At Home (stylized in lowercase) is a chain of home décor stores based in

Plano, Texas Plano ( ) is a city in Collin County and Denton County, Texas, United States. It had a population of 285,494 at the 2020 census. It is a principal city of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. History European settlers came to the area near ...

and currently operates 250 stores in 40 states. The average store is 110,000 square feet. Each store offers up to 50,000 home products that range from furniture, mirrors, rugs, art and housewares to tabletop, patio and seasonal décor. In August 2016, the company went public. Lewis L. (Lee) Bird III serves as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer for At Home. Bird joined the company in December 2012. Prior to this, Bird served as President of Nike Affiliates for Nike Inc., Chief Operating Officer of Gap, and Chief Financial Officer of Old Navy.

History

Founded in 1979 with one store in

Schertz, Texas Schertz ( ) is a city in Guadalupe, Bexar, and Comal counties in the U.S. state of Texas, within the metropolitan area. The population was 42,002 at the 2020 census, up from 31,465 at the 2010 census. Schertz was settled by Alsatian emigrants ...

, the brand was created as Garden Ridge Pottery and was later renamed simply Garden Ridge. Interior of an At Home in Rapid City, South Dakota

Investment firm Three Cities Research became the largest shareholder of Garden Ridge in 1999. Garden Ridge filed for

Chapter 11 Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, wheth ...

bankruptcy protection in 2004. After the reorganization, the corporation emerged from Chapter 11 in 2005.

AEA Investors AEA Investors is an American middle market private equity firm. The firm focuses on leveraged buyout, growth capital, and mezzanine capital investments in manufacturing, service, distribution, specialty chemicals, consumer product, and busines ...

acquired Garden Ridge in October 2011. In 2014, the company converted all stores to the At Home brand and floorplan, painting everything grey (from Garden Ridge's characteristic orange). The company publicly filed an S-1 on September 4, 2015. At Home underwent a rebranding project that included the previously stated name change and a store redesign. The rebranding project changed the use of orange color for advertising to a soft grey and blue. A house symbol stands in for the “o” in At Home, so there's no confusion about what's sold inside, CEO Lee Bird said. This investment cost around $20 million. In July 2021, the company was acquired by

Hellman & Friedman Hellman & Friedman LLC (H&F) is an American private equity firm, founded in 1984 by Warren Hellman and Tully Friedman, that makes investments primarily through leveraged buyouts as well as growth capital investments. H&F has focused its efforts ...

References

External links

* Retail companies of the United States Companies based in Plano, Texas Retail companies established in 1979 1979 establishments in Texas American companies established in 1979 Home decor retailers 2016 initial public offerings 2021 mergers and acquisitions Companies formerly listed on the New York Stock Exchange Private equity portfolio companies {{US-retail-company-stub