Will Investors Put the Lid on the Container Store’s Generous Wages?
CEO Kip Tindell’s brand of “conscious capitalism” is being tested in the face of a plunging share price
Tindell with his wares at company headquarters.
Photographer: Harry Gould Harvey IV for Bloomberg BusinessweekThis article is for subscribers only.
A few years ago, Kip Tindell found himself at a crossroads. Tindell is chief executive officer of the Container Store, the retail company he co-founded in Dallas in 1978. He’s worked with his wife, Sharon, the entire time, and many other executives have been there for decades, too. Tindell likes to fly-fish and daydream. He’s slow-twitch.
Tindell’s ambitions had grown over time. He realized the Container Store, which had been operating in big metropolitan areas, could expand into smaller cities. He also wanted to offer more employees stock in the company. But he was conflicted. “There are only a few things you can do to finance that,” he says. “My dad did not leave me $3 billion.”