|
Hammacher Schlemmer is an American catalog founded in 1848. The company provides unique products that solve problems or represent the only one of their kind Headquarters are based in New York City, New York and they have an annual catalog circulation exceeding 30 million. The company is owned by the heirs of J. Roderick MacArthur, the founder of the Bradford Exchange, who purchased Hammacher Schlemmer in 1980. == History == Hammacher Schlemmer began as a hardware store specializing in hard-to-find tools in the Bowery district of New York City in 1848. Owned by proprietors Charles Tollner and Mr. R Stern,〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AnAoAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA3-PA36&lpg=RA3-PA36&dq=r+stern+hammacher+schlemmer&source=bl&ots=pm8jd7TGSi&sig=L8xy-NKIUtAuVku1A32xXzDkrTo&hl=en&sa=X&ei=KzJ3VZucBsu4sAXmoIL4DA&sqi=2&ved=0CEIQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=r%20stern%20hammacher%20schlemmer&f=false )〕 it became one of the first national hardware stores. A few months later, Stern withdrew and Toller continued the business until 1859, moving in 1857 to 209 Bowery. In 1859, family friend Alfred Hammacher invested $5,000 into the company and the name was changed to C. Tollner and A. Hammacher. As the Civil War spread across the country, a severe coin shortage in New York City made it nearly impossible for retailers to make change for their customers. In response to this shortage, the United States government allowed merchants to mint their own coins, known as "rebellion tokens" or "copperheads". The store, at that point called Hammacher & Tollner, began distributing their own copper coins until the shortage ended. Throughout the 1860s, William Schlemmer gradually bought out Charles Tollner's stake in the company. When Tollner died in 1867, 26-year-old Schlemmer enters into a partnership with Hammacher and Peter F. Taaks. As a result, the company changes its name to Hammacher & Co. William Schlemmer had been actively involved with the business since 1853 when he moved to New York City from Germany at age twelve and worked at the storefront. After a few years Taaks resigned and since Schlemmer owned a greater portion of the company, the name was changed in 1883 to the present style of Hammacher Schlemmer & Co. Hammacher Schlemmer was among the first companies to install a telephone in their store, as well as one of the original subscribers to the Bell Telephone Company Directory. Hammacher Schlemmer was also the first to offer Americans such wonders as the pop-up toaster (1930), the electric toothbrush (1955), and the telephone answering machine (1968). The year 1881 marked the first known printing and distribution of the Hammacher Schlemmer catalog and by 1912 it printed its largest catalog to date, spanning 1,112 pages that confirmed that Hammacher Schlemmer as the most complete hardware source. One hardbound edition is now housed in the Smithsonian’s permanent collection. By 1926, the business moved uptown to larger quarters at the present location of East 57th Street. As furniture designs and luxury in sofas, chairs and footstools becomes more popular, Hammacher Schlemmer introduces a new Upholstery Goods department, stocking special tools and materials allowing upholsterers to answer fashion's demands. Hammacher resigned in 1892, leaving the whole company to Schlemmer serving as the President and Treasurer and his son William F. Schlemmer, to be named Vice President several years later. The 1930s began Hammacher Schlemmer’s long history of showcasing new inventions in the pages of their catalog. Beginning with the first pop-up toaster and portable radio in 1930, Hammacher Schlemmer went on to garner a reputation for introducing products that were the first of their kind — oddities that went on to be regarded as household necessities. Customers could get every nicety of modern living - from varieties of outdoor grills, several different types of coffee makers to rhinestone dog collars. In 1945, William F. Schlemmer died at the age of 67, leaving his wife, Else, in charge of the company. Else made a will in 1952 that left more than 100 employees beneficiaries since she had no children to leave it to in which totaled to $473,000 when she died in 1955. In 1948, Hammacher Schlemmer celebrated its 100-year anniversary with the introduction of the first automatic steam iron and the amazing electric broom. After more than 100 years as a family-held business, Hammacher Schlemmer was sold in 1953 to a group of investors and eventually turned over to John Gerald. In the 1960s, Hammacher Schlemmer offered products that had never been available for home purchase, including a regulation-sized bowling alley and restored London taxi cabs. Dominic Tampone was named President of Hammacher Schlemmer in 1962 and initiated a wholesale operation, Invento Products Corporation, as a subsidiary for inventing and product development in which generated annual sales of nearly $2.5 million.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.hammacher.com/History/ )〕 In 1983, the Hammacher Schlemmer Institute was created by J. Roderick MacArthur, the CEO of the company, as an independent but affiliated branch of the company, whose purpose is to comparatively test top-of-the-line products. Later, in 1988, Hammacher Schlemmer became one of the first retailers to go on the Internet with CompuServe, the first major commercial online service in the United States. In 1995, America Online built Hammacher Schlemmer a store on the Internet. By 1998 Hammacher Schlemmer launched their own website, Hammacher.com. That same year, Hammacher Schlemmer celebrated its 150th anniversary. As a tribute, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani renamed the block on 57th Street between Lexington and 3rd Avenue as Hammacher Schlemmer Way. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Hammacher Schlemmer」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|