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Crate and Barrel history
Crate and Barrel company history timeline
Founded by Gordon and Carole Segal in 1962, Crate and Barrel was born after a European honeymoon sparked the idea to bring simple, beautiful and practical housewares to the US market.
1962: First Crate and Barrel store opens in Chicago, Illinois.
In 1964 they took their first European buying trip in order to make direct contact with the independent and often small craftspeople and manufacturers that would serve as the sources of their merchandise for years to come.
In 1964, they took their first European buying trip in order to make direct contact with the independent and often small craftspeople and manufacturers that would be the sources of their merchandise for years to come.
That year also marked the closing of the oldest operating Crate and Barrel store, the 5,000-square-foot outlet on Wells that had opened in 1965 just down the street from the original Old Town store.
In 1964, they took their first European buying trip in order to make direct contact with the independent and often small craftspeople and manufacturers that would be the sources of their merchandise for years to come. For example, in 1965, as the first Crate and Barrel was thriving in the Old Town location, the company found itself faced with the possibility of losing its lease.
In 1966 Segal and Lon Habkirk, a designer who would remain affiliated with the company for at least 20 more years, traveled to Boston to study a store called Design Research.
The first catalog was mailed to consumers in 1967 and the first Crate & Barrel store opened in a significant Oak Brook, Illinois shopping center.
By 1971, they had their third store in the emerging chain open in Oak Brook, Illinois.
The building was designed by John Buenz, whose firm (Solomon Cordwell Buenz & Associates) had been designing Crate and Barrel stores since 1976.
By 1977, another store opening followed in Boston and this was followed just two years later with a second store in Chicago.
1977: Crate and Barrel expands beyond Chicago with two stores in Boston.
1981: Crate and Barrel starts selling furniture in addition to housewares.
The chain had grown to 17 stores by 1985.
Carroll, Margaret, “Segals Create Barrel of Fun While Selling,” Chicago Tribune, February 12, 1986, sec.
1989: Sales surpass the $100 million mark.
In 1992, the company entered the Florida market for the first time, opening stores in Palm Beach Gardens and Boca Raton.
In fact, by 1995 furniture accounted for one-third of the company's sales.
Wray, Christina. "Impact's Call to Action (Ideas of Crate & Barrel Chief Executive, Gordon Segal)." HFN: The Weekly Newspaper for the Home Furnishing Network, February 19, 1996.
In early 1996 the traditionally conservative Crate and Barrel began to step up its expansion efforts and announced plans to double its revenues in the next five years.
Plans to open three additional furniture stores in 1996 were in place, however, and the company hoped to expand into uncharted territory as well.
By 1996 Crate & Barrel had grown to 62 retail outlets in 15 United States markets and did a brisk catalog business as well.
By 1997, 17 percent of its sales were derived from this tremendously popular service.
Crate & Barrel's furniture sold especially well among baby boomers, who were more apt than their younger counterparts to devote thousands of dollars to new furniture. As a result, as the Chicago Tribune noted, these consumers chose "to spend their cash on decorating, remodeling, and expanding their homes." In 1997 "boomer-led families making more than $70,000 a year spent almost $100 billion on home-related products," the Los Angeles Times reported.
Vincenti, Lisa. "Aggressive Target Launches a Marketing 'Glitzkrieg,'" HFN: The Weekly Newspaper for the Home Furnishing Network, May 18, 1998.
Creno, Glen. "Chain Expands to Valley Scottsdale." Arizona Republic, September 3, 1998.
In 1998, the store was thriving and the Segals decided that it was time to let somebody else take the reigns.
In the summer of 1998 the company opened a new, 47,000-square-foot home furnishings store in Chicago.
Crate & Barrel incorporated both of these sentiments into its 1998 print campaign.
In addition to its fall print campaign, Crate & Barrel ventured into other new territories in 1998.
By all accounts Crate & Barrel's 1998 print campaign achieved impressive results.
Chandler, Susan. "Furnishing a Sea Change: A Raft of New Retailers Are Redrawing the Furniture Landscape, and Many Traditional Stores Are Suffering." Chicago Tribune, February 28, 1999.
Goldman, Abigail. "A Fine Time for Sellers and Consumers of Housewares: Boomers and Others Are Eating Up the Fancy yet Affordable Items." Los Angeles Times, February 25, 1999.
Branch, Shelly. "How Target Got Hip." Fortune, May 24, 1999.
In 1999 Crate and Barrel's mail-order operations experienced significant growth, thanks in large part to Versand's influence.
1999: Crate and Barrel web site is launched.
In early 2000 Crate and Barrel planned to open a new store, called CB2, offering basic housewares at lower prices than those found at the increasingly upscale Crate and Barrel stores.
Established in 2002, CB2 is committed to high-quality, sophisticated design at an approachable price.
After the Segals sold their share of Crate and Barrel, The new CEO appointed was Barbara Turf who took the position in 2008.
In 2008, the first Canadian Crate & Barrel was opened in Toronto, Ontario, Canada at the Yorkdale Shopping Centre.
As the Calgary store opened, Crate & Barrel announced plans for two 2010 openings in Dubai.
The Otto group purchased the rest of the shares in 2011 to become the sole owner of Crate and Barrel and they are still the total owners of the chain today.
By 2011, Otto acquired sole ownership of the company.
The company was founded in 2014 making it the new kid in the block and giving the attire business a breath of fresh air.
The year 2015 was the beginning of Crate & Barrel’s entry into South America with a store opening in Peru.
Crate & Barrel recently partnered with the software developer Infor in early 2017.
After the acquisition of the company, Crate and Barrel made the decision to phase out the Land of Nod and close all of the stores by the Spring of 2018.
A launch of 40 new stores is planned to begin in 2018.
"Crate and Barrel ." International Directory of Company Histories. . Retrieved April 15, 2021 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/books/politics-and-business-magazines/crate-and-barrel
"Euromarket Design, Inc. ." Encyclopedia of Major Marketing Campaigns. . Retrieved June 22, 2022 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/marketing/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/euromarket-design-inc
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Crate and Barrel competitors
| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost Plus World Market | 1958 | $963.8M | 6,127 | 1,532 |
| Pier 1 | 1962 | $1.6B | 18,000 | - |
| west elm | 2002 | $98.0M | 1,897 | - |
| Bed Bath & Beyond | 1971 | $5.3B | 55,000 | - |
| HomeGoods | 1992 | $22.0M | 100 | 1,642 |
| Target | 1902 | $106.6B | 409,000 | 11,372 |
| True Value | 1948 | $1.5B | 2,500 | 3 |
| Buybuy Baby | 1995 | $75.0M | 10,001 | - |
| Bon-Ton | 1898 | $2.7B | 23,300 | 14 |
| Sports Authority | 1928 | $1.9B | 15,250 | - |
Crate and Barrel history FAQs
Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of Crate and Barrel, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about Crate and Barrel. The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their past or current employments at Crate and Barrel. The data on this page is also based on data sources collected from public and open data sources on the Internet and other locations, as well as proprietary data we licensed from other companies. Sources of data may include, but are not limited to, the BLS, company filings, estimates based on those filings, H1B filings, and other public and private datasets. While we have made attempts to ensure that the information displayed are correct, Zippia is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of this information. None of the information on this page has been provided or approved by Crate and Barrel. The data presented on this page does not represent the view of Crate and Barrel and its employees or that of Zippia.
Crate and Barrel may also be known as or be related to Crate & Barrel, Crate And Barrel, Crate and Barrel, Euromarket Designs Inc and Euromarket Designs, Inc.