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Euromarket Designs, Inc.
Crate & Barrel
Company typePrivate; Subsidiary
IndustryRetail
FoundedDecember 7, 1962 (1962-12-07); Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
FoundersGordon Segal
Carole Segal
HeadquartersNorthbrook, Illinois, U.S.
Number of locations
75 Crate & Barrel stores / 12 Crate & Barrel outlets / 31 Crate & Barrel warehouses / 26 CB2 stores / 1 CB2 outlet / 10 Hudson Grace stores (2022)[1]
Area served
Key people
Janet Hayes, CEO (2020–present)[2]
Productshousewares, furniture, and home accessories
RevenueUS$2.5 billion (est.)[3]
OwnerOtto GmbH (1998–present)
Number of employees
7,500
Websitecrateandbarrel.com
Crate & Barrel headquarters
Crate & Barrel store on Beverly Drive in Beverly Hills, California

Euromarket Designs Inc., doing business as Crate & Barrel (stylized as Crate&Barrel), is an international furniture and home décor retail store headquartered in Northbrook, Illinois. They employ 8200 employees across over 100 stores in the United States and Canada, with franchises in Central America, South America, Asia and United Arab Emirates.

History

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Founding

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Gordon and Carole Segal opened the first Crate & Barrel store on December 7, 1962,[4] at age 23.[5] The 1,700-square-foot (160 m2) space in part of an old elevator factory[6] was located at 1516 North Wells Street in the then-bohemian Old Town neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois.[7] The inspiration was their honeymoon in the Caribbean, where the Segals saw inexpensive yet tasteful European household products for sale. They became interested in providing functional and aesthetically pleasing products to young couples just starting out. Surprised to see that European manufacturers offered many beautiful and durable products at reasonable prices, they were inspired to start their own store in the United States.[7] The Segals started by recruiting an employee and leasing an abandoned elevator factory on Chicago's Wells Street. They traveled throughout Europe buying directly from glassblowers, ceramicists and factories making French copper pots and simple white bistro dinnerware.[8]

The first store opened in response to a flourishing of world trade in home furnishings due to the early 1960s, round of talks about the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. The Segals sought out small European companies that were not represented in America and negotiated direct purchases from these factories that could be sold to the consumer while avoiding a wholesaler's markup. To this day, a majority of Crate & Barrel's products are direct imports from Europe, though Thai, Mexican and Indian glass and textiles can also be found in their stores.

The Segals derived the company name by the materials that they originally used to display items in their Chicago store. A friend suggested they call their company "Barrel and Crate", but Carole thought they should reverse the order of the words.[9] They turned over the crates and barrels that the merchandise came in, let the wood excelsior spill out, and stacked up the china and glass. This helped emphasize their strongest selling point — that their products were direct imports.

In 1966, Segal and the designer Lon Habkirk visited the Design Research store in Cambridge, Massachusetts, which had an "enormous influence" on their retailing approach. Habkirk later remarked, "Eventually we took the whole idea and translated it into a reproducible formula."[7]

Growth

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In 1968, the Segals opened their second store in the Plaza del Lago shopping center in suburban Wilmette, Illinois, and third in Oak Brook, Illinois in 1971.[6][7] Its first store outside the Chicago area opened in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts in 1977.[6] In 1979, it opened its second Cambridge, Massachusetts, store in the building designed for the recently closed Design Research, which they had so admired;[7] that store closed in 2009.[10]

By 1985, the chain had grown to 17 stores,[7] and has continued to grow. In March 1995, it opened its first New York location (its 59th location), in Manhattan.[11] After selling a majority stake to German mail order company the Otto Group in 1998,[12] the company had financing to increase its rate of expansion.[13] Otto became the sole owner in 2011.[14] By 2002, it had grown to approximately 100 locations,[15] and over 135 locations by late 2004.[5]

Crate & Barrel's flagship store, located in Chicago on Michigan Avenue in the "Magnificent Mile", closed in January 2018. The building became the world's largest Starbucks coffee roastery and retail space.[16] Today, there are 93 Crate & Barrel Stores in the United States and Canada, including 10 outlets.[17]

In 2019, Crate & Barrel partnered with the Cornerstone Restaurant Group to open The Table at Crate, a full-service restaurant at the Crate & Barrel Oak Brook store in Oakbrook, IL. It also acquired Hudson Grace, a boutique home décor, entertaining and gift brand based in San Francisco. Crate and Barrel plans to grow the Hudson Grace brand through retail expansion into niche markets and an invigorated online presence to engage new and existing customers across channels.[18]

International expansion

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Crate & Barrel Holdings has 22 stores in Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico, Peru, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and United Arab Emirates.[19][20] In September 2008, Crate & Barrel opened its first location outside the United States, at Yorkdale Shopping Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.[12] A new two-story 35,000-square-foot (3,300 m2) building, similar to other newly opened stores in the U.S., was constructed. A second Canadian store in Calgary opened in October 2009.[21] A third Canadian store opened in Mississauga, Ontario, on October 28, 2010, at Square One Shopping Centre. Additional stores opened in 2011 in Edmonton, Alberta at Southgate Centre,[22] another in Spring 2012 at Carrefour Laval Shopping Centre in Laval, Quebec, and another in Oakridge Centre mall in Vancouver, British Columbia, in early 2013. Future international expansion in Canada and possibly other countries is also reportedly planned.[23][24]

In the fall of 2009, the company reported plans to open two stores in Dubai in 2010 via a franchise agreement with Al Tayer Group.[25][26]

Crate & Barrel opened its first Asian store in Singapore in January 2013, occupying two floors at Ion Orchard. [27][28]

Crate & Barrel has three stores in Taiwan, one is in Taipei and the other in Taoyuan and Taichung.

Crate & Barrel opened its first store in Peru in 2015, and opened its first store in Colombia in December 2016 in Bogota- Parque La Colina Mall, via a franchise agreement with Falabella (retail store).[29]

In July 2017, Crate & Barrel opened its first store in Central America in Escazú, Costa Rica, inside Avenida Escazú mall.

Management

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Barbara Turf, first hired in 1968, succeeded Gordon Segal as CEO of the company in May 2008.[12] In November 2008, it was reported that sales for the prior year for the chain were $1.3 billion.[12] Turf retired in 2012. Sascha Bopp was named to replace her.[30] Sascha Bopp departed August 2014. While a replacement was sought, Otto Group asked Segal to return as a consultant.[31]

Doug Diemoz, formerly with competitors Restoration Hardware and Williams Sonoma, became CEO of Crate & Barrel on August 1, 2015.[32] Doug Diemoz departed April 2017. It was announced Neela Montgomery would assume his role.[33]

Neela Montgomery, former member of the executive board with the Otto Group, led the company as CEO until August 2020, ending six-years with the Otto Group.[34]

Janet Hayes became the CEO of Crate & Barrel Holdings on August 1, 2020.[2]

Products

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CB2 in Toronto

Crate & Barrel offers a variety of "upmarket" housewares, furniture, and related merchandise. These are displayed in the "vignette" style, where items are grouped together as they might appear in the home. The company was an innovator of this style, which has since become more widely used.[35]

Sister stores

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Crate & Barrel has two sister brands. CB2 is a home furnishings division geared toward young adults[36] created in 2000.[37][38] The brand now has 25 stores across the U.S. and Canada. An additional store was planned to open in Denver in 2018.[39]

Crate & Barrel's kids brand, The Land of Nod, acquired in 2001, closed all stores by the end of Spring 2018. On March 7, 2018, Crate & Barrel launched Crate & Kids, a kids furnishings, home goods and gifts product offering launching online and in 38 stores.[40][41]

In 2019, Crate & Barrel announced its acquisition of Hudson Grace, a boutique home décor, entertaining and gift brand based in San Francisco and in 10 stores.[42][43]

References

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  1. ^ "Crate & Barrel Stores". Crate & Barrel. Retrieved on November 23, 2022.
  2. ^ a b Chen, I-Chun (July 7, 2020). "Crate & Barrel names ex-Williams-Sonoma president Hayes CEO". Chicago Business Journal. The Business Journals. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  3. ^ Danziger, Pamela N. (May 3, 2024). "Crate And Barrel Takes A Purposeful Turn As Home Furnishing Demand Drops". Forbes. Forbes. Retrieved May 3, 2024.
  4. ^ Suzanne Slesin (March 2, 1995). "Is New York Ready for Nice?". The New York Times. Retrieved February 5, 2010.
  5. ^ a b "Crate and Barrel opens in Austin". Austin Business Journal. October 28, 2004. Retrieved February 5, 2010.
  6. ^ a b c Matt Valley (June 1, 2001). "The Crate and Barrel Story". Retail Traffic. Archived from the original on November 27, 2010. Retrieved February 5, 2010.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Joseph P. Kahn (November 1, 1985). "On Display: Founder Gordon Segal's sense of selling as theater has made Crate Barrel one of the world's most admired and imitated retailing operations". Inc. Retrieved February 5, 2010.
  8. ^ "Crate & Barrel Dubai, Mall of the Emirates". Malloftheemirates.com. Retrieved 2017-02-27.
  9. ^ "Crate & Barrel: Gordon Segal from How I Built This with Guy Raz". www.stitcher.com. Retrieved 2019-06-29.
  10. ^ Zhu, Peter F. (November 19, 2008). "Crate & Barrel To Close". The Harvard Crimson.
  11. ^ Douglas Martin (March 12, 1995). "Topiaries And Teapots, And a Tide Of Visitors". The New York Times. Retrieved February 5, 2010.
  12. ^ a b c d Jane L. Levere (November 28, 2008). "As Economy Dims, Crate and Barrel Stays Upbeat". The New York Times. Retrieved February 5, 2010.
  13. ^ Mark Albright (February 9, 2008). "Crate and Barrel on its way". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved February 5, 2010.
  14. ^ Adam Tanner. "Amazon's War On The House Of Otto, Germany's $18 Billion Family". Forbes.com. Retrieved 2017-02-27.
  15. ^ Francis Allen (February 15, 2019). "Home decor Notebook: Soon at U Village: Crate and Barrel". Archived from the original on May 15, 2019. Retrieved May 5, 2019.
  16. ^ Brenner, Julia (15 November 2019). "Former Crate & Barrel Flagship Store Now Open As World's Largest Starbucks". Forbes. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  17. ^ "Housewares & Furniture Stores By State | Crate and Barrel". Crate&Barrel. Retrieved 2020-04-30.
  18. ^ "Crate & Barrel acquires home decor brand Hudson Grace". Retail Dive. Retrieved 2020-04-30.
  19. ^ "Crate and Barrel (USA) Dubai Franchisee Opens 1st Store - 19 Mar 2010". www.worldfranchiseassociates.com. Retrieved 2022-11-23.
  20. ^ Release, Press. "Majid Al Futtaim opens its first official CB2 store in Dubai". www.zawya.com. Retrieved 2022-11-23.
  21. ^ "Crate & Barrel set to open second Canadian location in Calgary on October 7". National Post. September 4, 2009. Retrieved February 5, 2010. [dead link‍]
  22. ^ "Opening Fall 2011". southgatecentre.com. Retrieved August 30, 2011.
  23. ^ Flavelle, Dana (2007-04-04). "Yorkdale attracts top U.S. retailer". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2008-01-06.
  24. ^ Chicago Business News, Analysis & Articles | Crate & Barrel to expand outside U.S. | Crain's
  25. ^ "Crate and Barrel to Open Middle East Stores". Home Textiles Today. October 4, 2009. Archived from the original on January 25, 2013. Retrieved February 5, 2010.
  26. ^ Suzanne Fenton (September 30, 2009). "Al Tayer to launch Crate & Barrel". Gulf News. Retrieved February 5, 2010. In a franchise agreement the Al Tayer Group will open two stores in 2010, one in the Mall of the Emirates and the other in Mirdif City Centre which will also open its doors in the first quarter.
  27. ^ Mandy Lynn (August 8, 2012). "H&M, Victoria's Secret and Crate & Barrel to open at ION Orchard from October". I-S Magazine. Retrieved September 8, 2012.
  28. ^ "Housewares and Furniture Store | Singapore, | Crate and Barrel Ion Orchard". Crate and Barrel. Archived from the original on 2017-02-28. Retrieved 2017-02-27.
  29. ^ "Noticias de Economía, Finanzas y Negocio de Colombia y el Mundo" (in Spanish). larepublica.co. Retrieved 2017-02-27.
  30. ^ "Sascha Bopp to succeed Barbara Turf as Crate and Barrel CEO". Furniture Today. 2011-11-11. Retrieved 2017-02-27.
  31. ^ "Crate & Barrel's secret weapon knows a thing or two about the business". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on 2014-11-08.
  32. ^ Channick, Robert (July 9, 2015). "Crate and Barrel names new CEO". Chicago Tribune. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  33. ^ Shropshire, Corilyn. "Crate & Barrel names new CEO a month after previous one left abruptly". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2017-12-08.
  34. ^ "Neela Montgomery to exit Crate & Barrel". Chicago Tribune. Chicago Tribune. July 2, 2020. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  35. ^ "fool.com: Crate & Barrel- Companies Fools Wish Were Public (special), June 23, 1999". Archived from the original on November 9, 2016. Retrieved October 19, 2007.
  36. ^ "It Came From Chicago, and It's Not Puffy". The New York Times. November 5, 2007. Archived from the original on November 7, 2007. Retrieved April 30, 2010.
  37. ^ Jo Napolitano (June 23, 2003). "Crate and Barrel Handles Its Offshoot With Care". The New York Times. Retrieved February 5, 2010.
  38. ^ Nicole Maestri (November 6, 2007). "Crate and Barrel's CB2 chain takes Manhattan". Reuters. Retrieved February 5, 2010. Crate and Barrel opens its first New York-based CB2 store on Tuesday. It marks the third CB2 store, and is the retailer's first CB2 store outside of Chicago.
  39. ^ "Crate & Barrel sister brand to open in Cherry Creek". January 8, 2018.
  40. ^ "So long, Land of Nod: Crate & Barrel to launch Crate & Kids". The Chicago Tribune. February 22, 2018. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
  41. ^ "Crate and Kids Furniture and Toy Stores | Crate & Barrel". Crate&Barrel. Retrieved 2022-11-23.
  42. ^ "Crate & Barrel buys up S.F.-based home furnishings company". San Francisco Business Journals. June 24, 2019. Retrieved June 24, 2019.
  43. ^ "Hudson Grace Store Locations". Hudson Grace. Retrieved 2022-11-23.
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