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BY LEE COGHLAN
Rappahannock News Contributing Writer
Faith Mountain Company is expanding again, but not in the visible sense. This expansion is behind the scenes and it has a name, Gail Brewer.
Brewer has been appointed to the position of Vice President of Merchandise and she will change the direction of product development for Faith Mountain.
Brewer explains, “I will manage a course correction to the production selection, (think) American country with an up scale flavor. We’re going back to the roots of country, more handcrafted and authentic, and higher quality. The first catalog that will reflect (the change) will be the fall catalog that drops at the end of June.”
Brewer met with Cheri Woodard, President and CEO of Faith Mountain in August 1998 at a vendor meeting in New York City.
Brewer remembers, “I heard about the company through a recruiter, an external recruiting company, and so I took a look and decided it would be worth talking to these people. I wanted to see the focus, where they were going, what their vision was of this position (VP of merchandising). I thought it could possibly work’”
At the time, there was a lot of buying in New York for Faith Mountain. The intent, with Brewer at the wheel, will be to get away from buying too much. The new focus will be label product development.
Brewer surmises, “this will increase the amount of exclusivity in the product line and will create a unique niche market within the catalog market. The opportunity for growth is great.”
Brewer knows all about growth and change. In the early 80’s with two children, Naomi and Briana, and a marriage going sour, Brewer began her career in Maine where she had lived all her life
Brewer recalls, “I started working part-time at L.L. Bean to pay for real estate classes. I did that for two or three years, working the phones at first. I was transferred in the third season to the retail store and started redesigning the floor plan. I wa^atEH working seasonally.
“When Briana was old enough to go to school, that’s when I applied to L.L. Bean full time and was hired as the Supervisor of the Women’s Department. I did that for four months and knew that I would be
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