 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | 1967 |
| Founder | Joseph Edmund Cole |
| Headquarters | Highland Heights, Ohio, U.S. |
Key people | Chris McCann, CEO |
| Parent | 1-800-Flowers (2023–present) |
| Website | www |
Things Remembered is an e-commerce retailer specializing in personalized gifts, messaging and engraving. [1]
Things Remembered was founded as "Can Do" in 1967 as a subsidiary of Cole National Corporation by Joseph Edmund Cole. At the time Cole National consisted of Cole Vision, DBA Sears Optical, Montgomery Ward Vision, Cole Key Company, and several other subsidiaries. Cole National was taken private in 1984 by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts. The Cole family reclaimed the company in 1987 through a leveraged buyout. The company prospered through much of the 1980s. [2]
Sales began to slump and in 1990 Cole National unloaded unprofitable business units leaving Cole Key, Cole Vision and Things Remembered. The company went public in 1994 to reduce the persistent debt from the leveraged buyout. In 1998 the key business was shuttered while Things Remembered and its 800+ stores failed to meet sales goals. Restructuring and an image change were necessary. Cole National brought in a CRM agency which revealed the store was seen as a "brass and glass" gift shop that offered some engraving. In reaction, the company focused on this removing all non-personalized gifts and the motto was changed from Great Unexpected Gifts" to "The Place for Personalized Gifts." Research also showed their typical patrons were women who viewed themselves as unique gift givers. This moved the company to make stores warm and less masculine. Store associates took the title "Gift Advisers" with the premise that interactions with customers were conversations between two friends coming up with a gift idea. Things Remembered also released its first catalog during this time. There were three versions: General Gift, Wedding and Business focused. [3] The combined strategies paid off almost instantly allowing the company to meet sales projections in 1999 for the first time in years.
CNC which now owned Pearl vision had become the target of Luxottica, parent company of LensCrafters. [4] The sale went through in 2004 and Things Remembered was quickly spun off in 2006 to investment firms Bruckmann Rosser Sherrill & Co. and GB Merchant Partners for $200 Million. [5] The chain was sold again in 2012 to Chicago-based private equity Firm Madison Dearborn Partners for $295 Million which also backs fellow mall retailer Yankee Candle. [6] Prior to 2014, Things Remembered expanded to Canada purchasing Key Man Engravables and slowly converted each store to TR1. In 2014, Michael Anthony who had been CEO since the Luxottica spin off stepped down with former Talbots and Express executive Lisa Gavales taking the helm. [7] In June 2017, Lisa Gavales resigned and Things Remembered appointed a new president. [8]
In February 2019, Things Remembered filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. [9]
On March 8, 2019, Enesco, LLC, a global leader in the giftware, home décor, and accessories industries acquired Things Remembered, Inc., the North American leading omnichannel retailer of personalized gifts and merchandise. Things Remembered continued to operate more than 170 retail locations, as well as its online, direct mail, and B2B retail businesses, all under its brand name. [10] On November 22, 2019, Enesco announced its CEO Todd Mavis would also become CEO of Things Remembered.
On December 28, 2022, it was announced that it would close all retail locations. [11]
On January 10, 2023, 1-800-Flowers.com, Inc announced the acquisition of the Things Remembered brand, allowing the brand to continue on as a leading retailer of personalized gifts. [12]
Toys "R" Us is an American toy, clothing, and baby product retailer owned by Tru Kids and various others. The company was founded in 1948; its first store was built in April 1948, with its headquarters located in Parsippany-Troy Hills, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area.
Luxottica Group S.p.A. is an Italian eyewear conglomerate based in Milan. As a vertically integrated company, Luxottica designs, manufactures, distributes, and retails its eyewear brands all through its own subsidiaries. The company, presently organized as a subsidiary of EssilorLuxottica which formed when the Italian conglomerate merged with the French optical firm Essilor, is the world's largest company in its industry, both prior to and after its merger with Essilor.
LensCrafters is an international retailer of prescription eyewear and prescription sunglasses. Its stores usually host independent optometrists on-site or in an adjacent store. The company has its corporate headquarters in Mason, Ohio, a suburb of Cincinnati in the US.
Sunglass Hut is an international retailer of sunglasses and sunglass accessories founded in Miami, Florida, United States, in 1971. Sunglass Hut is part of the Italian-based Luxottica Group, the world’s largest eyewear company.
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.
Leonardo Del Vecchio was an Italian billionaire businessman, the founder and chairman of Luxottica, the world's largest producer and retailer of glasses and frames, with 77,734 employees and over 8,000 stores. At the time of his death, his net worth was estimated at US$24.1 billion, the second richest person in Italy, and 54th in the world.
Wakefern Food Corporation is an American company that was founded in 1946 and is based in Keasbey, New Jersey. It is the largest retailers' cooperative group of supermarkets and the fourth-largest cooperative of any kind in the United States. Wakefern was the largest private employer in New Jersey in 2018, with 40,200 employees. As of 2023, Wakefern has 48 member companies who own and operate 365 supermarkets, under the ShopRite, Price Rite Marketplace, The Fresh Grocer, Dearborn Market, Gourmet Garage, and Fairway Market brands in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island.
PetSmart Inc. is a privately held American chain of pet superstores, which sell pet products, services, and small pets. It is the leading North American pet company, and its direct competitor is Petco. Its indirect competitors are Amazon, Walmart, and Target. As of 2020, PetSmart has more than 1,650 stores in the United States and Canada. Its stores sell pet food, pet supplies, pet accessories, and small pets. Stores also provide services including grooming, dog daycare, dog and cat boarding, veterinary care via in-store third-party clinics, and dog training. They also offer dog and cat adoption via in-store adoption centers facilitated by the non-profit PetSmart Charities.
Pearle Vision is an American chain of eye care stores. It is one of the largest franchised optical retailers in North America. The company was acquired by Luxottica, an Italian eyewear company, in 2004. As of December 31, 2018, Pearle Vision operated 110 corporate stores and had 419 franchises throughout North America.
Terrence James Lundgren is an American business executive who retired on January 31, 2018, as executive chairman of Macy's, Inc. the parent company of fashion retailers Macy's, Bloomingdale's and Bluemercury. He had served for 14 years as chairman and chief executive officer of Macy's, Inc., becoming the company's executive chairman in 2017. He was named an executive in residence at Columbia Business School in 2017.
Eyewear is a term used to refer to all devices worn over both of a person's eyes, or occasionally a single eye, for one or more of a variety of purposes. Though historically used for vision improvement and correction, eyewear has also evolved into eye protection, for fashion and aesthetic purposes, and starting in the late 20th century, computers and virtual reality.
Enesco is a privately held American giftware company that began in 1958. After changing ownership many times, the company was bought in 2023 by holding company Ad Populum. Brands owned or licensed by Enesco include Heartwood Creek and Department 56, and formerly Precious Moments and Things Remembered.
Linens 'n Things was a big-box retailer specializing in home textiles, housewares, and decorative home accessories. Based in Clifton, New Jersey, the chain operated 571 stores in 47 U.S. states and six Canadian provinces, and had 7,300 employees as of December 2006. The company's business strategy was "to offer a broad selection of high quality, brand name home furnishings merchandise at exceptional everyday values, provide superior guest service, and maintain low operating costs."
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.
X5 Group is Russia's largest food retailer. In 2012, the organization of X5-Retail Group LLC was liquidated, and in 2018 X5 Group LLC was opened.
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.
Régis Schultz, is a French businessman, currently the CEO of JD Sports. During his career, Régis Schultz held the positions of President of Retail at Al-Futtaim Group, CEO of French retail chain Monoprix and member of the executive committee of Groupe Casino, CEO of Darty, CEO of French retailer BUT and top executive of Kingfisher PLC.
Retail apocalypse refers to the closing of numerous brick-and-mortar retail stores, especially those of large chains, beginning around 2010 and accelerating due to the mandatory closures during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Coach New York, commonly known as Coach, is an American luxury fashion house specializing in leather handbags, luggage, and accessories, as well as ready-to-wear. Coach licenses its name and branding to Luxottica for eyewear and Paris-based Interparfums for fragrances. Stuart Vevers has been the executive creative director since June of 2013.
EssilorLuxottica SA is an Italian-French vertically integrated multinational corporation based in Paris and founded on 1 October 2018 from the merger of the Italian Luxottica with the French Essilor. The eyewear-focused group designs, produces and markets ophthalmic lenses, optical equipment, prescription glasses and sunglasses.