#Repost blacknews ... Lawrence Willis, a Louisiana native and longtime alligator entrepreneur, is the founder and CEO of Willis & Co. (williswearco), a Black family-owned luxury company based in Pearland, Texas. Alongside his wife, daughter, and son-in-law, he is building something still rare in the luxury designer industry: a Black family-owned and controlled luxury house designed to be passed down for generations. After years of supplying premium American alligator skins that eventually made their way into high-end luxury products, he had a realization: Why keep providing valuable materials for other luxury brands when his family had the expertise to build a brand of its own? Today, their company develops handcrafted luxury handbags, wallets, belts, briefcases, travel pieces, furniture, and other products using American alligator, buffalo leather, and premium cowhide. The family hopes to carve out its place in the roughly $400 billion global luxury goods industry with a brand rooted ...