American manufacturer and retailer
The Yankee Candle Company, Inc.
,
[3]
doing business as
Yankee Candle
, is an American manufacturer and retailer of scented
candles
,
candleholders
, accessories, and
dinnerware
. Its products are sold by thousands of
gift shops
nationwide, through
catalogs
, and online, and in nearly 50 countries around the world. The company operates just over 260 small-box format stores,
[1]
located in malls across 43 U.S. states
[4]
and
Ontario
, and is the largest candle manufacturer in the United States. The company is headquartered in
South Deerfield, Massachusetts
.
The
Jarden
Corporation agreed to buy Yankee Candle for $1.75 billion in the fall of 2013.
[5]
In 2015, Newell Rubbermaid announced that it would acquire Jarden for over $15 billion of cash and stock.
History
[
edit
]
Yankee Candle Company was started in
South Hadley, Massachusetts
when Michael Kittredge, originally from
Holyoke, Massachusetts
, created his first scented candle,
Christmas 1969
, from melted crayons as a gift for his mother.
[6]
Neighbors began expressing interest in buying his creations, and Kittredge began producing them in larger quantities. The company itself was founded with help from Donald MacIver and Susan Obremski, who were high school friends with Kittredge.
[
citation needed
]
MacIver helped fund the start-up business with earnings from his part-time job.
[
citation needed
]
Candle production grew considerably after Obremski's father devised a "heated room", which enabled cost-saving liquid wax deliveries at the first factory site in Holyoke. Obremski's invention of a turntable taper wheel allowed production to double, while at the same time decreasing the need for more labor hours.
[
citation needed
]
In 1975, she managed the first Yankee Candle Shop located where the Village Commons in South Hadley now stands.
[7]
[
citation needed
]
The company slowly expanded and moved to South Deerfield in 1983.
After a
cancer
scare in 1993, Kittredge started handing the company over to a friend and employee.
[8]
In 1998, he sold the company to New York-based
private equity
company
Forstmann Little
for $500 million.
[8]
Forstmann took the company public in 1999,
[9]
and in 2001, hired Craig Rydin as a CEO. Rydin launched a major advertising campaign and the line was picked up by mass retailers
Linens-N-Things
and
Bed Bath & Beyond
, pushing sales to their highest levels yet. Kittredge remained the company's
chairman emeritus
.
During the summer of 2006, Yankee Candle purchased
[10]
Illuminations, a
Petaluma, California
-based, multi-channel retailer of high quality candles and home accessories. Although the two companies were similar, the names were separated, with Illuminations being aimed at a different demographic.
[10]
[
dead link
]
The Illuminations brand and web store were phased out in early 2009.
On February 6, 2007, the company was acquired by the
private equity
group of
Madison Dearborn Partners
LLC for approximately $1.6 billion.
[11]
The founder, Michael Kittredge, in a return to high quality manufacturing created Kringle Candle, with his son Michael (Mike).
[12]
In October 2012 Yankee Candle Europe launched their Consumer Direct website offering their products direct to consumers.
In 2013,
Jarden
acquired Yankee Candle. A further merger in 2016 saw Jarden purchased by Newell Rubbermaid and combined into the new company
Newell Brands
.
[13]
In 2017 Newell Brands acquired Smith Mountain Industries, makers of the Woodwick brand of candles. Woodwick candles are now a premium brand sold by Yankee Candle. The candles have a wooden wick that crackles when burned, and use a blend of paraffin and soy wax to reduce spatter and residue.
Flagship store
[
edit
]
Yankee Candle's flagship store, which opened in 1982, is located in
South Deerfield, Massachusetts
. It features all available Yankee Candles as well as kitchen and home accessories, New England crafts, gifts and collectibles, a toy shop, picnic grounds and a "
Bavarian
Christmas Village" filled with decorated Christmas trees and a
toy train
that runs through to
Santa's Workshop
, where animated elves and an 'assembly line' for wooden vehicles surround Santa Claus's desk. Visitors can dip their own candles in a specially equipped area, make wax molds of their hands, or create their own unique candle. There is also a candle making museum and a Hillside Pizza cafe on site.
A second flagship store was opened in
Williamsburg, Virginia
, in 2005. At 45,000 square feet (4,200 m
2
), it was a popular tourist destination.
[14]
The Williamsburg store closed for good in April 2021.
[14]
Outlet stores
[
edit
]
Yankee Candle has a total of 55 outlet stores in the United States.
[15]
Products
[
edit
]
Yankee Candle Company markets an array of products, including candles of various scents and sizes, scented wax tarts, candle accessories, votive candles (samplers), votive candle holders, tart warmers, jar toppers (for use with the Housewarmer line of candles), reed diffusers, Electric Home Fragrance units (scented wall plug-ins), car scents, room sprays, Good Air products and more. They also periodically release a range of limited edition candles such as 'Chocolate Layer Cake'.
[16]
COVID-19
[
edit
]
Since the outbreak of the
COVID-19 pandemic
, social media users observed a correlation between increases in reported COVID-19 cases and negative reviews of Yankee Candle products. Individuals scraping review data of both scented and unscented candles on
Amazon.com
found an increase in negative reviews for scented candles, with the proportion of reviews complaining of a lack of aroma also growing. In comparison, unscented candles did not exhibit this pattern.
[17]
[18]
As one of the
symptoms of COVID-19
is
loss of smell
, this suggests that the increase in positive cases is causing more consumers to be unable to smell their scented candles. This correlation has been called the "Yankee Candle Index".
[19]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
"Find a store"
(PDF)
.
www.yankeecandle.com
.
Archived
from the original on April 21, 2021
. Retrieved
September 5,
2021
.
[
failed verification
]
- ^
Ng, Serena (September 3, 2013).
"Yankee Candle Agrees to $1.75 Billion Deal"
.
The Wall Street Journal
. Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Archived
from the original on March 11, 2014
. Retrieved
March 25,
2014
.
- ^
"The Yankee Candle Company, Inc"
.
OpenCorporates
. June 1, 1976
. Retrieved
September 1,
2023
.
- ^
As of April 2021, the following states do not have a Yankee Candle store:
Alaska
,
Hawaii
,
Louisiana
,
Mississippi
,
Montana
,
Vermont
, and
Wyoming
.
- ^
Roumeliotis, Greg (September 3, 2013).
"Jarden to buy Yankee Candle for $1.75 billion"
.
Reuters
. Thomson Reuters.
Archived
from the original on September 5, 2013
. Retrieved
March 25,
2014
.
- ^
"Historical Timeline"
.
Yankee Candle
. Archived from
the original
on February 13, 2007
. Retrieved
August 6,
2007
.
- ^
"[어바웃 슈퍼리치] 크리스마스 膳物에서 始作된 '양키캔들'의 創始者 '마이클 키트 릿지'
"
.
視線뉴스
(in Korean). February 14, 2018.
Archived
from the original on March 1, 2018
. Retrieved
May 23,
2019
.
- ^
a
b
Whelan, David (January 11, 2004).
"Letting Go"
.
Forbes
. Archived from
the original
on October 18, 2004
. Retrieved
August 6,
2007
.
- ^
"Yankee Candle Profile - BostonJobSource.com"
.
bostonjobsource.com
.
Archived
from the original on August 4, 2007
. Retrieved
August 6,
2007
.
- ^
a
b
"The Yankee Candle Company, Inc. Agrees to Acquire the Illuminations Brand"
(Press release). July 26, 2006
. Retrieved
December 15,
2018
.
- ^
"Yankee Candle and Madison Dearborn Partners Announce Completion of Merger"
. Archived from
the original
on July 16, 2012
. Retrieved
August 6,
2007
.
- ^
O'Brien, Tim.
"Michael James Kittredge's Journey"
.
inside.kringlecandle.com
.
Archived
from the original on June 26, 2015
. Retrieved
June 24,
2015
.
- ^
Yankee Candle sold for $1.75b to consumer products firm
Archived
March 19, 2018, at the
Wayback Machine
Boston Globe. September 3, 2013. Retrieved December 15, 2018.
- ^
a
b
Schmidt, Ann (March 19, 2021).
"Iconic Yankee Candle Village in Williamsburg closing"
.
FOXBusiness
.
Archived
from the original on July 11, 2021
. Retrieved
July 11,
2021
.
- ^
https://www.yankeecandle.com/outlets
Archived
August 4, 2020, at the
Wayback Machine
www.yankeecandle.com/outlets accessed on May 27, 2020
- ^
"Chocolate Layer Cake Candles | Yankee Candle"
.
www.yankeecandle.com
.
Archived
from the original on February 24, 2016
. Retrieved
February 17,
2016
.
- ^
Ingraham, Christopher (December 1, 2020).
"What negative candle reviews might say about the coronavirus"
.
Washington Post
.
Archived
from the original on May 16, 2022
. Retrieved
March 20,
2022
.
- ^
Hartmans, Avery (December 27, 2021).
"Yankee Candle Reviews Say 'No Smell' Amid Omicron Surge"
.
Business Insider
.
Archived
from the original on March 20, 2022
. Retrieved
March 20,
2022
.
- ^
Rauwerda, Annie (December 23, 2021).
"Hmm, angry reviews of candles with 'no scent' are spiking again..."
Input Magazine
.
Archived
from the original on May 19, 2022
. Retrieved
March 20,
2022
.
External links
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1
formerly, "Sanford L.P."
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