Inside James Whitner’s Purpose-First Retail Playbook

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Background:

Earlier this month, A Ma Maniére — one part of James Whitner’s The Whitaker Group — was named one of BoF’s Best Fashion Stores in the World, our definitive global list of retailers with the most distinctive edits and experiences.

Whitner has spent twenty years building an independent retail business that operates more than 20 stores across 16 US cities — many of them in Black neighbourhoods that mainstream retail had overlooked — based on the feeling he got hanging out in barbershops and sneaker spots growing up in Pittsburgh.

“The best things happen in the barbershop — the most interesting conversations on the block are in the barbershop,” Whitner says. “And once I got some money, going shopping … [was about] how you were serviced, the relationships you had with those people and how good you felt entering and exiting the space. The social currency tied to looking good was about feeling good.”

Back in February 2025, James spoke to me about the discipline behind the business, how he’s built brand partnerships that actually last, and why he believes community development, not just retail, is where he needs to head next.

Key Insights:

• Learning to Operate Before Chasing Scale: Whitner is candid about the unglamorous groundwork behind Whitaker Group’s growth — five years learning to operate, and then another five building brand partnerships. “You have got to understand how to keep costs down, how to build an infrastructure while keeping costs down,” he says.
• Brand Partners Who Play the Long Game: Whitner is blunt about who he’ll work with. “If you want to work with brands who want to be for everybody, that means you’re for nobody,” he says. On scaling a business built on cultural credibility: “This is an industry that you can scale, but it’s not built for scale.”
• Nike and the Trust in Storytelling: Whitner credits an authentic relationship with Nike for the Whitaker Group’s most successful drops. “Nike loves us because we’re uniquely us for them... nothing scales better than a great story,” he says, previewing a tighter, more intentional distribution strategy.
• From Retail to Real Community Development: Community development has become central to Whitner’s business, with completed projects including Social Status Detroit — a $5.5 million redevelopment on the city’s east side — and The Collective on Tuckaseegee, a ten-space retail compound in Charlotte. “At some point, realising that we needed to be the developer that helped shape the community,” he says. “It’s more important for us to drive connections and just try to help people who want to help people.”

Additional Resources:

• The Best Fashion Stores in the World | BoF
• The Independent Retailer Built on Prioritising Black Buying Power | BoF
• The Whitaker Group Expands With New Women-Centric Retailer Jaide | BoF