Oriental Trading Company is a direct merchant of value-priced party supplies, arts and crafts, toys,

novelties A novelty item or simply novelty is an object which is specifically designed to serve no practical purpose, and is sold for its uniqueness, humor, or simply as something new (hence "novelty", or newness). The term also applies to practical items wi ...

, and school supplies. It was founded in 1932 as one of the United States' first

wholesaling Wholesaling or distributing is the sale of goods or merchandise to retailers; to industrial, commercial, institutional or other professional business users; or to other wholesalers (wholesale businesses) and related subordinated services. In ...

companies. Oriental Trading has been recognized as one of the top 100 Internet retailers and one of the top 50 catalog companies. It is based in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

, and is owned by

Berkshire Hathaway Berkshire Hathaway Inc. () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate holding company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Its main business and source of capital is insurance, from ...

. Alternative known names for Oriental Trading Company include "Oriental Trading" & "OTC".

History

The company was founded as a gift shop in 1932 in

by Harry Watanabe. The company expanded to 17 shops in the Midwest. During World War II, with restrictions against imports from Japan, the company shrank back to its Omaha base. Watanabe then bought a ceramic shop which made

Kewpie Kewpie is a brand of dolls and figurines that were conceived as comic strip characters by cartoonist Rose O'Neill. The illustrated cartoons, appearing as baby cupid characters, began to gain popularity after the publication of O'Neill's comic ...

dolls and other ceramic items. In 1954 it resumed its imports from Japan and was a major carnival supplier and in 1956 it launched its first catalog. In 1977 Watanabe's son Terrance Watanabe became president and its focus shifted from carnivals to supplying party goods for churches, schools, retailers, and individuals. In 2000, Terrance sold his entire stake in the company to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

-based

private equity In the field of finance, the term private equity (PE) refers to investment funds, usually limited partnerships (LP), which buy and restructure financially weak companies that produce goods and provide services. A private-equity fund is both a ty ...

firm

Brentwood Associates Brentwood Associates is a private equity firm in the US with groups focusing on leveraged buyout. The firm, which is based in Los Angeles, was founded in 1972. Their most recent fund was a $1.15bn fund raised in 2017. The venture capital group ...

, and resigned as CEO and President. He became a philanthropist, but subsequently lost most of his fortune gambling in Las Vegas. In 2006

The Carlyle Group The Carlyle Group is a multinational private equity, alternative asset management and financial services corporation based in the United States with $376 billion of assets under management. It specializes in private equity, real assets, and pri ...

bought 68 percent interest in the company with Brentwood owning a reported 25 percent.Oriental Trading Sold multichannelmerchant.com - June 13, 2006
/ref> On August 24, 2010, Oriental Trading Company via OTC Holdings Corp. declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. On November 2, 2012,

announced they would acquire the company. Oriental Trading acquired MindWare Holdings, Inc. in 2013 and SmileMakers in 2014. MindWare is a manufacturer, wholesaler, and direct retailer of "brainy toys for kids of all ages" (such as the game

Qwirkle ''Qwirkle'' is a tile-based game for two to four players, designed by Susan McKinley Ross and published by MindWare. Qwirkle shares some characteristics with the games ''Rummikub'' and ''Scrabble''. It is distributed in Canada by game and puzz ...

) that complements the Oriental Trading family of educational products. SmileMakers is the leading brand catering to the dental and healthcare markets. The company's CEO Sam Taylor appeared in the March 10, 2012, episode of the TV show ''

Undercover Boss ''Undercover Boss'' is a reality television series franchise created by Stephen Lambert and produced in many countries. It originated in 2009 on the British Channel 4. The show’s format features the experiences of senior executives working u ...

''. Taylor, who had been CEO since 2008, died after a year long illness in December 2017, and COO/CFO Steve Mendlik was named acting CEO in January 2018.

Notes

References

* * * * * *

External links

* {{Authority control 2012 mergers and acquisitions Retail companies established in 1932 Companies based in Omaha, Nebraska The Carlyle Group companies Berkshire Hathaway 1932 establishments in Nebraska