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The Summer of 2021 was the busiest Mallory Paint Store had ever been. A nationwide paint shortage caused a tidal wave of customers to surge towards their local Benjamin Moore retailers who had somehow managed to maintain healthy stock levels despite all supply chain issues. Tradespeople clamored for whichever exterior paint they could purchase and it quickly became clear that we were in an “all hands on deck” scenario. Owner Jim Mallory rallied the Outside Sales force and Upper Management team and hit the front lines, personally leading the charge. By far Jim’s greatest strength is the ability to instill loyalty in the people surrounding him, and this instance was no different. As he rolled up his sleeves and worked the counter with his team, throwing freight and tinting paint, everyone had a chance to see who Jim really is: not some absent CEO sitting behind a desk, but a hardworking leader who is fully invested; someone who goes all in.

Twelve years ago when Jim told Benjamin Moore that he wanted to buy the Seattle Paint Supply stores it didn’t take long for them to agree. Formerly an Outside Sales Representative for the same company Jim had made the leap to independent owner in 2006 with the acquisition of the Woodinville location, and shortly after that the Lynnwood location in 2009. Leading a small, trustworthy team he focused on developing strong customer relationships which would fuel Mallory Paint Store’s growth trajectory, and it worked. On December 31st, 2010, the paperwork was completed for the purchase of Seattle Paint Supply making Jim the owner of six Mallory Paint Store locations.

A quick-witted and strategic thinker, Jim Mallory is bold in a way that most people are too cautious to be. With six stores in one hand and the entire Pacific Northwest in the other he decided to keep the momentum of growth by rolling out two brand new stores in Kirkland and Issaquah, and then purchasing the Wahl owned Bellevue Paint Stores adding three more to his arsenal in Bellevue, Sammamish, and Spokane, Washington. With over fifty employees and eleven stores it was time to fill in the blank places between stores and establish a stronger Inland foothold. This rapid growth caused Mallory Paint Store to brim with opportunity and Jim decided to strengthen his team by promoting from within, filling leadership roles as the workforce continued to expand. With this improved structure and a century’s worth of combined expertise Jim’s team quickly established themselves as trustworthy leaders in the paint industry.

Most people don’t find themselves working in the paint industry on purpose. As Jim says, “Nobody knows what they want in their twenties!” And for him the story goes the same. A well-travelled veteran of the Navy’s USS Truxtun, life after military service found a young Jim Mallory working behind the counter of Postal Boxes Plus. Working six days a week by himself, the sole employee decided to take a new opportunity presented to him by a regular client, the District Sales Manager of Columbia Paint. Jim’s new role would be selling Messmer’s Stain in Western Canada, Oregon, and Idaho and it would help prepare him for a future he hadn’t even begun to imagine.

When Lucy was born in 2002 Jim realized he was travelling too much. The vivacious little bundle filled her father’s life with new joy and a change in perspective, helping him realize that he wanted to be a present parent for her and brother Joshua, born in 2005. Bolstered by his ever-growing network of industry connections when a Sales Representative position became available at Seattle Paint Supply he took the job. The Greenlake store became home base and highly motivated, Jim worked hard to grow the Benjamin Moore brand in the flourishing Seattle market. Benjamin Moore opened their new Seattle Paint Supply store in Woodinville and Jim began stretching himself to fill the space in-between with happy, well-served customers. Unbeknownst to him it would only be a few short years before he would purchase the entire group of stores and a new path would begin to take shape.

Benjamin Moore exploded in the Pacific Northwest. Reaching the milepost “Twenty Stores by 2020” marked a major achievement for Jim who had now planted stores from Lacey to Monroe, Washington, and as far east as Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. He stood strong with a team of 135 and already had his eyes on the next goal. Team Mallory was stronger than it had ever been and our customers were strong too. Tradespeople building reputable businesses, painters preserving homes with beautifully applied coatings, even regular people doing their own projects graced the threshold of their neighborhood Mallory Paint Store. These customers knew us. Knew Jim. They were friends and family, respected industry partners. Then the world came to a sudden stop.

In 2020 everything seemed to freeze. Uncertainty was the flavor of the week as society shifted into uncharted waters. Across the nation businesses found themselves faced with insurmountable challenges. Streets emptied of traffic. People stayed inside. Guidelines went into effect. Jim made a decision. Up to this point he had never laid anyone off and he wasn’t going to start now. For as long as it could safely do so Mallory Paint Store would remain open for business. Jim went all in. A new ecommerce platform and a new retail-friendly delivery policy allowed customers who were staying inside to place orders and have them safely placed on their doorstep. Spring was in the air and it turned out that people had unexpected time on their hands for home improvement projects. The world was strange but Team Mallory was taken care of; still safely working, still tinting Benjamin Moore paint.

Enter the Summer of ’21. Nobody could have imagined we would be this busy. Staying open had made us accessible, kept us visible in the community and the community gave back. We focused on fulfilling as many orders for Benjamin Moore paint as possible and helping our customers with whatever wherever we could. Throughout it all Jim stood with his team back at the counter of the Greenlake store wearing a nametag that just said, “Jim”. When he would take the order to the back of the store to tint the last two gallons of whatever had incredibly been available occasionally we would look over at the customer and say with pride, “That’s the Owner, Jim Mallory.”

Team Mallory has hit a new normal, a new sort of fever pitch. Every new hire get’s onboarded into a store that treats paint like it’s real gold, especially Benjamin Moore Scuff-X Satin. They’re told about the benefits, prepared for the onslaught of every exterior season. Some new hires don’t stick, maybe because there’s a disconnect in their mind about why something as simple as this job matters so much, like, how could anything entry level be important? But this job matters at every level. Team Mallory knows. You can see it in their eyes, how much they love it. How much they love working in one of the last “Old School” environments in the Pacific Northwest where loyalty is rewarded and giving your word means something. How much they love earning opportunities, one after the next, and leveling up. Having hundreds of painters and homeowners ask for them by name. Building an entire career out of an interview that they almost didn’t take. Team Mallory knows that every painter who shows up in their store trusts them with his livelihood. It makes them proud to be trusted. It makes them proud to be experts. To be the biggest Benjamin Moore dealer west of the Rockies. Proud to be on Jim’s team.

Jim has set a new goal to strive for, “36 Stores by 2026: A Yard Ahead”. With a team roster 150 employees strong and growth opportunities just around the corner for those ready and eager, we’re feeling there’s a pretty good chance of hitting this target. In the meantime Mallory Paint Store will carry on as it has for the last sixteen years providing the best expertise, the best customer service, and the best premium Benjamin Moore paint to the Pacific Northwest.