CSS Industries history

The company also acquired Richard Store of Miami from BSC in 1946.

The company merged Lit Bros. into City Stores' operations in 1951.

City Stores acquired Wolf & Dessauer Co. for $3.9 million in 1966, but sold the company three years later along with Kaufman-Straus.

R.H. White opened a second suburban store, a 50,000-square-foot facility, in Leominster, Massachusetts, in 1968.

In late 1976 City Stores closed the Lit Bros. store at 8th and Market streets in downtown Philadelphia, diverting customers to the company's suburban stores.

After several years of low profits or net losses, City Stores filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July 1979.

Farber closed or discontinued department store operations in 1982 and discontinued west coast operations of W & J Sloane.

In 1984 Farber discontinued some retail operations of W & J Sloane and sold remaining operations to R.B. Furniture.

In 1986 sales reached $33 million with net income of $4 million.

In 1987 sales at Rapidforms increased 40 percent, with 18 percent of the increase originating from the first full year of operations at Russell and Miller under CSS ownership.

1988: Purchase of Paper Magic leads company to focus on gift wrap and accessories.

Paper Magic acquired Spearhead Industries for $14.8 million in 1991.

CSS added to its line of Halloween products in 1995 with the purchase of certain assets of Topstone Industries and Illusive Concepts; the latter specialized in crafted Halloween masks.

Sales at Color Clings reached $30 million in 1996.