Lillian Vernon Corporation is an American catalog merchant and online retailer that sells household, children's and fashion accessory products. Founded in 1951 by Lillian Vernon (a/k/a Lillian Menasche), out of her Mount Vernon, New York, apartment; the business name is a combination of her first name and her hometown.
Lillian Vernon (center) donates a refrigerated truck to Citymeals-on-Wheels
Lillian Vernon was started by Lillian Menasche at the age of twenty-four, by placing advertisements in Seventeen magazine for personalized purses and belts.[1] As a result of this success, the Vernon Specialties Company[2] became focused on products for young women by advertising in magazines focused on that emergent market. The Lillian Vernon Catalog, which the company launched in 1956,[3] became an iconic shopping resource for American women, much like its competitor, the Sears catalog. Produced monthly, the catalog was typically 120 pages and usually featured 750 items. In response to a catalog and shopping mall boom in the United States in the 1980s, the company produced a number of specialty catalogs in order to broaden its market, including ones targeted for children and homemakers.[4]
The Lillian Vernon Corporation, founded in 1965, went public in 1987. It was the first company founded by a woman to be publicly traded on the American Stock Exchange.[4]
Responding to the increasingly important online market in the early 1990s, the Lillian Vernon Corporation opened a storefront on AOL in 1995 and followed with an online catalog and website. However, by the end of the 1990s, the company began to struggle to meet online needs, especially after the collapse of the Dot-com bubble. After Fred and David Hochberg both declined to take over running their mother's company, Vernon sold it to ZelnickMedia in 2003, but retained the symbolic title of non-executive chairman. The company has since changed hands a number of times including emerging from a bankruptcy process in 2008.[5] In October 2015 Lillian Vernon was purchased by Regent, a Beverly Hills-based private equity firm controlled by investor Michael Reinstein.[6][7]
Funny products from the similarly named but imaginary Lillian Verner company are featured in The Lillian Verner Game Show, which was a recurring game show spoof on Mad TV.
In the musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch, the song "Sugar Daddy" includes a lyric in which Hedwig tells her American military boyfriend that "I want all the luxuries of the modern age, / Every item on every page / Of the Lillian Vernon catalogue".
Awards and honorsedit
Lillian Vernon was a recipient of numerous awards, including the Project Sunshine Award for Philanthropic Leadership and The International Center in New York's Award of Excellence.[9] She was also a board member of Citymeals-on-Wheels.[10]
Referencesedit
^Cruice, Valerie (1998-05-24). "Starting Simply, the Story of a Business". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2015-10-11.
^. National Women's History Museum - NWHM. Archived from the original on 2015-09-08. Retrieved 2015-10-11.
^Cherry, Robin. Catalog: The Illustrated History of Mail-Order Shopping. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2008.
^Merced, Michael J. De La (2008-05-03). "Bankruptcy Protection for Retailer". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2015-10-11.
^Arnold, Laurence. "Lillian Vernon, queen of mail-order catalogs, dies at 88". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
^"Archives - Philly.com". Philly.com. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
^"Customer Service". Lillian Vernon. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
^"Lillian Vernon". Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
^West, Melanie Grayce (2 July 2012). "Hope and Lettuce Delivered Daily". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
External linksedit
www.lillianvernon.com—Lillian Vernon site
December 04, 2023
lillian, vernon, company, lillian, vernon, redirects, here, company, founder, lillian, vernon, businesswoman, lillian, vernon, corporation, american, catalog, merchant, online, retailer, that, sells, household, children, fashion, accessory, products, founded, . Lillian Vernon redirects here For the company s founder see Lillian Vernon businesswoman Lillian Vernon Corporation is an American catalog merchant and online retailer that sells household children s and fashion accessory products Founded in 1951 by Lillian Vernon a k a Lillian Menasche out of her Mount Vernon New York apartment the business name is a combination of her first name and her hometown Lillian Vernon center donates a refrigerated truck to Citymeals on Wheels Contents 1 History 2 Pop culture references 3 Awards and honors 4 References 5 External linksHistory editLillian Vernon was started by Lillian Menasche at the age of twenty four by placing advertisements in Seventeen magazine for personalized purses and belts 1 As a result of this success the Vernon Specialties Company 2 became focused on products for young women by advertising in magazines focused on that emergent market The Lillian Vernon Catalog which the company launched in 1956 3 became an iconic shopping resource for American women much like its competitor the Sears catalog Produced monthly the catalog was typically 120 pages and usually featured 750 items In response to a catalog and shopping mall boom in the United States in the 1980s the company produced a number of specialty catalogs in order to broaden its market including ones targeted for children and homemakers 4 The Lillian Vernon Corporation founded in 1965 went public in 1987 It was the first company founded by a woman to be publicly traded on the American Stock Exchange 4 Responding to the increasingly important online market in the early 1990s the Lillian Vernon Corporation opened a storefront on AOL in 1995 and followed with an online catalog and website However by the end of the 1990s the company began to struggle to meet online needs especially after the collapse of the Dot com bubble After Fred and David Hochberg both declined to take over running their mother s company Vernon sold it to ZelnickMedia in 2003 but retained the symbolic title of non executive chairman The company has since changed hands a number of times including emerging from a bankruptcy process in 2008 5 In October 2015 Lillian Vernon was purchased by Regent a Beverly Hills based private equity firm controlled by investor Michael Reinstein 6 7 Several Hollywood celebrities began their careers as Lillian Vernon models including Jason Biggs Monica Potter and Marla Maples 8 Pop culture references editFunny products from the similarly named but imaginary Lillian Verner company are featured in The Lillian Verner Game Show which was a recurring game show spoof on Mad TV In the musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch the song Sugar Daddy includes a lyric in which Hedwig tells her American military boyfriend that I want all the luxuries of the modern age Every item on every page Of the Lillian Vernon catalogue Awards and honors editLillian Vernon was a recipient of numerous awards including the Project Sunshine Award for Philanthropic Leadership and The International Center in New York s Award of Excellence 9 She was also a board member of Citymeals on Wheels 10 References edit Cruice Valerie 1998 05 24 Starting Simply the Story of a Business The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved 2015 10 11 Education amp Resources National Women s History Museum NWHM Archived from the original on 2015 09 08 Retrieved 2015 10 11 Cherry Robin Catalog The Illustrated History of Mail Order Shopping New York Princeton Architectural Press 2008 a b Lillian Vernon Immigrant Entrepreneurship 2015 01 01 Retrieved 2015 10 11 Merced Michael J De La 2008 05 03 Bankruptcy Protection for Retailer The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved 2015 10 11 Arnold Laurence Lillian Vernon queen of mail order catalogs dies at 88 Chicago Tribune Retrieved 18 January 2018 Archives Philly com Philly com Retrieved 18 January 2018 Customer Service Lillian Vernon Retrieved 18 January 2018 Lillian Vernon Connecticut Women s Hall of Fame Retrieved October 30 2012 West Melanie Grayce 2 July 2012 Hope and Lettuce Delivered Daily The Wall Street Journal Retrieved 18 January 2018 External links editwww lillianvernon com Lillian Vernon site Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Lillian Vernon company amp oldid 1179211613, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
