At Home (store)

At Home Group Inc.
Public
Traded as NYSE: HOME
Industry Retail
Founded 1979 (as Garden Ridge Pottery)
Headquarters Plano, Texas
Number of locations
 164 (2018)[1]
Key people
 Lewis Bird, CEO
Judd Nystrom, CFO
Alissa Ahlman, Chief Merchandising officer
Products Furniture
Patio and garden
Home textiles
Housewares
Rugs
Seasonal decor
Tabletop decor
Wall decor
Website www.athome.com

At Home is a big box retail chain specializing in home decor products based in Plano, Texas. The specialty retailer's stores each carry over 50,000 unique items across broad product categories including furniture, garden, home textiles, housewares, patio, rugs, seasonal decor, tabletop decor, and wall decor. At Home stores have a wide range of items; however, the company devotes a large portion of it's space to seasonal merchandise.

Their mission is to "take all of the unnecessary frills out of our home décor superstore and pass all of those savings on to you so we can bring you the biggest selection of styles at the best prices."[2]

In August 2016, the company went public. As of 2018, at Home has 136 stores in 33 states and plans to get to 600.[2] [3] The average store is 120,000 square feet. [4]

Lewis L. (Lee) Bird III serves as Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer and President for At Home. Mr. Bird joined the company in December 2012 and in a short time has transformed the 35-year-old Garden Ridge brand into the more consumer-relevant At Home retail chain. Prior to this, Mr. Bird served as President of Nike Affiliates for Nike Inc., Chief Operating Officer of Gap and Chief Financial Officer of Old Navy.[5]

History

Founded in 1979 with one store in Schertz, Texas, the brand was created as Garden Ridge Pottery and was later renamed simply, Garden Ridge.

Interior of an At Home in Rapid City, South Dakota

Investment firm Three Cities Research became the largest shareholder of Garden Ridge in 1999. Garden Ridge filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2004 amid failed lease negotiations and underwent a major reorganization that included closing ten stores in Texas, Georgia, Missouri, Florida, Ohio, and Tennessee.[6][7] After the reorganization, the corporation emerged from Chapter 11 in 2005.

AEA Investors acquired Garden Ridge in October 2011.[8]

In 2014, the company converted all stores to the At Home brand and floorplan, painting everything grey (from Garden Ridge's characteristic orange).[9]

The company publicly filed an S-1 on September 4, 2015.[10]

At Home has undergone a rebranding project that included the previously stated name change and a store redesign. The rebranding project changed the use of orange color for advertising to a soft grey and blue. A house symbol stands in for the “o” in At Home, so there’s no confusion about what’s sold inside, CEO Lee Bird said. [11]This investment cost around $20 million. [4]

As of 2018, At Home operated more than 136 stores in 33 U.S. states.[3]

References

  1. ↑ "At Home Group Inc Profile". CNBC. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
  2. 1 2 "Company Profile". investor.athome.com. Retrieved 2018-09-28.
  3. 1 2 Leu, Jon (April 3, 2018). "At Home store to move into former Shopko location at The Marketplace". The Daily Nonpareil. Council Bluffs, Iowa. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
  4. 1 2 "Garden Ridge to change its name to At Home, rebrand stores - Dallas Business Journal". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2018-09-28.
  5. ↑ "Board of Directors". investor.athome.com. Retrieved 2018-09-28.
  6. ↑ "Garden Ridge bankruptcy won't affect Independence store". Kansas City Business Journal. February 2, 2004. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
  7. ↑ "Garden Ridge files for bankruptcy, local stores unaffected". St. Louis Business Journal. February 2, 2004. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
  8. ↑ Ward, Lisa (September 9, 2011). "AEA writes 50% equity check for $715M Garden Ridge LBO". The Deal. Archived from the original on February 23, 2013. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
  9. ↑ Halkias, Maria (June 16, 2014). "Garden Ridge is evolving into At Home". Dallas Morning News. Retrieved June 27, 2014.
  10. ↑ "At Home Group Inc. Announces Filing of Registration Statement for Proposed Initial Public Offering" (Press release). At Home Group. September 4, 2015. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
  11. ↑ "Garden Ridge is evolving into At Home". Dallas News. 2014-06-16. Retrieved 2018-09-28.


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