Gardner-White Furniture

Last updated
Gardner-White Furniture Company Inc.
Company typePrivate
Industry Furniture
Founded1912;112 years ago (1912)
FounderJohn G. Gardner
Eugene Clinton White
Headquarters Auburn Hills, Michigan, U.S.
Number of locations
14 (2023)
Key people
Steve Tronstein (CEO)
RevenueIncrease2.svg US$15.4 million (2023)
Number of employees
800 (2023)
Website www.gardner-white.com

Gardner-White Furniture Company Inc. is an American furniture retailer. Founded in 1912, Gardner White Furniture Co. is based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. [1]

Contents

History

Gardner-White was founded by Eugene Clinton White and John G. Gardner. [2] Irwin Kahn began working for the family-owned retailer in the mid-1950s and eventually became the second-generation owner and operator. [3]

The company had a single store until 1974 but has since expanded to 11 stores and a warehouse in southeastern Michigan. [4] The company is one of the largest to partner with Best Buy [5] and was the first furniture distributor in Michigan to bundle televisions and furniture together. [5] In 2012, the company moved its corporate office and warehouse from Warren to Auburn Hills, Michigan into what was a Ryder warehouse. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Variety store</span> Retail store that sells inexpensive general merchandise

A variety store is a retail store that sells general merchandise, such as apparel, auto parts, dry goods, toys, hardware, furniture, and a selection of groceries. It usually sells them at discounted prices, sometimes at one or several fixed price points, such as one dollar, or historically, five and ten cents. Variety stores, as a category, are different from general merchandise superstores, hypermarkets, warehouse clubs, grocery stores, or department stores.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Best Buy</span> American multinational consumer electronics retailer

Best Buy Co., Inc. is an American multinational consumer electronics retailer headquartered in Richfield, Minnesota. Originally founded by Richard M. Schulze and James Wheeler in 1966 as an audio specialty store called Sound of Music, it was rebranded under its current name with an emphasis on consumer electronics in 1983.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bed Bath & Beyond</span> American houseware big-box retailer (1971–2023)

Bed Bath & Beyond was an American big-box retail chain specializing in housewares, furniture, and specialty items. Headquartered in Union, New Jersey, the chain operated stores in the United States and Canada, and was once counted among the Fortune 500 and the Forbes Global 2000. The chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April 2023 and liquidated all of its remaining stores, with the last closing on July 30, 2023. Following the retail chain's liquidation, its name was adopted by online retailer Overstock.com, which acquired the company's trademarks in a bankruptcy auction. The name is also still used by the chain's former Mexican division, which is now independent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pier 1 Imports</span> US imported goods retailer

Pier 1 Imports, Inc., is an online retailer and former Fort Worth, Texas-based retail chain specializing in imported home furnishings and decor, particularly furniture, table-top items, decorative accessories, and seasonal decor. It was publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under ticker PIR. In January 2020, Pier 1 had over 1,000 physical stores throughout the United States and Canada. Pier 1 filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on February 17, 2020, and on May 19, 2020, announced it was asking the bankruptcy court to close all stores, due in large part to the COVID-19 pandemic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Warehouse Group</span> New Zealand retail group

The Warehouse Group (TWG) was established by Stephen Tindall in 1982 and is the largest retail group in operation in New Zealand. It is a corporate conglomerate that consists of The Warehouse, Warehouse Stationery, Noel Leeming, 1-day, and TheMarket.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GUS (retailer)</span> Former British retail, manufacturing and finance conglomerate

GUS plc was a FTSE 100 retailing, manufacturing and financial conglomerate based in the United Kingdom. GUS was an abbreviation of Great Universal Stores, the company's name before 2001, while it was also known as the Glorious Gussies amongst stockbrokers. The company started out as Universal Stores, a mail order business created by the Rose family. In 1931, Isaac Wolfson joined the mail order company and would, through a series of takeovers, turn it into a retail, manufacturing and financial conglomerate, becoming Europe's biggest mail order firm and with over 2,700 physical stores. His son, Leonard Wolfson, followed him as chairman, to be succeeded by his nephews David Wolfson (1996–2000) and Victor Barnett (2000–2002). During the 1980s, the business divested much of its physical retail and manufacturing subsidiaries under Leonard Wolfson to concentrate on mail order, property and finance. In October 2006, the company was split into two separate companies: Experian which continues to exist, and Home Retail Group which was bought by Sainsbury's in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Brick</span> Canadian furniture retailer

The Brick Ltd. is a Canadian retailer of furniture, mattresses, appliances and home electronics. The company was founded as The Brick Warehouse LP by brothers, John, Fred, and Bill Comrie. The first warehouse opened on September 1, 1971 in Edmonton, Alberta. Its first expansion was to Fort McMurray, Alberta in the 1970s and later acquired a competitor in the city of Calgary.

Harvey Norman is an Australian multinational retailer of furniture, bedding, computers, communications and consumer electrical products. It mainly operates as a franchise, with the main brand and all company-operated stores owned by ASX-listed Harvey Norman Holdings Limited. As of 2022, there are 304 company-owned and franchised stores in Australia, New Zealand, Europe and South-East Asia operating under the Harvey Norman, Domayne and Joyce Mayne brands in Australia, and under the Harvey Norman brand overseas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Lakes Crossing Outlets</span> An enclosed shopping mall in the city of Auburn Hills, Michigan, a northern suburb of Detroit

Great Lakes Crossing Outlets, formerly Great Lakes Crossing, is a shopping mall in Auburn Hills, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit, Michigan, United States. The site of the mall was originally to have been occupied by a different mall called Auburn Mills, which was never built due to financial issues of its intended developer, Western Development Corporation. Great Lakes Crossing was built on the site and opened in 1998. Constructed and owned by Taubman Centers, Great Lakes Crossing Outlets is the largest outlet mall in the state of Michigan. It features 185 stores, with anchor stores including Burlington, Bass Pro Shops, TJ Maxx, and Marshalls; other notable attractions include a 1,000-seat food court, a 25-screen AMC Star movie theater, Round1, Legoland Discovery Center, and Sea Life Michigan.

Roundy's Supermarkets is an American supermarket operator. It owns and operates stores under the names of Pick 'n Save, Metro Market, and Mariano's Fresh Market. The chain is a subsidiary of Kroger. Roundy's operates 149 supermarkets and 107 pharmacies throughout the states of Wisconsin and Illinois. Based on fiscal year 2012 sales, Roundy's was the 37th largest grocery store chain and the 89th largest retailer in the United States. As of December 2015, Roundy's became a subsidiary of Kroger of Cincinnati, Ohio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brighton Mall</span> Shopping mall in Michigan, United States

Brighton Mall is a shopping mall located in Brighton, Michigan, United States. Opened in 1971 as an enclosed shopping mall, the center was re-developed in 1996 as a power centre, retaining the name Brighton Mall. Anchor stores for the property are Marshalls, Michaels, Aldi, PetSmart, Jo-Ann Etc., Best Buy, and Gardner-White Furniture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Home Depot</span> American multinational home improvement supplies retailing company

The Home Depot, Inc., often simply referred to as Home Depot, is an American multinational home improvement retail corporation that sells tools, construction products, appliances, and services, including fuel and transportation rentals. Home Depot is the largest home improvement retailer in the United States. In 2021, the company had 490,600 employees and more than $151 billion in revenue. The company is headquartered in unincorporated Cobb County, Georgia, with an Atlanta mailing address.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Best Buy Europe</span> Consumer electronics joint venture, 2008 to 2012

Best Buy Europe Distributions Ltd. was a retail joint venture owned by the United States based electronics retailer Best Buy Inc and United Kingdom based mobile phone retailer Carphone Warehouse. The company was formed by Best Buy's purchase of 50% of The Carphone Warehouse's retail division in May 2008. Best Buy branded superstores opened in the United Kingdom beginning on April 30, 2010, with a store in Thurrock, Essex. Best Buy was due to open its first stores in the United Kingdom in 2009, but in March 2009, the firm postponed this until 2010, with plans for up to two hundred stores eventually. Carphone originally intended to open up to two hundred Big Box stores in Europe by 2013, but this goal was reduced to one hundred. On November 6, 2011, Carphone Warehouse announced its intention to close the eleven Best Buy "big box" format stores. On 14 January 2012, the Best Buy Europe joint venture was discontinued, with all eleven stores and the transactional website (www.bestbuy.co.uk) closing on that day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Art Van Furniture</span> Defunct American furniture retailer

Art Van Furniture Inc. was an American furniture retail store chain, with stores across the Midwestern United States. Founded in 1959, the company was headquartered in Warren, Michigan, and claimed to be the largest furniture retailer in the Midwest at its peak. In 2020, the company filed for bankruptcy and closed all of its stores.

Wickes Furniture was a privately held chain of furniture stores based in Wheeling, Illinois. The company was founded in 1971 with a showroom in Fridley, Minnesota, and at its peak, operated 43 stores in California, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Texas and Oregon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mattress World of Michigan</span> Retail chain

Mattress World, Inc. orMattress World of Michigan was a mattress retail chain in Michigan and Indiana in the Midwestern United States. Its headquarters were in Genoa Township, Michigan. Stores were usually freestanding and located in bedroom communities instead of big box store corridors.

Z Gallerie is an American chain of home furnishing, art and decor retail stores founded by siblings Joe Zeiden, Mike Zeiden, and Carole Malfatti in Sherman Oaks, California in 1979. The operation began as a small poster shop and started opening combined retail locations in 1982. The retailer was acquired by Brentwood Associates Private Equity V LP in 2014. Karat Home Inc. acquired Z Gallerie on Jan 19, 2024.

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

A furniture retailer, furniture store or furniture shop is a retail businesses that sells furniture and related accessories. Furniture retailers usually sell general furniture, seats and upholstered suites, and specialised items produced for a commission. They may sell a range of styles to suit different homes and personal tastes, or specialise in particular styles like retro style furniture.

Retailing in New Zealand is an important sector in the economy of New Zealand, as a channel for a large proportion of household spending and international visitor spending.

References

  1. "Gardner-White Furniture Company, Inc". Privco.
  2. Filler, George N., ed. (1928). Historic Michigan Land of the Great Lakes: its life, resources, industries, people, politics, government, wars, institutions, achievements, the press, schools and churches, legendary and prehistoric lore. Dayton, Ohio: National Historical Association, Inc. p. 307. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  3. Engel, Clint (27 July 2012). "Gardner-White Furniture to open test stores in Best Buy". Furniture Today.
  4. "Mission Statement". Gardner-White Furniture. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
  5. 1 2 Blake, Kathy (24 September 2012). "Gardner White launches furniture retail concept inside Best Buy". The Oakland Press .
  6. Kalokhe, Smita (11 May 2012). "Gardner-White celebrates milestone anniversary with expansion". Action News. WXYZ-TV. Archived from the original on 27 June 2012. Retrieved 8 March 2013.