Christmas Tree Shops

Christmas Tree Shops
Subsidiary
Genre Bargains, closeouts
Founded 1970
Founder Doreen and Chuck Bilezikian
Headquarters Yarmouth Port, Massachusetts, U.S.
Number of locations
83 (May 2014)[1]
Area served
New England, Mid Atlantic, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Texas
Parent Bed Bath & Beyond
Website christmastreeshops.com

Christmas Tree Shops are a retail chain that started in Yarmouth Port, Massachusetts on Cape Cod in 1970 as a complex of three small stores; the Front Shop, the Back Shop, and the Barn Shop. The multiple store location, which was located on Route 6A, explains why the name is Christmas Tree Shops instead of Christmas Tree Shop. The chain's founders were Doreen and Chuck Bilezikian.

Since the 1980s, the chain has slowly been expanding beyond Cape Cod. As of May 2014, the company has 83 stores in eighteen states (including all six New England states). Expansion for the chain has included stores in the Midwestern states of Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio. Its newest stores opened in Augusta, Georgia; Dallas, Texas;[2] and Greensboro, North Carolina. These stores have been opened under new ownership.

Christmas Tree Shops was acquired by Bed Bath and Beyond in 2003, though the Bilezikians remain involved in the chain's executive operations. The original stores on Route 6A were closed in January of 2007, though the site is now occupied by stores owned by the Bilezikians' son, Greg.[3] Some of the earlier Cape Cod locations, such as the store in West Dennis, Massachusetts, are far smaller in size than more recently built stores.

Distribution center

The company maintains distribution centers in Middleborough, Massachusetts, and Florence, New Jersey, the latter of which opened in 2008. Prior to being moved to Middleboro, distribution was done from the former Cape Cod Coliseum, in South Yarmouth. The Middleboro location also serves as the chain's new headquarters.

Store concepts

The Christmas Tree Shops store at the base of the Sagamore Bridge in Sagamore, Massachusetts.

Christmas Tree Shops are bargain stores, selling everything from food to toys to household furnishings to Christmas decorations. Most stores are typically made to resemble older buildings, in Colonial, Victorian, or even Old English barn styles (such as the Sagamore, Massachusetts, Pembroke, Massachusetts and Warwick, Rhode Island stores). Some, such as the Lynnfield, Massachusetts store, are even more conceptualized; that store is known for its lighthouse and fishing village motif.

Christmas Tree Shops also has several stores in enclosed shopping malls, such as the Holyoke, Massachusetts location, which is inside the Holyoke Mall at Ingleside, as well as Colonie Center in Colonie, New York and Salmon Run Mall in Watertown, New York. "Christmas Tree Shops express" stores feature a smaller footprint and the merchandise mix is oriented towards seasonal offerings.

"andThat!" is a new banner used to expand Christmas Tree Shops to other parts of the country not familiar with the concept in order to eliminate confusion. "andThat!" stores have opened in Fredericksburg, Virginia and Flint, Michigan.[4][5]

References

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, February 20, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.