Hallmark Cards facts for kids
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| Private | |
| Industry | Retail, greeting card, gift shop |
| Founded | 1907 (as Norfolk Post Card Company) 1910 (as Hall Brothers) 1954 (as Hallmark) |
| Founder | Joyce Hall |
| Headquarters | 2501 McGee Street,
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U.S.
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Number of locations
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1,245 stores (September 2023) |
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Area served
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Worldwide |
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Key people
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| Products |
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| Brands |
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| Revenue |  US$5.0 billion (2020) |
| Owner | Hall family |
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Number of employees
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30,000 (2020) |
| Subsidiaries |
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Hallmark Cards, Inc. is a company based in Kansas City, Missouri, in the United States. It is a family-owned business, meaning it is not traded on the stock market. Founded in 1910 by Joyce Hall, Hallmark is one of the oldest and biggest makers of greeting cards in the U.S. In 1985, the company received the National Medal of Arts for its contributions to art and culture.
Besides greeting cards, Hallmark also makes things like party supplies, gift wrap, and stationery. In 1984, Hallmark bought Binney & Smith, which later changed its name to Crayola, LLC. Crayola is famous for its crayons, markers, and colored pencils. Hallmark is also involved in television. It has produced the long-running Hallmark Hall of Fame series since 1951. The company also launched the Hallmark Channel in 2001.
Contents
Hallmark's Journey: A Look at Its History
How Hallmark Began: From Postcards to Cards
In the early 1900s, postcards were very popular. Joyce Clyde Hall and his older brothers, William and Rollie, started the Norfolk Post Card Company in 1907. They worked out of a bookstore in Norfolk, Nebraska. The next year, Rollie bought out the other business partner, and it became "Hall Brothers."
The postcard business grew quickly, so Joyce moved it to Kansas City in 1910. By 1912, the postcard trend was fading. The company then started selling "Christmas letters" and greeting cards. A few years later, they shortened the name to the Norfolk Card Company.
Inventing Wrapping Paper and Expanding the Business
In 1917, Joyce and Rollie Hall "invented" modern wrapping paper. They ran out of regular colored tissue paper at their store. So, they used fancy French paper meant for lining envelopes instead. People loved it! The next year, the Hall Brothers started printing their own special wrapping paper designs.
By 1922, the company had grown across the country. The number of employees jumped from 4 to 120 people. They also started making everyday greeting cards, not just holiday ones.
The Hallmark Brand and National Advertising
In 1928, the company introduced the name Hallmark. This name came from the "hallmark" symbol used by goldsmiths in London in the 1300s. This symbol showed that an item was of high quality. Hallmark began printing this name on the back of every card.
That same year, Hallmark was the first greeting card company to advertise its products all over the country. Their first ad appeared in Ladies' Home Journal. Joyce Hall himself wrote it. In 1931, a big Canadian card maker, William E. Coutts Company, Ltd., joined with Hall Brothers. This was Hallmark's first international business step.
Famous Slogan and Television Shows
In 1944, Hallmark adopted its well-known slogan: "When you care enough to send the very best." A Hallmark marketing executive named C. E. Goodman created it. The original card with the slogan is on display at the company's headquarters.
In 1951, Joyce Hall sponsored a TV show for NBC. This show became the Hallmark Hall of Fame, which has won many Emmy Awards. Hallmark now has its own cable television channel, the Hallmark Channel, which started in 2001.
Company Name Change and Ornaments
In 1954, the company officially changed its name from Hall Brothers to Hallmark. In 1958, Hallmark bought the William E. Coutts Company, Ltd. in Canada. For many years, Hallmark's Canadian branch was known as Coutts Hallmark.
In 1973, Hallmark Cards started making Christmas ornaments. The first collection had 18 ornaments, including glass balls. Hallmark Keepsake Ornaments are special because they are only available for one year. By 1998, millions of American homes collected Hallmark ornaments. Many people also joined the Keepsake Ornament Collector's Club, which started in 1987.
Acquisitions and Partnerships
Hallmark continued to grow by buying other companies. In 1980, they bought Valentine & Sons, an old postcard publisher from Scotland. In 1984, they acquired W. N. Sharpe Holdings, a British greeting card maker. The same year, they bought Binney & Smith (which later became Crayola), a company famous for crayons.
In 1998, Hallmark made more purchases, including Creative Publishing from Britain and InterArt from America. Since 1972, The Paper Store LLC has been one of the largest independent groups of Hallmark Gold Crown stores in the U.S.
Hallmark's Team: Employees and Creativity
Hallmark has over 27,000 employees around the world. About 20,000 of them work in the United States. Around 2,700 employees work at the main office in Kansas City.
Company Leadership
As of June 2019, Mike Perry serves as the president and CEO of Hallmark. Donald J. Hall Jr. is the executive chairman, and David E. Hall is the executive vice-chairman.
Creative Minds at Work
Hallmark has a huge creative team of about 900 artists, designers, writers, editors, and photographers. They create more than 19,000 new and updated greeting cards and other products each year. At any given time, the company offers over 48,000 different products!
Hallmark's Products and Services
Greeting Cards for Every Occasion
Hallmark Cards offers many different brands and licensed characters. Shoebox is their line of funny cards. Maxine™ is a popular character who first appeared on Shoebox cards in 1986. hoops&yoyo and Revilo are other well-known lines. Hallmark also bought the Forever Friends brand in 1994.
Hallmark has also provided software like Hallmark Card Studio. This software lets people create and print their own cards at home.
Gifts and Party Supplies
Hallmark offers a wide range of gift items, including:
- Gifts and greeting cards
- Ornaments (especially for Christmas)
- Gift wrap
- Personalized items
- Party supplies
- Books
- Stationery
- Sentimental frames
- Recordable plush toys
- Plush figures
- Bookmarks
- Snowglobes
Popular Characters and Brands
Hallmark works with many popular companies and characters for its cards, ornaments, and gifts. Some of these include:
- Beatrix Potter
- Dr. Seuss
- Epic Games
- Ford Motor Company
- General Motors
- Hasbro
- Harley-Davidson
- Mattel
- MGM
- National Basketball Association
- National Football League
- National Hockey League
- Netflix
- Nickelodeon
- Nintendo
- Peanuts
- Peyo
- Rankin Bass
- Sanrio
- Sesame Street
- Sony Pictures
- Star Trek
- The Hershey Company
- The Lego Group
- The Walt Disney Company (including 20th Century Studios, Marvel, The Muppets, Pixar, and Star Wars)
- The Wizard of Oz
- Tim Burton
- Universal Studios (including DreamWorks Animation)
- Warner Bros. (including Looney Tunes, DC Comics, Hanna-Barbera, and Cartoon Network)
Visiting Hallmark: The Visitors Center
The Hallmark Visitors Center is located at the company's main office in Kansas City, Missouri. It has exhibits about Hallmark's history, including old greeting cards and postcards. You can also see Christmas ornaments, art from the company's collection, and displays about the Hallmark Hall of Fame TV programs and awards. There is also a movie about the company's story.
Hallmark School Store
Alvirne High School in Hudson, New Hampshire, has the only Hallmark school store in the United States. This store, called "Bronco Barn," sells regular food and drinks, but also Hallmark cards. Students in Marketing classes run the store.
Hallmark's Other Businesses and Assets
Hallmark owns several other companies and properties:
- Bernama TV: A news TV network in Malaysia, where Hallmark owns a small part.
- Crayola LLC: This company makes the famous Crayola crayons, markers, and colored pencils.
- DaySpring Greeting Cards: The world's largest Christian greeting card company, bought by Hallmark in 1999.
- Hallmark Baby: A website that sells special Hallmark baby clothes, toys, and decorations.
- Hallmark Channel: A cable television network that Hallmark Cards fully owns. It also has sister channels like Hallmark Mystery and Hallmark Family.
- Hallmark Gold Crown: A group of independently owned card and gift stores in the U.S. and Canada. Some are run by Hallmark directly.
- Halls: An upscale department store located in Kansas City's Crown Center.
- Hallmark+: A streaming service where you can watch Hallmark movies, TV shows, and original productions. It also works as a loyalty program for Gold Crown stores.
- Rainbow Brite: A children's doll franchise that includes a TV series and a movie.
- Shirt Tales: A franchise of cards featuring animals with messages on their shirts. It also became an animated TV series.
- Sunrise Greetings: Another greeting card company located in Bloomington, Indiana.
- Zoobilee Zoo: A children's TV show from 1986 about animals with artistic talents.
Hallmark Cards also manages the Crown Center commercial complex, which is next to its headquarters. They also own Litho-Krome Co., a printing company.
Hallmark Photographic Collection
In 2006, Hallmark gave its large collection of photographs, called the Hallmark Photographic Collection, to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City. This collection includes works by famous photographers.
Maxine: A Popular Character
"Maxine" is a funny fictional character found on Hallmark's Shoebox greeting cards since 1986. She is shown as a grumpy older woman. Over 160 million Maxine cards have been sold! The character was created by Hallmark artist John Wagner. Maxine also appears on t-shirts, mugs, and holiday ornaments. She often has her dog, Floyd, with her. In 1999, she was in an animated holiday TV special called "Maxine's Christmas Carol."
Hallmark Music
In the mid-1980s, Hallmark started a music division. They released music albums by popular artists. In 2004, Hallmark partnered with Somerset Entertainment to produce Hallmark Music CDs.
Past Businesses
- Hallmark Entertainment: This company produced TV shows and mini-series. It was sold in 2006.
- Univision: Hallmark owned this Spanish-language TV broadcaster from 1986 to 1992.
- Hallmark Business Connections: This part of the company offered custom greeting cards and reward programs for businesses. It was sold in 2019.
Hallmark Around the World: Foreign Branches
Hallmark has branches in several countries:
- Hallmark Australia
- Hallmark Belgium
- Hallmark Canada
- Hallmark Germany
- Hallmark Netherlands
- Hallmark UK & Ireland
- Nihon Hallmark (Japan)
See also
- Cardmaking
- Hallmark holiday
