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School Specialty history
School Specialty company history timeline
Founded in 1959, today School Specialty is the leading provider of educational ecosystems to educators across North America.
The company changed hands in 1968 and the new owners changed the name to Valley School Supply.
While just a high school student, Spalding in 1975 bought an apparel company called Downers--the name referring to the business's basement location in an Appleton, Wisconsin theater.
Spalding now took a pivotal step, paying $5 million in 1980 to acquire Jansport, which produced outdoor equipment like tents, sleeping bags, and backpacks.
Annual sales reached the $100 million mark by 1994.
USOP was a new company, founded in 1994 to create a national office products supplier.
During that time, it used USOP's resources to make 15 acquisitions worth $200 million. It went public in February 1995, and within two years completed 35 acquisitions.
1996: The company is acquired by United States Office Products.
Then, in January 1998, USOP decided to change course.
In fiscal 1999 School Specialty recorded sales of $521.7 million and net income of $8.9 million.
School Specialty remained active on the acquisition front in 2001.
Then in March 2002, on a skiing vacation to Colorado with his wife and VanderZanden and his wife, he collapsed in his condominium, stricken by a heart attack.
Despite School Specialty's ability to prosper in difficult times--it would increase revenues to $767.4 million in fiscal 2002 and report net income of $21.8 million--Wall Street lost faith in the company's stock at the first hint of a setback.
In May 2003 School Specialty acquired Select Agendas, a Canadian producer of student agendas.
2004: McGraw-Hill's children's publishing unit is acquired.
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School Specialty competitors
| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lagasse | 1947 | $9.5M | 50 | - |
| Ors Nasco | - | $7.0M | 50 | 3 |
| Colony Brands | 1926 | $280.0M | 1,254 | 70 |
| Carhartt | 1889 | $600.0M | 4,000 | 48 |
| Athena Cosmetics, Inc. | - | $16.9M | 19 | - |
| Prime Source Marketing | - | $1.3M | 2 | 7 |
| Dempsey Uniform & Linen Supply | 1959 | $21.4M | 200 | 21 |
| Russell Stover Chocolates | 1923 | $940.0M | 3,000 | 44 |
| Impact Products | 1963 | $40.0M | 100 | - |
| Creative Co-Op | 2001 | $2.3M | 20 | - |
School Specialty history FAQs
Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of School Specialty, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about School Specialty. The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their past or current employments at School Specialty. 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 School Specialty. The data presented on this page does not represent the view of School Specialty and its employees or that of Zippia.
School Specialty may also be known as or be related to SCHOOL SPECIALTY INC, School Specialty, School Specialty LLC and School Specialty, Inc.