Things Remembered is an e-commerce retailer specializing in personalized gifts, messaging and

engraving Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an in ...

History

Things Remembered was founded as "Can Do" in 1967 as a subsidiary of Cole National Corporation by Joseph Edmund Cole. At the time Cole National consisted of Cole Vision, DBA Sears Optical,

Montgomery Ward Montgomery Ward is the name of two successive U.S. retail corporations. The original Montgomery Ward & Co. was a world-pioneering mail-order business and later also a leading department store chain that operated between 1872 and 2001. The curre ...

Vision, Cole Key Company, and several other subsidiaries. Cole National was taken private in 1984 by

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts KKR & Co. Inc., also known as Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., is an American global investment company that manages multiple alternative asset classes, including private equity, energy, infrastructure, real estate, credit, and, through its strateg ...

. The Cole family reclaimed the company in 1987 through a

leveraged buyout A leveraged buyout (LBO) is one company's acquisition of another company using a significant amount of borrowed money ( leverage) to meet the cost of acquisition. The assets of the company being acquired are often used as collateral for the loa ...

. The company prospered through much of the 1980s. Sales began to slump and in 1990 Cole National unloaded unprofitable business units leaving Cole Key, Cole Vision and Things Remembered. The company went public in 1994 to reduce the persistent debt from the leveraged buyout. In 1998 the key business was shuttered while Things Remembered and its 800+ stores failed to meet sales goals. Restructuring and an image change were necessary. Cole National brought in a CRM agency which revealed the store was seen as a "brass and glass" gift shop that offered some engraving. In reaction, the company focused on this removing all non-personalized gifts and the motto was changed from Great Unexpected Gifts" to
The Place for Personalized Gifts
" Research also showed their typical patrons were women who viewed themselves as unique gift givers. This moved the company to make stores warm and less masculine. Store associates took the title "Gift Advisers" with the premise that interactions with customers were conversations between two friends coming up with a gift idea. Things Remembered also released its first catalog during this time. There were three versions: General Gift, Wedding and Business focused. The combined strategies paid off almost instantly allowing the company to meet sales projections in 1999 for the first time in years. CNC which now owned Pearl vision had become the target of

Luxottica Luxottica Group S.p.A. is an Italian eyewear conglomerate and the world's largest company in the eyewear industry. It is based in Milan, Italy. Luxottica is a vertically integrated company, which has been described as a monopoly—it designs, ...

, parent company of

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. The sale went through in 2004 and Things Remembered was quickly spun off in 2006 to investment firms Bruckmann Rosser Sherrill & Co. and GB Merchant Partners for $200 Million. The chain was sold again in 2012 to Chicago-based private equity Firm Madison Dearborn Partners for $295 Million which also backs fellow mall retailer

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. In 2014, Michael Anthony who had been CEO since the Luxottica spin off stepped down with former

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and

Express Express or EXPRESS may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * '' Express: Aisle to Glory'', a 1998 comedy short film featuring Kal Penn * '' The Express: The Ernie Davis Story'', a 2008 film starring Dennis Quaid Music * ''Express'' ...

executive Lisa Gavales taking the helm. In June 2017, Lisa Gavales resigned and Things Remembered appointed a new president. In February 2019, Things Remembered filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. On March 8, 2019, Enesco, LLC, a global leader in the giftware, home décor, and accessories industries acquired Things Remembered, Inc., the North American leading omnichannel retailer of personalized gifts and merchandise. Things Remembered continued to operate more than 170 retail locations, as well as its online, direct mail, and B2B retail businesses, all under its brand name. On November 22, 2019, Enesco announced its CEO Todd Mavis would also become CEO of Things Remembered. On December 28, 2022, it was announced that it would close all retail locations. On January 10, 2023, 1-800-Flowers.com, Inc announced the acquisition of the Things Remembered brand, allowing the brand to continue on as a leading retailer of personalized gifts.

References

{{reflist Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2019 Privately held companies based in Ohio Retail companies of the United States Retail companies established in 1967 Retail companies disestablished in 2023 1967 establishments in Ohio 2023 disestablishments in Ohio Private equity portfolio companies Companies based in Cleveland