Mitch Journey of 10,000 Villages
Putting people to work is what 10,000 Villages is all about
By John Temple Ligon Temple@TheColumbiaStar.com

Mitch Journey

Mitch Journey was born in Nashville, Tenn., where his father was in the Marine Corps and his mother was a registered nurse. He also has an older anda younger brother, and both live in South Carolina.

He attended the first grade in Orangeburg, S.C., and spent the next four years in Bowman School, Bowman, S.C.

Journey came back to Orangeburg for middle school and graduated from Oran geburg- Wilkinson High School. For his entire secondary school term, Journey was the best artist in the class.

He took his artistic talents to Anderson College, then a two- year institution, and graduated with a BA in art from USC.

Journey worried about making a living with his art degree so he went into the retail business, more specifically visual merchandising.

Journey began with the Orangeburg Belk- Hudson, part of a regional chain of department stores. He soon left Belk- Hudson for JCPenney, where he stayed for 22 years. In 2003, Journey left JCPenney and located with 10,000 Villages the next year.

Journey was first a customer of the 10,000 Villages store, which began over 60 years ago. It is a chain of more than 160 stores in the U.S. and Canada. He then joined the firm and opened the Forest Acres store in Forest Park where he is now the manager.

The stores sell inexpensive arts and crafts from the Third World, mostly desolate and desperate places .

Most 10,000 Villages store interiors are built and staffed by volunteers. As a full- time store manager on the payroll, Journey is the store's exception to the volunteer rule.

The stores are non- profits, and the 10,000 Villages headquarters in Akron, Pa., is the home of one huge 501(c)3. As a non- profit, each store can accept tax- deductible donations.

The basic idea behind 10,000 Villages is fair trade, a kind of free trade where the artisan or the craftsman gets most of the money. There is a minimum of middle men, almost none, and 10,000 Vi llages handles the merchandise from its origins to its retail customer sales.

A more mercantile method would allow for the retail sale prices to float up to market maximums, finding values at whatever levels the market can bear. But 10,000 Villages is more interested in a combination of low prices and high volume, so the artisans and craftsmen can multiply to meet the demand.

In a non- profit mode, 10,000 Villages is dedicated to raising the number of sellers by raising the number of buyers. Putting peoplpe to work is what 10,000 Villages is all about.

Journey sees the retail business as a customer service business. Regardless of philosophical standing or operations margins, the retail business runs mostly on customer service. If the customer is not happy, the customer does not return; therefore, the customer is always right.

In advertising, Journey says his targeted market profile is the 25- 45 woman, the person in society with the most disposable income. If she's happy, the store succeeds, and she recommends the store to others.