World Market, formerly Cost Plus World Market, is an American chain of specialty/import retail stores, selling home furniture, decor, curtains, rugs, gifts, apparel, coffee, wine, craft beer, and international food products. The brand's original name came from the initial concept, since abandoned, of selling items for "cost plus 10%". The company was owned by Bed Bath & Beyond from 2012 to 2021, and is currently headquartered in Alameda, California.[2]
On 23 October 1958,[3] William Amthor and Lincoln Bartlett[4] opened the first Cost Plus Imports store at 2552 Taylor Street on Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco, California. This location permanently closed in 2020.[5] Founder William Amthor had been operating a small family-owned furniture store in San Francisco, when he imported a surplus of wicker furniture. Rather than display the wicker pieces in his store, he rented 4,000 square feet (370 m2) of warehouse space in the Fisherman's Wharf area of San Francisco. The imported furniture sold quickly, and Amthor began a new business as an importer. When he opened his first store in 1958, it was devoted exclusively to wicker and rattan that he had imported himself. The store was named Cost Plus after Amthor's strategy of pricing the imported goods at cost, plus ten percent. The stores featured an eclectic mix of imported furniture and home furnishings, displayed in the style of a bazaar.[6] The success in San Francisco led Amthor to quickly open other stores across Northern California.
In 1962, with the help of the Tandy Corporation, Cost Plus Imports incorporated and opened franchised locations in California and Texas. The franchised stores would, by 1966, be renamed Pier 1 Imports, while Amthor's original chain retained the Cost Plus name.[4][7] Cost Plus would eventually grow to 258 stores across 39 states and Washington, D.C.[as of?]
In the 1990s, Cost Plus shifted the branding of its stores to either Cost Plus World Market or simply World Market in markets new to the brand (generally in the eastern or southern regions of the United States). In 1996, Cost Plus World Market went public and began trading on the NASDAQ stock exchange.
In February 2006, Cost Plus reported quarterly earnings of $125 million, with $367 million in revenue for the fourth fiscal quarter of 2006. Annual earnings were $280 million with over $800 million in revenue. By 2008 the company was operating at a loss, and rebuffed an 88.4 million dollar takeover bid by Pier 1 Imports.[9] In 2012, Cost Plus was acquired by Bed Bath & Beyond.[10]
In 2014, Cost Plus World Market launched an online crowdsourcing-model marketplace, Craft by World Market.[11] The website posts items for one month at a time, and sells only products that attract enough pre-orders to be worthwhile.[12]
In October 2019, Bed Bath and Beyond announced pending closure of 40 Bed Bath and Beyond stores and 20 stores of World Market and other subsidiaries.[13] The company sold Cost Plus World Market to Kingswood Capital Management in February 2021.[14]
Referencesedit
^ ab. Yahoo Finance. Archived from the original on July 26, 2013. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
^"Cost Plus will move head offices, 400 workers, to Alameda from Oakland". The Mercury News. 2016-01-13. Retrieved 2018-01-13.
^"Cost Plus celebrates 50th anniversary". Chain Store Age. October 6, 2008. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
^ abHirschmann, Niloufer. "The world in a paper bag" (PDF). Kroeber Anthropological Society Papers. University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
^"Bed Bath & Beyond sells Cost Plus World Market". The North Bay Business Journal. 2021-01-20. Retrieved 2021-10-22.
^"History". Cost Plus. n.d. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
^"Pier 1 Imports: From Hippie to Hip to Hell". Forbes.
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Cost Plus redirects here For other uses see Cost plus disambiguation World Market formerly Cost Plus World Market is an American chain of specialty import retail stores selling home furniture decor curtains rugs gifts apparel coffee wine craft beer and international food products The brand s original name came from the initial concept since abandoned of selling items for cost plus 10 The company was owned by Bed Bath amp Beyond from 2012 to 2021 and is currently headquartered in Alameda California 2 World Market Inc World Market store in Lansing MichiganTrade nameWorld MarketCompany typePrivateIndustryRetail online shoppingFounded1958 66 years ago 1958 Fisherman s Wharf San Francisco California U S FounderWilliam Amthor Lincoln BartlettHeadquartersAlameda California U S Number of locations258 2020 Area servedUnited StatesKey peopleAlex Smith Executive ChairmanProductsFurniture and decor apparel international foodsRevenueUS 963 83 million 2011 1 Net incomeUS 16 5 million 2011 Number of employees6 127 1 ParentBed Bath amp Beyond 2012 2021 Kingswood Capital Management 2021 present Websitewww wbr worldmarket wbr comInside a Cost Plus World Market in Kennesaw GeorgiaFormer headquarters of Cost Plus World Market in Oakland CaliforniaHistory editOn 23 October 1958 3 William Amthor and Lincoln Bartlett 4 opened the first Cost Plus Imports store at 2552 Taylor Street on Fisherman s Wharf in San Francisco California This location permanently closed in 2020 5 Founder William Amthor had been operating a small family owned furniture store in San Francisco when he imported a surplus of wicker furniture Rather than display the wicker pieces in his store he rented 4 000 square feet 370 m2 of warehouse space in the Fisherman s Wharf area of San Francisco The imported furniture sold quickly and Amthor began a new business as an importer When he opened his first store in 1958 it was devoted exclusively to wicker and rattan that he had imported himself The store was named Cost Plus after Amthor s strategy of pricing the imported goods at cost plus ten percent The stores featured an eclectic mix of imported furniture and home furnishings displayed in the style of a bazaar 6 The success in San Francisco led Amthor to quickly open other stores across Northern California In 1962 with the help of the Tandy Corporation Cost Plus Imports incorporated and opened franchised locations in California and Texas The franchised stores would by 1966 be renamed Pier 1 Imports while Amthor s original chain retained the Cost Plus name 4 7 Cost Plus would eventually grow to 258 stores across 39 states and Washington D C as of In 1987 Bechtel Investments Fremont Group completed a leveraged buyout 8 In the 1990s Cost Plus shifted the branding of its stores to either Cost Plus World Market or simply World Market in markets new to the brand generally in the eastern or southern regions of the United States In 1996 Cost Plus World Market went public and began trading on the NASDAQ stock exchange In February 2006 Cost Plus reported quarterly earnings of 125 million with 367 million in revenue for the fourth fiscal quarter of 2006 Annual earnings were 280 million with over 800 million in revenue By 2008 the company was operating at a loss and rebuffed an 88 4 million dollar takeover bid by Pier 1 Imports 9 In 2012 Cost Plus was acquired by Bed Bath amp Beyond 10 In 2014 Cost Plus World Market launched an online crowdsourcing model marketplace Craft by World Market 11 The website posts items for one month at a time and sells only products that attract enough pre orders to be worthwhile 12 In October 2019 Bed Bath and Beyond announced pending closure of 40 Bed Bath and Beyond stores and 20 stores of World Market and other subsidiaries 13 The company sold Cost Plus World Market to Kingswood Capital Management in February 2021 14 References edit a b Cost Plus Inc Company Profile Yahoo Finance Archived from the original on July 26 2013 Retrieved May 8 2014 Cost Plus will move head offices 400 workers to Alameda from Oakland The Mercury News 2016 01 13 Retrieved 2018 01 13 Cost Plus celebrates 50th anniversary Chain Store Age October 6 2008 Retrieved 24 December 2022 a b Hirschmann Niloufer The world in a paper bag PDF Kroeber Anthropological Society Papers University of California Berkeley Retrieved 24 December 2022 Bed Bath amp Beyond sells Cost Plus World Market The North Bay Business Journal 2021 01 20 Retrieved 2021 10 22 History Cost Plus n d Retrieved May 8 2014 Pier 1 Imports From Hippie to Hip to Hell Forbes Cost Plus Inc Encyclopedia com Retrieved 24 December 2022 Pier 1 withdraws bid to acquire Cost Plus Reuters June 24 2008 Hsu Tiffany May 9 2012 Bed Bath amp Beyond to buy Cost Plus for 495 million Los Angeles Times Craft by World Market Cost Plus World Market Somerville Heather February 20 2014 World Market to launch online boutique to sell handmade goods San Jose Mercury News Bed Bath and Beyond to close stores after holiday season WAND TV October 3 2019 Rivas Teresa Bed Bath amp Beyond Sells Cost Plus World Market Buys Back More Stock www barrons com Retrieved 2020 12 15 External links edit nbsp San Francisco Bay Area portal nbsp Companies portalOfficial website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title World Market store amp oldid 1217375476, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
