Tom Kartsotis

Tom Kartsotis (born 1959) is an American entrepreneur, best known as the founder of the brand development firm Bedrock Manufacturing Co.,[1] which is named for The Flintstones hometown and was founded in 2003.[2] Kartsotis was also known as the founder and the president of Fossil since 1984 until 2010.

Career
Tom Kartsotis (left) gives U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez a tour of a new Shinola location.

Kartsotis is the founder of Fossil Inc. in 1984 and served in roles including Director, President, Chief Executive Officer, Chairman from 1984 to January 2010.[3] Kartsotis re-founded defunct shoe polish brand Shinola as Shinola Detroit and re-positioned it as a wristwatch brand.[4]

Controversy

In June 2016, the US Federal Trade Commission ordered Shinola to stop using 'Where American is made' as a slogan because "100% of the cost of materials used to make certain watches is attributable to imported materials."[5] Kartsotis responded with an open letter which noted that the regulations defining "Made in America" for cars are not the same as for watches.[6]

Other brands

Kartsotis has also invested in American designer Steven Alan and outdoor goods brand Filson.[7] Kartsotis has served on the Board of Directors of Burton Snowboards since 2004.[8]

Personal life

Kartsotis is of Greek parentage.[9] He shuns media attention and is rarely photographed.[10] His brother, Kosta also served as CEO & chairman of Fossil, replaced Tom's position since 2010.

References
  1. bloomberg.com Tom Kartsotis
  2. "Making it in America: Mo' time for Motown". The Economist. February 5, 2014.
  3. "Company Overview of Bedrock Manufacturing Co". bloomberg.com. September 24, 2016.
  4. STACY PERMAN, The Real History of America's Most Authentic Fake Brand: A mogul from Texas is using the country's least aspirational city as the backdrop for his next global lifestyle company--a $225 million experiment in manufactured authenticity Inc. (magazine)
  5. NICHOLAS MANOUSOS, FTC Takes Action Against Shinola, Suggests 'Where American Is Made' Slogan Be Dropped HODINKEE, JUNE 17, 2016
  6. Tom Kartsotis, An Open Letter From Shinola Founder Tom Kartsotis In Response To The FTC's Most Recent Action hodinkee.com JUNE 17, 2016
  7. businessoffashion.com Tom Kartsotis
  8. simonequity.com Tom Kartsotis
  9. "Tom Kartsotis - The Greek behind the coolest brand in America". www.ellines.com. Retrieved 2021-12-10.
  10. LAUREN SHERMAN, How Tom Kartsotis Is Banking on America businessoffashion.com MARCH 22, 2016
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.