Contents. History The company was formed and incorporated in 1972 when Henrietta Milstein convinced her husband Monroe to purchase a former factory outlet in, for $675,050, using money she had saved from her job as a librarian for most of the $75,000 down payment.
Monroe and his father, Abe Milstein, had been running a successful wholesale and retail outerwear business together since 1946. Initially, the Milsteins sold coats and jackets wholesale, but in order to become less dependent on the seasonal coat business, they gradually began adding additional clothing items and accessories, eventually expanding into linens, gift items, a baby department and shoes. A second location was opened in 1975 in on, and Milstein asked his son Lazer, who was living in Israel at the time, to return home and act the store's legal owner for the new location. Lazer agreed, on the condition that the store be closed Saturdays in observance of the. At the time, businesses faced legal action for being open on Sunday, with an exception made for religions observing a different Sabbath. In 1983, with 31 locations, the company, whose name was Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse Corporation since it was bought by the family in 1972, went public.
In 2006, the company was purchased by Bain Capital Partners for $2.06 billion. The Milstein family held almost 30 million shares of the Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse Corporation, making approximately $1.3 billion, and Monroe Milstein was unassociated with the business following the sale, although two of his sons, Stephen and Andrew, stayed on briefly. Mark Nesci, the former executive vice president and chief operating officer, was named to serve as the acting CEO. A holding company called Burlington Coat Factory Holdings Inc., was formed to be the ultimate parent of the chain.
Burlington Coat Factory was established in 1924 for the purpose of wholesale sales of ladies coats and junior suits. In 1972, the company opened its first outlet store in Burlington, N.J. Coats were the primary offering, but over time the concept evolved into a one-stop shopping experience.
In July 2012, the company received a $40 million incentive from the as part of the state's GrowNJ program in order to build a new headquarters in, adjacent to its existing headquarters, keeping the company from moving its headquarters outside the state. On June 27, 2013, Burlington filed its statement with the for an initial public offering. In October 2013, the company's stock rose more than 40% on its first day of trading. The company reported $4.35 billion in sales for the 12-month period ending August 3, 2013. As of October 2013, the company operated 503 stores in 44 states and Puerto Rico under the names Burlington Coat Factory, Cohoes Fashions, Baby Depot, MJM Designer Shoes and Burlington Shoes. In June 2016, it was announced that Burlington Stores had joined the for the first time.
Charitable partnerships Burlington has partnered with charitable organizations for several years. Since 2002, they have partnered with the joining the Light the Night campaign, collecting donations at the store checkout. With an annual fundraiser that runs from July through October, the company raised more than $3 million in 2013, bringing the total raised by the company to date to more than $19 million. In 2006, Burlington launched the Warm Coats and Warm Hearts Drive to collect coat donations for those in need. Partnering with ABC's and the national nonprofit Fashion Delivers, Burlington stores served as drop off spots for the donations, which were then distributed within the area by local charities. Since the program's inception, over 1.2 million coats have been collected and distributed. In 2012, the company first partnered with WomenHeart: The National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease to promote women’s heart health education during National Heart Health Month As part of this partnership, the company holds a yearly Red Dress Event, where red dresses are sold in stores, with $1 from every sale donated to WomenHeart.
In 2014, as part of the partnership they launched the “Heart of Style Tour”. For the tour, a bus traveled to various store locations, with heart health professionals on board providing blood pressure tests and Body Mass Index (BMI) tests and education about women's heart disease. Business issues Under investigation from animal welfare organization, Burlington Coat Factory has been accused of labeling real fur products as 'faux fur'. The company agreed to pull the false advertisements after an undercover investigation revealed 'faux fur' as actually made from the pelts of animals killed in China. Coats sold by stores such as Burlington Coat Factory have also been found to contain hair of.
From 1981 until 2009, Burlington Coat Factory's logo was supplemented with the tag 'Not Affiliated with.' When Burlington Coat Factory settled a trademark dispute with fabric maker Burlington Industries in 1981, Burlington Coat Factory agreed to say in advertising that the two companies are not affiliated. Even though Burlington Industries ceased operations in 2004 following a buyout of its remaining operations, the 'not affiliated' disclaimer remained on advertising logo and company media until 2009, when the text was retired from all logos used by the company. An urban legend concerning snakes hiding in coats being sold at Burlington became widely circulated in the early 1990s. A representative from the company ensured customers that since distribution centers and stores were maintained at 68 °F, that a snake would not be able to survive retail conditions. The old Burlington Coat Factory on 45 Park Place in New York.
For many years after the September 11, 2001 attacks, it was planned to be replaced by the unrelated controversial. A 43-story residential tower was constructed instead. In the, after hijacked penetrated through the South Tower of The World Trade Center, part of the plane's and came out the north side of the tower and crashed through the roof and two of the floors of the Burlington Coat Factory at 45–47 Park Place, between and, (600 feet (180 meters)) north of the former World Trade Center. The store had been the company's first location in Manhattan, opened in 1991.
Three floor beams of the top floor of the building were destroyed, causing major structural damage. Nearly nine years later, the building was part of a national controversy, as efforts to build a Muslim center and mosque at the site as the ' sparked protest. References. Retrieved 2018-12-31. ^ Bloomberg News (2006-01-19).
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