International Business MBA 539
Term Project – Expansion of Crate & Barrel in Dubai
March 24, 2010
Crate & Barrel – Company Overview
After honeymooning in Europe in the 1960’s, a young Chicago couple named Gordon and Carole Segal became inspired to provide contemporary and affordable housewares to young couples like themselves that were just starting out. They hired one employee, leased an abandoned elevator factory in Chicago and traveled throughout Europe buying directly from European factories. With no money left for fancy displays, the Segal’s used the shipping crates and overseas barrels as shelves which also helped emphasize that their products were direct imports. Synonymous with their display technique, the name Crate and Barrel was born.
A lot has changed since that first store opened. Instead of the one employee they started with in1962, they now employ 7,500. Instead of one small storefront, they now have over 160 spectacular stores in markets across the U.S. (Crate&Barrel, 2010). In 1998, Crate and Barrel partnered with the Otto Group of Hamburg, Germany, the world’s largest mail order company, which helped to finance Crate and Barrel’s expansion. Crate and Barrel opened two stores in Canada in 2008 and 2009. They are currently planning on opening two stores in Dubai in 2010, which will be managed and operated by Al Tayer Group, making this Crate and Barrel’s first partnership.
Crate and Barrel offers a variety of exclusive furniture and housewares designs, including kitchenware, tabletop, and home accessories with excellent value and customer service (AME Info FZ LLC, 2009). Crate and Barrel ships more than 15 million catalogs a year. They have two sister stores called CB2 and The Land of Nod. CB2 is a home furnishings store dedicated toward young adults while The Land of Nod is a home furnishings store geared toward children.
Crate & Barrel – Key Success Factors
From selecting products to designing catalogs to...