The Talbots, Inc. (doing business as Talbots and stylized as TALBOTS) is an American specialty retailer and direct marketer of women's clothing, shoes and fashion accessories. As of 2018, the company operated 495 Talbots stores in the United States: 425 core Talbots stores (412 U.S), 65 Talbots Factory Outlets (U.S.) and five Talbots Clearance stores (4 U.S.). The company's retail operation comprises approximately 80% of its overall business, with the other 20% conducted via catalog and internet.

History

The first shop, located in

Hingham, Massachusetts Hingham ( ) is a town in metropolitan Greater Boston on the South Shore (Massachusetts), South Shore of the U.S. state of Massachusetts in northern Plymouth County, Massachusetts, Plymouth County. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, t ...

, was opened in 1947 by Rudolf and

Nancy Talbot Nancy Talbot (August 17, 1920 – August 30, 2009) was an American businesswoman who co-founded the Talbots women's retail clothing chain with her husband, Rudolf Talbot. Early life and career Nancy Orr was born in 1920 in Charlevoix, Mich ...

. In 1948, the Talbots launched a direct mail business by distributing 3,000 fliers to names obtained from ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'' magazine. In 1973, they sold the company, consisting of a growing catalog enterprise and five stores, to

General Mills General Mills, Inc., is an American multinational manufacturer and marketer of branded processed consumer foods sold through retail stores. Founded on the banks of the Mississippi River at Saint Anthony Falls in Minneapolis, the company or ...

. The chain was expanded along the U.S. east coast. When General Mills divested its Specialty Retail Division in 1988, Talbots was acquired by JUSCO Co. Ltd. (now

ÆON , commonly written AEON Co., Ltd., is a Japanese multinational holding company of ÆON Group. It has its headquarters in Mihama-ku, Chiba, Chiba Prefecture.public company A public company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of stock which are intended to be freely traded on a stock exchange or in over-the-counter markets. A public (publicly traded) company can be listed on a stock exchange ( ...

in 1993 and was traded on the

New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its liste ...

under the symbol TLB. The New York City-based private equity firm

Sycamore Partners Sycamore Partners is a private equity firm based in New York specializing in retail and consumer investments. The firm has approximately $10 billion in aggregate committed capital. History Founding Sycamore Partners was founded in 2011 by Stefa ...

acquired Talbots in August 2012 for $391 million (including debt)."The Talbots, Inc. Company Profile"
''

Hoover's D&B Hoovers was founded by Gary Hoover and Patrick Spain in 1990Solomon, Steve.The Dynamic Duo" '' Inc.''. October 15, 1997. Retrieved on April 7, 2014. as an American business research company that provided information on companies and indu ...

''"SYCAMORE PARTNERS COMPLETES ACQUISITION OF TALBOTS: Lizanne Kindler Named CEO , Press release, Sycamore Partners, New York, NY and Hingham, MA, August 7, 2012
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References

External links

{{authority control Companies formerly listed on the New York Stock Exchange Privately held companies based in Massachusetts American companies established in 1947 Clothing companies established in 1947 Retail companies established in 1947 2012 mergers and acquisitions Clothing retailers of the United States 1947 establishments in Massachusetts Private equity portfolio companies Companies based in Plymouth County, Massachusetts Hingham, Massachusetts 1993 initial public offerings