Eddie Bauer Inspiration Comes from the Top

Inspiration is a big part of retail, and often inspiration comes from the products stories. Williams-Sonoma has this down pat, and Lands' End often gets it right in email.

Inspiration also comes from customers. From professionally crafted customer showcases, to the genuine voices of icitizens echoing across blogs, opinion sites, shopping aggregators and branded e-retailers, inspiration from consumers is all around.

But it seems more rare these days for the CEO of a leading retailer to be the source of inspiration, not just to associates, but customers, as was the case last week with Eddie Bauer's new CEO (and with full disclosure, a former Resource client at the helm of Bath & Body Works up until early this summer).

The subject line of the email read, "Eddie Bauer's CEO tackles Mt. Rainier." Click through and you can read his story and see the clothes and equipment he used. How refreshing -- and inspiring -- to see the CEO living the brand, sharing his experience and, of course, selling his products.