Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/1172262
O n a recent Saturday afternoon, The French Room bar inside Dallas' Adolphus Hotel was quiet. Lights were dimmed, casting a faint glow onto the lacquered-mahogany paneling and Old Master paintings. Tucked in a back corner, a man lounged in a velvet banquette as clicks from a camera shutter broke the silence. A small crowd had gathered. The man's leopard jeans, glittering black cowboy boots, platinum hair, and tattoo-studded arms gave him a bad- boy aura — like a rock star hiding out before a performance. The subject of all this attention was Jim Shreve, Baccarat's North America president and CEO. With freshly bleached hair and a wardrobe of labels like DSquared2, Shreve is injecting the centuries-old crystal manufacturer with a jolt of cool. He was in town to host a private Baccarat dinner that night at The French Room for Neiman Marcus' home decor managers. Guests sipped cocktails from Baccarat, but there was nothing stuffy about the evening. Entertainment was via SHATTERING THE CRYSTAL CEILING 20-year-old American Idol and country western star Colby Swift, who is from Texas. They also played poker — Baccarat is a sponsor of the World Poker Tour — with winners taking home Baccarat loot. Shreve joined Baccarat in 2016 and has been rethinking the traditional crystal house since he arrived. A former exec at Diesel and Façonnable, he's appealing to younger customers with his unexpected product collaborations and edgier events. One of the fi rst things he did was hire a dynamic team with fashion backgrounds, including vice president of sales Sally Burnside, who worked for Theory and Michael Kors. Marketing and PR vice president Ward Simmons' background included Hugo Boss, Carolina Herrera, and Ralph Lauren. Visits to the company's factory in France inspired the Boys of Baccarat, a stylish campaign of beefy young third- and fourth-generation glassblowers photographed like supermodels, outfi tted in the French brand 13 Bonaparte. An infusion of fresh blood has also helped generate new creative strategies. "The tableware industry has always operated so differently from apparel, and I didn't understand why," Shreve says. "With apparel, you have mannequins dressed to show customers what to buy. With crystal, there's one of everything on display, and you have no idea what to purchase. So we created impact tables to show our customers what we believe in. And, like apparel, we change the focus often." Success has been immediate: A customer who walked into Baccarat's Greenwich, Connecticut store fell in love with everything on its impact table, including the tablecloth. "She bought 10 of everything," Shreve adds. "It works." Shreve's goal is to get Baccarat in the hands of more people — more often. "If you like beautiful things, why not drink orange juice in the morning from a $100 Baccarat glass." he Jim Shreve, Baccarat's new rock-star North America president and CEO, has a clear vision. BY REBECCA SHERMAN. PORTRAIT TREVOR PAULHUS. Baccarat chess set designed by Marcel Wanders Jim Shreve, photographed for PaperCity at the Adolphus Hotel, Dallas