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An American Renaissance of Sorts

An American Renaissance of Sorts

Chuck Bowen, Mission Mercantile CEO and Founder

My way of doing business sprouted and was nurtured working in my father’s hardware store. He believed that doing good business depended on offering well-made, dependable merchandise at a fair price.

Our family was blessed running our business that way. Looking back I can see how right then and there (as a young fellow) I decided that’s the ONLY way to do business.

Folks would return to our store time after time because we welcomed them as long-term friends and family (which they often were) and served them like they were our ONLY customer.

We knew each other on a first name basis (“Mr.” or “Mrs.” in my case). We went to church together. We did life together.

They could count on the goods they bought from us to last, and if they didn’t we’d either repair or replace them. No questions. Honest and plainspoken, true to our word.

men standing in a mercantile store that was located in south Georgia

Bowen family hardware store, south Georgia

High Quality Products Should Be Built to Last

No doubt, products worth your hard-earned dollars must be designed and constructed so they don’t wear out before you do. Right? We at Mission Mercantile believe, though, that doesn’t go far enough. They must also be priced well to keep with the centuries old purpose of the American general or mercantile store.

In those days, money was hard to come by and you expected (and insisted) that your purchase would last a long time. Quality materials and construction was demanded because the goods would be worked hard. The fashion industry has unfortunately created a new idea of how goods are made — often for only a few seasons at most.

Here’s How We Do It

As Mission Mercantile grows we’re always striving to do better every day. Because we own and control our own manufacturing, we can offer uncommon craftsmanship and quality at prices that turn the price-to-value equation upside down compared to other brands.

We’re able to do this because of three ways we approach our work every day.

1 – Our passionate focus on quality.

We minimize waste by making it right the first time. There’s never enough time to do right the second time. Our 6 step quality inspection approach is part of how we back up our Handshake Promise.

2 – Nurture strong supplier relationships.

Our products are only as good as the materials that go in them. We source the absolute best materials from the absolute best suppliers we can find, and then work every day to keep those relationships rock solid.

3 – Marry our exceptional handcrafted artisanship with world-class manufacturing.

I spent almost nine years as a manager for one of the best manufacturers in the world, P&G (Procter & Gamble). There I was steeped in techniques and approaches that we apply today to produce our very high quality handcrafted pieces, time after time.

Today We’re Turning Things Upside Down

There’s also another benefit to our approach. Because very high quality leather is available today at better prices than it was a few years ago, I believe we should pass that along to you as long as we can before leather prices increase, as they inevitably will.

Typically higher quality materials, construction and head-turning designs result in higher prices compared to the overall marketplace. Not necessarily so. Today Mission Mercantile is turning back the clock a generation or two with the revival of high quality, remarkably designed, well-priced leather goods. We call this our American Renaissance, of sorts.

To lead the way, we’re immediately offering even better pricing on many of our products.

P&G taught me that high, consistent quality should result in better prices. We’re out to prove that concept right on. You can always count on us giving you the best possible price we can for high quality leather goods.

If my dad was still with us today I know he’d be proud of how we do business. This is our Mission Mercantile Handshake PromiseTM.