Blair Corporation

Last updated
Blair Corporation
Company type Private
IndustryMail order, retail
Founded1910
Headquarters Warren, Pennsylvania, USA
Key people
Adelmo S. Lopez, CEO and President
ProductsMen's and Women's Clothing, Household goods
Revenue US$ 262.8 million
Number of employees
1,200
Parent Bluestem Brands, Inc.
Website www.blair.com

Blair Corporation is one of America's largest direct marketing mail order retailers, selling clothing and household goods. Founded in 1910 as the New Process Company by John Leo Blair, the company celebrated its 100th year in business in 2010. [1] [2] The company is well known for its retail catalogs, which are sent to millions of customers in the United States. [3] While most business is done through mail-order, phone, or online, Blair also maintains retail stores in Warren and Grove City, Pennsylvania. [3] Pennsylvania]], where it is based. [4] Blair employs around 1200 associates. [5]

Contents

Company history

Blair was founded in 1910 by John L. Blair, who originally took up an offer to sell raincoats. After several unsuccessful attempts at selling the coats, he was asked by an undertaker if he had any attractive black raincoats. He didn't, but it gave him an idea. The idea John had was to take advantage of the relatively new process of rubber vulcanization to adhere an attractive black wool fabric to the outside of a rubber raincoat, with an inner lining of a Scottish plaid. His classmate agreed to begin producing just such a coat and supplied him initially with 1200 coats, which were purchased almost immediately. He actually had to send out letters of apology until new coats could be produced. Samples of his letters from as early as 1910 still exist. [6]

With the help of his father and siblings, John mailed 10,000 letters to undertakers across America and the coat quickly saturated the market. He expanded with letters to ministers and businessmen, and he also expanded his product line. For the first few years his business was known as New Process Rubber Company, and by 1916 it was changed to New Process Company.

New Process Company went public in 1924. By the mid-1980s, New Process was also said to be the largest publicly held direct-marketer of clothing and home products in the United States, and also had the oldest continually traded stock on the American Stock Exchange. [7] Murray McComas, CEO at that time, appeared in a filmed interview on the floor of the America Stock Exchange to discuss the unique position New Process Company found itself in. In 1989, the name of the company was changed to Blair.

The company continued to grow. According to the Pittsburgh Press, in 1989, Blair had capabilities to process 100,000 orders per day, and was shipping as many as 75,000 packages a day. It had sales in 1988 of US$414 million, US$506.8 million in 1998, and US$420 million in 2007. Blair had 15 million Americans on its mailing list. [8]

Blair Corporate Headquarters in downtown Warren, PA Blair-building.jpg
Blair Corporate Headquarters in downtown Warren, PA

Continued growth

In the mid-2000s, Blair began to struggle with declining sales, due to the recession in the economy. [9] In 2007, Blair shareholders approved a merger deal with Appleseed's (later renamed Orchard Brands), a subsidiary of Golden Gate Capital Partners. [10] Orchard Brands is a holding of several different catalog retailers who target the same market. Under the leadership of Orchard Brands, Blair has seen re-organization and increased efficiency, as well as growth as Blair facilities are being expanded to handle orders from other Orchard Brand companies. Blair's modern distribution center is being used to ship not only Blair orders, but orders for some sister companies as well. The call center operations have been expanded as well, to handle orders from those companies. [11] After the merger, it was announced that 500 new jobs would be created in the region, due to the expansion at the Blair facilities. [12] In 2007, Blair was ranked the 118th largest internet retailer by InternetRetailer.com. In 2010, Blair president and CEO Shelley Nandkeolyar announced his resignation, and he was followed by Dave Matthews, who served as interim CEO. It was also announced that Blair, as part of Orchard brands, was the 59th largest internet retailer. [13] In April 2010, Dave Walde was announced as the new Blair CEO. Previously, Walde had served as the chief financial officer for Orchard Brands. [14] In 2011, Orchard Brands went through a bankruptcy; it exited under the control of debtholders, including American Capital. [15] Orchard Brands had sales of US$ 1.02 billion in 2014.

On May 27, 2015, Orchard Brands announced it was being acquired by Capmark Financial to be another business within the Bluestem Brands retail business. [16] Bluestem also owns Fingerhut.

In February 2018, Chris Wilson was named President of Orchard Brands with responsibility for the 11 brands that make up the portfolio. [17]

On March 9, 2020, the company's parent Bluestem Brands, Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware. [18]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sears</span> Department store chain in the United States

Sears, Roebuck and Co., commonly known as Sears, is an American chain of department stores founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwald, with what began as a mail ordering catalog company migrating to opening retail locations in 1925, the first in Chicago. In 2005, the company was bought by the management of the American big box discount chain Kmart, which upon completion of the merger, formed Sears Holdings. Through the 1980s, Sears was the largest retailer in the United States. In 2018, it was the 31st-largest. After several years of declining sales, Sears's parent company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on October 15, 2018. It announced on January 16, 2019, that it had won its bankruptcy auction, and that a reduced number of 425 stores would remain open, including 223 Sears stores.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Montgomery Ward</span> Retailer in the United States

Montgomery Ward is the name of two successive U.S. retail corporations. The original Montgomery Ward & Co. was a world-pioneering mail-order business and later a leading department store chain that operated between 1872 and 2001. The current Montgomery Ward Inc. is a national online shopping and mail-order catalog retailer that started several years after the original Montgomery Ward shut down.

Harry and David, LLC is an American-based premium food and gift producer and retailer. The company sells its products through direct mail, online, corporate gifting, and in their flagship location in Medford, Oregon, and operates the brands Harry & David, Wolferman's, and Vital Choice. Harry & David was founded in 1910 by Samuel Rosenberg as Bear Creek Orchards in Medford, Oregon, as a premium fruit company. As of 2014, it is owned by 1-800-Flowers.com.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">L.L.Bean</span> American retail company

L.L.Bean is an American privately held retail company that was founded in 1912 by Leon Leonwood Bean. The company, headquartered in the place in which it was founded, in Freeport, Maine, specializes in clothing and outdoor recreation equipment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Very Group</span> Online retailer

The Very Group Limited is a multi-brand online retailer and financial services provider in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Its head offices are based in the Speke area of the city of Liverpool, England. The brand was established in November 2005 as a result of the merger of the former Littlewoods and Shop Direct companies. The retailer was known as Littlewoods Shop Direct Group until a corporate rebranding to Shop Direct Group in May 2008. In 2013, the company rebranded to Shop Direct, dropping the 'group' from its name. Shop Direct rebranded themselves to The Very Group in 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">J.Crew</span> American retail company

J.Crew Group, Inc., is an American multi-brand, multi-channel, specialty retailer. The company offers an assortment of women's, men's, and children's apparel and accessories, including swimwear, outerwear, lounge-wear, bags, sweaters, denim, dresses, suiting, jewelry, and shoes.

Service Merchandise was a retail chain of catalog showrooms carrying jewelry, toys, sporting goods and electronics. The company, which first began in 1934 as a five-and-dime store, was in existence for 68 years before ceasing operations in 2002.

Forever 21 is a multinational fast-fashion retailer headquartered in Los Angeles, California, United States. Originally founded as the store Fashion 21 in Highland Park, Los Angeles in 1984, it is currently operated by Authentic Brands Group and Simon Property Group, with about 540 outlets.

Shoe Carnival Inc. is an American retailer of family footwear. The company operates 377 stores throughout the midwest, south, and southeast regions. It was founded by David Russell in 1978 and is headquartered in Evansville, Indiana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spiegel (US retailer)</span> Former direct marketing retailer

Spiegel was an American direct marketing retailer founded in 1865 by Joseph Spiegel. Spiegel published a catalog, like its competitors Sears and Montgomery Ward, which advertised various brands of apparel, accessories, and footwear, as well as housewares, toys, tools, firearms, and electronics. Their company brands included Newport News, Shape FX, and Old Kraftsman, among others. They also operated brick-and-mortar stores.

Fingerhut is an American catalog/online retailer.

Charming Shoppes is a specialty and plus size clothing retail holding company based in Bensalem, Pennsylvania; a suburb of Philadelphia. Its subsidiaries include Lane Bryant, Cacique, Fashion Bug, and Catherines Plus. Clothes were sold from over 2300 retail stores in the United States, as well as numerous catalogs and online sites. In 2012, the company and assets were acquired by Ascena Retail Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jos. A. Bank</span> American mens clothing retailer

Jos. A. Bank is an American retailer of men's furnishings specializing in suits. Established in 1905, by Charles Bank and Joseph Alfred Bank, it operates nearly 200 retail locations and three distribution centers. The company is headquartered in Fremont, California. Its parent company, Tailored Brands, also owns K&G Fashion Superstores, Men's Wearhouse, and Moores Clothing for Men in Canada.

Coldwater Creek is an American retailer of women's apparel, accessories, shoes and home décor. The company sells women's clothing in misses, petite and women's plus sizes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neiman Marcus</span> American luxury department store chain

Neiman Marcus Group, Inc. is an American integrated luxury retailer headquartered in Dallas, Texas, which owns Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, Horchow, and Last Call. Since September 2021, Neiman Marcus Group has been owned by a group of investment companies led by Davidson Kempner Capital Management, Sixth Street Partners and Pacific Investment Management.

Thomas Joseph Petters is a former American businessman and chairman and CEO of Petters Group Worldwide, a company which stole over $2 billion in a Ponzi scheme. He was convicted of massive business fraud in 2009 and is now imprisoned at the United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth. Amid mounting criminal investigations, Petters resigned as his company's CEO on September 29, 2008. He was convicted of numerous federal crimes for operating Petters Group Worldwide as a $3.65 billion Ponzi scheme and received a 50-year federal sentence.

Norm Thompson Outfitters was a privately owned catalog and internet retailer based in Middleton, Massachusetts that was previously based in Hillsboro, Oregon, United States until September 2016. The Norm Thompson offices were closed and consolidated due to Bluestem's acquisition of their parent company, Orchard Brands, in July 2015. Founded in 1949 by Norman A. (Norm) Thompson as a mail order business, it grew to annual sales of $200 million before it was sold to Golden Gate Capital Partners in 2006. The company sells clothing, gadgets, furniture, kitchen items, and gift items from its namesake catalog as well as from its Solutions and Sahalie brands. John Difrancesco serves as president and chief executive of the 500 employee company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Leo Blair</span>

John Leo Blair was an American businessman. He was the founder of New Process Company, now known simply as Blair Corporation – a direct market retail company. He was also an author, inventor, a pioneer in direct marketing, and an advisor to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and to Treasury Secretary, Henry Morgenthau Jr. Several letters and notes exist in company archives, including a letter from Franklin D. Roosevelt, a few from Henry Morgenthau Jr., and others from Charles Merrill of Merrill & Lynch, Supreme Court Justice Robert H. Jackson and others to support this entry.

EziBuy is a New Zealand and Australian multi-channel retailer. It sells clothing, homeware and gifts through a multi-channel model in both countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clearly</span>

Clearly is an online retailer of contact lenses, eyeglasses and sunglasses. The company was acquired by EssilorLuxottica Canada, and is headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. They are one of the largest online contact lens retailers in North America, and the largest seller of prescription eyeglasses online in the world.

References

  1. ↑ "Home". blair.com.
  2. ↑ "History of Blair Corporation – FundingUniverse". www.fundinguniverse.com.
  3. 1 2 "Answers - the Most Trusted Place for Answering Life's Questions". Answers.com .
  4. ↑ "Warren County Chamber of Business & Industry: Northwestern PA's Business Relocation and Economic Development Organization". Archived from the original on 2008-10-21. Retrieved 2010-03-12.
  5. ↑ "Power to Find Sales Prospects & Growth Opportunities". hoovers.com.
  6. ↑ "Blair: American Style Clothing for Women and Men".
  7. ↑ International directory of company histories, Vol. 25. (1999). St James Press.
  8. ↑ "The Pittsburgh Press - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
  9. ↑ "Blair's Net Sales Drop - Direct Marketing News". www.dmnews.com. Archived from the original on 2012-02-29.
  10. ↑ "Golden Gate subsidiary to buy Blair Corp" . Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  11. ↑ "Billion-dollar catalog co. runs quietly in Beverly | Boston Business Journal". Archived from the original on 2011-06-04.
  12. ↑ "Newsbank". Archived from the original on 2011-06-08. Retrieved 2010-03-18.
  13. ↑ "Retail News and Ecommerce Market Research I Digital Commerce 360".
  14. ↑ "Blair appoints new CEO - TimesObserver.com | News, Sports, Jobs, Community Information - the Times Observer". Archived from the original on 2011-07-17. Retrieved 2010-04-12.
  15. ↑ Stone, Mike; Oran, Olivia; Roumeliotis, Greg (2014-12-09). "Catalog retailer Orchard Brands retains Goldman for sale -sources". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2015-03-12.
  16. ↑ "Orchard Brands to be acquired by Capmark Financial Group, Inc". businesswire. 27 May 2015. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  17. ↑ "Chris Wilson Joins Bluestem Group as President of its Orchard Portfolio". businesswire. 5 March 2018. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  18. ↑ "Fingerhut owner Bluestem Brands files Chapter 11, may be sold". Business Journal . Retrieved 2020-05-10.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.