinship that has taken me around the world, bringing unique, hard-to-find goods to market. 

I read somewhere that the richness of life lies in memories and dreams we have forgotten. The J. Peterman Company was created to keep me, and you, remembering.

- J. Peterman

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