- Yankee Candle Company
The Yankee Candle Company is the largest U.S. manufacturer of scented
candles . [cite web|url=http://www.yankeecandle.com/cgi-bin/ycbvp/ycContent.jsp?page=%2fNavigation%2fNon+Product+Left%2fAbout+Yankee+Candle%2fOur+Company%2fYC+Today|title=Yankee Candle Today|accessdate=2007-08-06] The company is located inSouth Deerfield, Massachusetts .History
Yankee Candle Company was started in
South Hadley, Massachusetts when Michael Kittredge created his first scented candle from melted crayons, as a gift for his mother.cite web|url=http://www.yankeecandle.com/cgi-bin/ycbvp/ycContent.jsp?page=%2fNavigation%2fNon+Product+Left%2fAbout+Yankee+Candle%2fOur+Company%2fTimeline|title=Historical Timeline|accessdate=2007-08-06] Neighbors began expressing interest in buying his creations, and Kittredge began producing them in larger quantities. The company itself was founded with help from Donald MacIver and Susan Obremski, who were high school friends with Kittredge.Fact|date=November 2007 MacIver helped fund the start-up business with earnings from his part-time job.Fact|date=November 2007 Candle production grew considerably after Obremski's father devised a "heated room", which enabled cost-saving liquid wax deliveries at the first factory site in Holyoke. Obremski's invention of a turntable taper wheel allowed production to double, while at the same time decreasing the need for more labor hours.Fact|date=November 2007 In 1975, she managed the first Yankee Candle Shop located where the Village Commons, South Hadley now stands.Fact|date=November 2007The company slowly expanded and moved to South Deerfield, Massachusetts in 1983.
After a
cancer scare in 1993, Kittredge started handing the company over to a friend and employee.cite web|url=http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2004/1101/172_print.html|title=Letting Go|last=Whelan|first=David|accessdate=2007-08-06] In 1998, he sold the company to New York basedprivate equity companyForstmann Little for $500 million. Forstmann took the company public in 1999 [ [http://bostonjobsource.com/yankeecandle.html Yankee Candle Profile - BostonJobSource.com ] ] , and in 2001, hired Craig Rydin as a CEO. Rydin launched a major advertising campaign and the line was picked up by mass retailersLinens-N-Things andBed, Bath and Beyond , pushing sales to their highest levels yet. Kittredge remains the company's chairman emeritus.During the summer of 2006, Yankee Candle purchasedcite web|url=http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=83126&p=irol-newsArticle&t=Regular&id=887547&|title=The Yankee Candle Company, Inc. Agrees to Acquire the Illuminations Brand|accessdate=2007-08-06] Illuminations, a Petaluma, CA based, multi-channel retailer of high quality candles and home accessories. Although the two companies are similar, the names are separated, with Illuminations being aimed at a different demographic.
On February 6th, 2007, the company was acquired by the
private equity group ofMadison Dearborn Partners LLC for approximately $1.6 billion. [cite web|url=http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=83126&p=irol-newsArticle&t=Regular&id=959301&|title=Yankee Candle and Madison Dearborn Partners Announce Completion of Merger|accessdate=2007-08-06]Flagship store
Yankee Candle's flagship store, off Routes 5 & 10 in South Deerfield, Mass, is one of New England's most popular tourist attractions. [ [http://gonewengland.about.com/cs/macentralsights/a/aayankeecandle.htm Visit Yankee Candle - Yankee Candle's Flagship Store in South Deerfield, Massachusetts, is One of New England's Most Popular Attractions ] ] It features not only a selection of all available Yankee Candles but also kitchen and home accessories, New England crafts, gifts and collectibles, a toy shop, picnic grounds and a "
Bavaria n Christmas Village" filled with decorated Christmas trees and atoy train that runs through toSanta's Workshop , where animated elves and an 'assembly line' for wooden vehicles surround Santa Claus's desk. Visitors can dip their own candles in a specially equipped area and there is a candle making museum. The shop's award-winning Chandler's Tavern serves American cuisine and fine wines.A second flagship store was opened in Williamsburg, VA in 2005. The store is 10,000 square feet and is about 1/3 the size of the South Deerfield, MA store.
Products
Yankee Candle Company markets an array of products, including candles of various scents and sizes, scented wax tarts, and candle accessories. The Housewarmer candle, a signature product introduced in 1995, is a scented jar candle currently available in three sizes for most scents: 3.7 oz, 14.5 oz, and 22 oz.
The company also markets other products, including votive candles (Samplers), scented wax tarts, votive candle holders, tart warmers, jar toppers (for use with the Housewarmer line of candles), and more.
References
* Kittredge. "Yankee Candle Catalog." Introduction to Yankee Candle. Comp. Susan Kittredge. Holyoke: Marcus Printing, 1975.
* MacIver, Donald. Telephone interview. 10 November 2006.
* A Day of Production at Yankee Candle. Dir. Obremski. Perf. various. 35mm slides. Yankee Candle in-store video monitors, 1975.External links
* [http://www.yankeecandle.com/ Yankee Candle home page]
* [http://www.yankeecandle.com/cgi-bin/ycbvp/ycContent.jsp?page=/Navigation/Non%20Product%20Left/About%20Yankee%20Candle/Our%20Company/Timeline Yankee Candle historical timeline]
* [http://www.illuminations.com/ Illuminations owned by Yankee Candle]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
