CSS Industries
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (April 2013) |
Consumer goods | |
Founded | 1923 (as City Stores Company) |
---|---|
Headquarters | |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Rebecca C. Matthias (board chair) Christopher J. Munyan (president) & (CEO) |
Products | Craft, seasonal and gift products |
Revenue | $498.25 million (2008) |
$38.83 million (2008) | |
$25.36 million (2008) | |
Total assets | $345.04 million (2008) |
Total equity | $262.35 million (2008) |
Subsidiaries | Paper Magic Group, Inc, Berwick Offray, LLC, C.R. Gibson, LLC, The McCall Pattern Company, Inc., Simplicity Creative Corp. |
Website | www |
CSS Industries, Inc., was founded in 1923, as City Stores Company. Its headquarters is at 1845 Walnut Street,
City Stores Company, 1923–1985
City Stores was a holding company,
City Stores started in 1923 with the acquisition of three department stores:
In 1944, City Stores acquired control of
In 1961, City Stores acquired the W. & J. Sloane chain of 30 furniture stores in California, New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, and other states along the east coast. W. & J. Sloane purchased a 280,000-square-foot (26,000 m2) building at a prime location on Fifth Avenue in New York City from Franklin Simon. In 1966, City Stores acquired Wolf & Dessauer Co. of Fort Wayne, Indiana, but sold the company in 1969, along with Kaufman-Straus to L. S. Ayres.
The 1970s brought the company a large decline in sales and the need to
City Stores was dismantled completely through the bankruptcy process after acquisition by Philadelphia Industries Inc. (PII). Jack Farber, president of PII, became chairman of City Stores and was elected CEO in February 1980. Farber closed or discontinued the remaining department store operations in 1982, and by 1985 liquidated the remaining assets of W. & J. Sloane.
CSS Industries, Inc. 1985–present
CSS Industries was established by Farber in 1985, with a new name to reflect a diversified strategy. CSS completed its first acquisition in January 1985 with the purchase of Rapidforms, Inc. of Thorofare, New Jersey.[1][failed verification] designed and manufactured a variety of business forms. It was sold in December 1997. In 1986, CSS acquired Ellisco Co., a manufacturer of metal containers in standard and customized formats. Ellisco's manufacturing locations included sites in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Ohio, and West Virginia. CSS sold the subsidiary to U.S. Can in 1994..
CSS added
In 1993, CSS acquired Berwick Industries, Inc., a ribbon and bow manufacturer and integrated it into Paper Magic. In March 2002, Berwick acquired business assets of C. M. Offray & Son, Inc. (a producer and supplier of narrow woven ribbon) and merged them into Berwick. In August 2008, Berwick Offray LLC acquired Hampshire Paper Corp., a manufacturer and supplier of waxed tissue, paper, foil and foil decorative packaging to the wholesale floral and horticultural industries.
In the mid-2000s, CSS was reorganized into three affiliates: Berwick Offray (the world's largest manufacturer and distributor of decorative ribbons and bows); Cleo (the premier provider of seasonal gift packaging products); and the Paper Magic Group (a manufacturer of a vast array of seasonal merchandise - ranging from greeting cards to Halloween costumes). The C. R. Gibson business was acquired on December 3, 2007, and in May 2008, it acquired iota, a designer, marketer and seller of stationery products, such as note cards, gift wrap and journals. CSS announced on May 25, 2011, that Cleo would be shut down as of December 31, 2011.
CSS acquired the McCall Pattern Company (parent of Butterick and Vogue Patterns) in December 2016,[2] and then in November 2017 went on to acquire Simplicity Pattern.[3][4]
In January 2020, CSS was acquired by the British company IG Design Group plc, via its American subsidiary, Design Group Americas Inc. for $88 million.[5]
References
- ^ "Rapidforms - About". Archived from the original on 2009-06-21. Retrieved 2009-06-17.
- ^ "CSS Industries, Inc. Announces Acquisition of the Business and Assets of The McCall Pattern Company" (Press release). 2016-12-13. Retrieved 2018-04-20.
- ^ "Simplicity Creative Group, Inc." Bloomberg, retrieved November 27, 2017.
- ^ "CSS Industries, Inc. Acquires Simplicity Creative Group" (press release) Business Wire, November 3, 2017.
- ^ "CSS Industries Announces Acquisition by IG Design Group plc" (Press release). 20 January 2020.
External links
- CSS Industries company website
- The Albert M. Greenfield Papers, including correspondence, news clippings and office files, are available for research use at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Collection 1959 (accessed Aug 29, 2008).
- "Retail Trade: Mr. Philadelphia". Time. September 19, 1949. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
- CSS Industries, Inc. company history (accessed Aug 29, 2008)
- New York Stock Exchange profile (accessed Aug 29, 2008)
- Google Finance (accessed Aug 29, 2008)
- Reuters Company Profile (accessed Aug 29, 2008) Archived March 3, 2016, at the Wayback Machine