Executive Interview: Helping Others through Fair Trade: A Conversation with Terry Marshall of Come Together Trading Company

Abstract

Terry and Tammy Marshall own and operate a fair trade retail store called Come Together Trading in Tyler, Texas. The Marshalls are members of the Fair Trade Federation, an organization which fosters the growth of fair trade throughout the United States. The Fair Trade Federation (FTF) is comprised of retail businesses and wholesalers that sell only fair trade products in North America. The FTF is part of the global fair trade movement and its main goals are to build equitable and sustainable trading partnerships as well as creating opportunities to alleviate poverty. Formed in 1994 as the North American Alternative Trade Organization (NAATO), the group changed its name to the Fair Trade Federation in the following year. The FTF has grown from 17 members at its inception in 1994 to over 250 members in 2015. The FTF requires its members to employ an entirely (or dedicated) fair trade business model that requires fair trade retailers to purchase goods only from FTF member wholesalers to insure the legitimacy of fair trade merchandise.Born in Austin, Texas, Terry Marshall attended public schools in Dallas and then worked for several car dealerships before joining his parents in a recreational vehicle dealership. Terry worked for his parents for four years and enjoyed the family business. Then, his father offered to help Terry and his wife, Tammy set up their own recreational vehicle business in Canton, Texas, which is about 100 miles east of Dallas on Interstate 20. Tammy Marshall, who is also from Dallas, had a retail background working for an import company called World Bazaar. The Marshalls, who have now been married for over 27 years, have a daughter named Taylor. The couple started the RV business with one employee and owned and operated the dealership for 17 years. At its peak, the Marshalls had 12 employees and did several million dollars in annual sales. Then, hard times fell on the RV industry and the Marshalls were able to sell their business in 2009.Author: Please describe your decision to leave the recreational vehicle business.Terry Marshall: I have always been an entrepreneur and rarely worked for anyone else. It started in 2007 when several of the big manufacturers, like Holiday Rambler and Fleetwood, that had been around for 50 and 60 years, went out of business. I believe over 75 manufacturers went out of business. There were a lot of mom and pop dealers who had been in the industry for years, but the economy really hurt that industry because it was a luxury item. Our market got down to people who were using RVs for work or were extremely wealthy. The demand dropped in half overnight.Author: What event had a profound effect on you?Terry Marshall: We took a trip with Compassion International-we had never been outside the country, except for cruises to Cancun and things like that. We decided in 2009 to take a trip to Kenya, Africa with Compassion International, not as wealthy people who go on a safari, but to see poverty first hand. We went to see a young man that we were sponsoring to go to college. We were invited to go on this trip and we thought that it was time to do it. Our hearts were there because of our faith and we wanted to go and see and get a bigger world view.Author: Had you sold the RV business then?Terry Marshall: We had not sold it yet. We were trying to sell it. We had put out some feelers to larger chain RV dealers. I put together a package. We went on the trip in January 2009 and closed on the business in April 2009. After we got home, we had a meeting with a gentleman to sell the business and hammered out an agreement.Author: were blessed to sell a business that quickly.Terry Marshall: Very blessed. Our hearts were stirred and we were looking for something to do business-wise that would help people. Our hearts were not in the RV business any more. I heard that Dale Earnhardt, Jr. said, You really better enjoy what you do or make money. …