Jack Mitchell is an American businessperson, author, and

motivational speaker A motivational speaker (or inspirational speaker) is a speaker who makes speeches intended to motivate or inspire an audience. Such speakers may attempt to challenge or transform their audiences. The speech itself is popularly known as a pep ta ...

. He is the chairman of the Mitchells Family of Stores.Robert Reiss
Mitchells ... Built and Growing on Hugs
''Forbes'', January 3, 2011 In 2005, he was included on '' Inc.'' magazine's list of 26 Most Fascinating Entrepreneurs.

Early life and education

Mitchell earned a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

from

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the Methodi ...

in 1961, and later obtained a

master of arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in Chinese history from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

, in 1963, planning to become a diplomat in China-United States relations.

Career

The Mitchells Family of Stores was founded in 1958 as "Ed Mitchell's" by Mitchell's parents, Ed and Norma Mitchell. The original

Westport, Connecticut Westport is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. Located in the Gold Coast (Connecticut), Gold Coast along the Long Island Sound, it is northeast of New York City and is part of the Western Connecticut Planning Region, Connec ...

, shop had only 800 ft² of space and five

men's suit A suit, also called a lounge suit, business suit, dress suit, or formal suit, is a set of clothes comprising a suit jacket and trousers of identical textiles generally worn with a collared dress shirt, necktie, and dress shoes. A skirt suit ...

styles. Jack joined the company in 1969.About Us
mitchellstores.com The company acquired Richards of

Greenwich, Connecticut Greenwich ( ) is a New England town, town in southwestern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 63,518. It is the largest town on Gold Coast (Connecticut), Connectic ...

in 1995, Marsh's of

Long Island, New York Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

, in 2005 (now called Mitchells),

Wilkes Bashford Wilkes Bashford was a clothing retailer headquartered in San Francisco, California, United States. In November 2009, it was acquired by Mitchells Stores. The flagship store was opened in 1966 by its namesake Wilkes Bashford. It is favored by som ...

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

and

Palo Alto Palo Alto ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for ) is a charter city in northwestern Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a Sequoia sempervirens, coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. Th ...

in 2009, and Marios in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

and

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

, in October 2015. Mitchells Stores acquired

Stanley Korshak Stanley Korshak is an American luxury goods specialty department store in Dallas, Texas. The largest independent department store in the United States, it is located in the Uptown neighborhood in The Crescent retail complex. Mitchells Stores a ...

in 2025.Mitchells Stores Buys Stanley Korshak
''WWD'', JEAN E. PALMIERI, March 4, 2025

Published works

* ''Hug Your Customers: The Proven Way to Personalize Sales and Achieve Astounding Results'' (2003) * ''Hug Your People: The Proven Way to Hire, Inspire, and Recognize Your Employees and Achieve Remarkable Results'' (2008) * ''Selling the 'Hug Your Customers Way': The Proven Process for Becoming a Passionate and Successful Salesperson for Life'' (2018)

References

Living people American male writers American motivational speakers American businesspeople in fashion Year of birth missing (living people) {{US-business-bio-stub