Sur La Table

Last updated

Sur La Table
Company type Private
Industry Retail
Founded1972;52 years ago (1972)
Headquarters Seattle, Washington, US
Number of locations
59
Products
  • Cookware
  • Bakeware
  • Cutlery
  • Small electrics
  • Cooking tools
  • Housewares
OwnerMarquee Brands
CSC Generation
Website surlatable.com

Sur La Table, Inc. is a privately held retail company based in Seattle, Washington, that sells kitchenware including cookware, cutlery, cooks' tools, small electrics, tabletop and linens, bakeware, glassware and bar, housewares, food, and outdoor products. As of October 2018, Sur La Table sold products in 184 stores in 32 states across the United States, as well as through their website and catalogs. Cooking classes are available in over 80 stores. [1] Sur La Table has a blog, A Sharp Knife & Salt, that focuses on food, chefs, restaurants and products. [2] Many of the company's stores offer culinary classes [3] with plans to include a kitchen in every new store. [4] The company's corporate headquarters is located in Seattle's Georgetown neighborhood.

Contents

In French, sur la table means on the table. French pronunciation: [syʁlatabl] [5]

History

Sur La Table's Pike Place location in Seattle, Washington. Sur La Table in Seattle.JPG
Sur La Table's Pike Place location in Seattle, Washington.
Store in New York City. Sur La Table Storefront Upper East Side, NYC 2019.jpg
Store in New York City.

Shirley Collins founded Sur La Table in 1972, opening a single retail location in Seattle's Pike Place Market. In 1995, Collins sold the company. [6]

In 2005, Kathy Tierney took over as the chief executive officer and advocated an expansion policy of opening new stores in "lifestyle centers", malls, and on city streets "with a mix of upscale national brands and creative local merchants, anchored by an upscale or organic-themed grocery store that encourages frequent trips." Sur la Table became the second-largest specialty cookware retailer in the United States behind Williams Sonoma. [7]

In January 2011, Sur la Table launched a website and gift registry program. [8]

In September 2011, Sur La Table was purchased by Bahrain-based Investcorp for an undisclosed amount. It had 86 stores. [9]

On February 18, 2020, it was reported that Sur La Table and Discovery, Inc.'s Food Network Kitchen streaming service would team up together to produce a "first-of-its-kind cooking ecosystem" which will allow students to participate with the in-store cooking class via online streaming. [3]

In March 2020, the company closed all 130 outlets due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In June 2020, the company announced that it would indefinitely lay off 27 workers, or about 18% of the staff, at its corporate headquarters in Georgetown. The separations began on July 1 and did not include severance packages. [10]

In July 2020, Sur La Table filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy [11] [12] and was acquired by Marquee Brands and CSC Generation for $88.9 million. [12] By September 2020, it planned to close 73 stores. [13]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cookware and bakeware</span> Food preparation containers

Cookware and bakeware is food preparation equipment, such as cooking pots, pans, baking sheets etc. used in kitchens. Cookware is used on a stove or range cooktop, while bakeware is used in an oven. Some utensils are considered both cookware and bakeware.

<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">Costco</span> American multinational membership-only warehouse club chain

Costco Wholesale Corporation is an American multinational corporation which operates a chain of membership-only big-box warehouse club retail stores. As of 2023, Costco is the third-largest retailer in the world and is the world's largest retailer of choice and prime beef, organic foods, rotisserie chicken, and wine as of 2016. Costco is ranked #11 on the Fortune 500 rankings of the largest United States corporations by total revenue. Costco uses a club warehouse wholesale retailer channel of distribution while also selling their private label brand directly to consumers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kitchenware</span> Items used for preparing, storing and serving food

Kitchenware are the tools, utensils, appliances, dishes, and cookware used in food preparation, or the serving of food. Kitchenware can also be used in order to hold or store food before or after preparation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uwajimaya</span> Supermarket chain in Washington and Oregon

Uwajimaya, Inc., doing business as Uwajimaya Asian Grocery & Gift Markets, is a family-owned supermarket chain with its corporate headquarters in the International District, Seattle, Washington, and with locations in Greater Seattle and Oregon. Uwajimaya sells mainly Asian food—with an emphasis on Japanese—though it also stocks Western staples. The flagship store is in Seattle's Chinatown/International District with three other stores in Beaverton, Oregon, Bellevue, Washington and Renton, Washington. From 1968 to 1991 there was another store in the Southcenter Mall in Tukwila, Washington.

Charles Edward Williams was the American founder of Williams Sonoma and author and editor of more than 100 books on the subject of cooking. Williams is credited for playing a major role in introducing French cookware into American kitchens through his retail and mail-order business. He became a centenarian in October 2015 and died two months later on December 5, 2015, in San Francisco, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">All-Clad</span> American cookware company

All-Clad Metalcrafters, LLC is an American cookware manufacturer headquartered in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. The company markets its cookware to department stores and specialty stores in the United States, Australia, Canada, Germany, and the UK, along with All-Clad bonded ovenware, kitchen tools, and kitchen accessories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Le Creuset</span> Cookware manufacturer

Le Creuset is a French-Belgian maker of cookware. They are best known for producing enameled cast-iron cookware. The company first manufactured their products in the town of Fresnoy-le-Grand in France in 1925, which are similar in function to a Dutch oven but with T-shaped handles. The Le Creuset Dutch oven is on display in the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. as a part of the recreation of the chef Julia Child's kitchen. It has been widely reported to be her favorite cooking pot, though specialist sources hold that it was the Dutch oven of Le Creuset's less-remembered competitor Descoware that was her real favorite. The company also makes many other types of cookware and bakeware, from fondue-sets to tagines.

Harris Scarfe is an Australian retailer that sells bed linen, kitchenware, homewares, electrical appliances and apparel. It was founded in 1849 in Adelaide, South Australia and has more than 50 stores nationally.

Corelle Brands Kitchenware products maker and distributor

Corelle Brands, LLC is an American kitchenware products maker and distributor based in Downers Grove, Illinois.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westlake Center</span> Shopping mall in Seattle, Washington, U.S.

Westlake Center is a four-story shopping center and 25-story office tower in downtown Seattle, Washington, United States. The southern terminus of the Seattle Center Monorail, it is located across Pine Street from Westlake Park, between 4th and 5th Avenues. It is named for Westlake Avenue, which now terminates north of the mall but once ran two blocks farther south to Pike Street. Westlake Park is considered Seattle's "town square" and celebrities and political figures often make appearances or give speeches from the building's balcony. The anchor stores are Saks Off 5th and Nordstrom Rack.

Foodtown is a northeastern United States supermarket cooperative founded in 1955 by Twin County Grocers in New Jersey. Currently, there are 66 Foodtown stores in New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut. Foodtown's corporate offices are located in Iselin, New Jersey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Cellar (Macy's)</span>

The Cellar is a brand name used by Macy's for departments commonly located on the first floor below ground level at larger stores. Although every Macy's has such a department, only the larger flagships have basement-level space devoted to the Cellar concept.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vita Craft Corporation</span>

Vita Craft Corporation is a manufacturer of multi-ply stainless steel cookware and other cookware products. The cookware is manufactured and sold in the United States, but the majority of sales are from the Asian and European markets. Japan alone accounts for about 80% of Vita Craft's revenue. In Asia and Europe, Vita Craft is sold in department stores. In the United States, Vita Craft is sold door-to-door, at food-related events and conventions using a direct selling model. Imura International USA Inc. is the parent company of Vita.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cousances</span> French enameled cast-iron cookware

Cousances was a brand of enameled cast iron cookware. originally manufactured by a foundry in the town of Cousances-les-Forges in northeastern France. The Cousances foundry began making cast iron pans in 1553. Four centuries later, in 1957, the brand was acquired by Le Creuset. Cookware under the Cousances brand continued to be manufactured by Le Creuset into the early 1980s.

Le Gourmet Chef was a high-end American consumer retail company specializing in gourmet foods and kitchenware products. It was a subsidiary of Kitchen Collection, owned by NACCO Industries. Le Gourmet Chef is headquartered in Chillicothe, Ohio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Broadway Plaza (Walnut Creek)</span> Shopping mall in California, United States

Broadway Plaza is an outdoor shopping mall located in downtown Walnut Creek. The shopping center opened on October 11, 1951 and is owned and operated by Macerich. The mall is anchored by Nordstrom and Macy's, and features nearly 80 stores including Crate & Barrel, flagship H&M and ZARA stores, a standalone Apple store with an adjoining outdoor plaza, an Industrious co-working space, a planned Pinstripes entertainment center and restaurant, and a planned Life Time Fitness sports club.

Williams Sonoma is an American retailer of cookware, appliances, and home furnishings. It is owned by Williams-Sonoma, Inc. and was founded by Charles E. (Chuck) Williams in 1956.

References

  1. Bandaranayake, Nadee (October 8, 2018). "Sur La Table: From cooking class to loyal customer". NRF . Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  2. "A Sharp Knife & Salt" . Retrieved June 19, 2015.
  3. 1 2 "Sur La Table And Discovery's Food Network Kitchen Join Forces On Content And Marketing Partnership". Discovery Channel . February 18, 2020. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  4. Berman, Nat (2019). "20 Things You Didn't Know about Sur la Table - 6. Most of Sur La Table retail stores are equipped with kitchens". Moneyinc.com. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  5. Oxford French Minidictionary. Oxford University Press. 2002. p. 279. ISBN   0-19-860467-X.
  6. Mulady, Kathy (January 28, 2002). "Sur La Table gets $14 million". Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
  7. Tice, Carol (June 24, 2005). "A wiser Sur La Table picks its outlets selectively". Puget Sound Business Journal .
  8. "Sur La Table Dishes Up New Location at Hearst Tower in New York Media Epicenter". Hearst . August 15, 2011. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  9. Martinez, Amy (September 21, 2011). "Sale of Sur La Table may be recipe for growth". The Seattle Times . Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  10. "Sur La Table to lay off a fifth of its corporate staff and possibly close five stores". The Seattle Times. June 26, 2020. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  11. Assis, Claudia (July 8, 2020). "Kitchenware retailer Sur La Table files for bankruptcy". MarketWatch . Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  12. 1 2 Chouinard, Haley (August 11, 2020). "Sur La Table sells for nearly $90 million to One Kings Lane buyer". Business of Home. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
  13. Leggate, James (September 11, 2020). "Sur La Table closing more stores under new ownership after bankruptcy". FOXBusiness. Retrieved November 13, 2023.