Richard J Williamson

Richard John Williamson, (born 24 November 1965) is an well known costumer and entrepreneur. Williamson did not start out in the costume and lingerie industries, but in fact was formally schooled in biology and the sciences. He also expressed a strong interest in computer sciences while in college which ultimately lead to his formation of several prominently known e-commerce companies. Previously to working in the arts, Williamson worked in the life sciences, pharmaceutical, and scientific industries in primarily sales and marketing roles. The costume industry is a very small one, with very few people who stand out. Williamson is one of those maverick types that seems to be well known wherever he goes.
Early life & Schooling
Williamson was born in Bowden, England, the first of two boys. His father was a pharmaceutical executive, who ultimately left corporate life to become an entrepreneur at age 48. He attended Ardingly College in Haywards heath Sussex England, and during that time developed an interest an aptitude for the arts, including singing and acting. When his family moved from Brussels, Belgium to Philadelphia, USA, he later followed them and attended school in the US. Williamson ultimately choose to attend Elizabethtown College PA and majored in Biology. He later joked that "The only class that I received an A in was stagecraft, I suppose this is why I ended up in the theatre!"
Work History
After college, Williamson worked for Scott Specialty Gasses, a scientific gas supplier. He later moved in 1990 to MG industries in a marketing and product management role. This position lead to his relocation to New York City where he was further exposed to the theatre and arts, and became even further disillusioned with Corporate America. Williamson was then recruited in 1991 by Nunc, Inc., a scientific plastics manufacturer to manage it's east coast sales division. In 1993, Williamson Joined Boehringer Mannheim, a biochemicals supplier to work with develop emerging business and to grown key accounts.
In 1994, due to an realignment of the divisions at Boehringer, Williamson's position was eliminated. He found himself wondering if he should stay in the bio-tech field, or seek a more fulfilling path. He took some time off to enjoy his new found freedom, and then decided to evaluate his options. He then purchased the assets of "Costumes by Pierre" to allow himself to start a costume company. He began to operate under the trade name Pierre's Costumes. After several years, Williamson found that mascots, and corporate clients were more the type of costume business that he enjoyed, and began to focus on those aspects. The company continued to rent, sell, and construct costumes for performances, theatre, and ship costumes all over the world. In fact the company grew several times over during the 1990's according to D&B records. Pierre's Costumes has established a very good reputation for producing corporate mascots. Williamson was responsible for designing the Fruit of the Loom Guys as they are currently seen in commercials, his company makes the costumes.
Online Costuming
In 1997, Williamson launched Planetsanta.com. This company was a very early Santa Claus suit manufacturer and e-commerce retailer. They were one of the originators of the online Santa Suit web sites, and continue to be one of the dominant sites today. He has been quoted as saying that he invested $10,000 in that venture, and that his original goal was to "break even" during the Christmas season. While Williamson has never revealed how much he made that year with Planetsanta.com, he was quoted as saying "I did make my money back in 3 days, so I knew I had a winner!"
Within the year, Williamson added Planetcostume.com, and other niche marketed costume sites. It appears that at this time, Planetcostume Inc. (the online division parent company) owns well over 300 web sites and sells to a wide range of customers from www.churchcostume.com a site aimed at churches and bible camps, to www.planetcrossdress.com a site selling cross dressing supplies. His companies are very specific and niche related, but are all over the costume and lingerie industries.
Personal Information
Williamson is married with two children. He lives in the Philadelphia area. While he ultimately became a US citizen, he has a love of British things, and likes British cars. He enjoys restoring classic cars. His pride and joy is his 1965 MGB produced the same year he was born. Williamson also is an avid outdoorsman. He enjoys fly fishing, camping, and hiking. In addition, he is involved with his children with little league, & scouting.

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