Papyrus (company) facts for kids
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| Private | |
| Industry |
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| Fate | Closed in 2020 |
| Founded | 1973 |
| Founder | Margrit Schurman |
| Headquarters |
,
U.S.
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Area served
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North America |
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Key people
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Dominique Schurman (CEO) |
| Products |
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| Parent | Schurman Retail Group |
Papyrus (pronounced PAH-py-rus) was a well-known brand of stores in the United States and Canada. These stores sold many different items, like greeting cards, fancy paper, and gifts. Papyrus was famous for its unique and high-quality products.
The company was based in Goodlettsville, Tennessee. It was the main brand of the Schurman Retail Group. Papyrus was one of the biggest places to buy greeting cards in the United States. Today, the rights to sell Papyrus products belong to American Greetings.
Contents
The Story of Papyrus Stores
The very first Papyrus store opened its doors in 1973. It was started by Margrit Schurman in Berkeley, California. She began the store with less than $1,000.
Early Beginnings and Growth
The first store sold beautiful greeting cards and postcards. These cards often looked like fine art. Over the next five years, more Papyrus stores opened across the United States. The company even started letting other people open Papyrus stores as "franchises." This means people could pay to open their own store using the Papyrus name and ideas.
In the 1980s, Papyrus began making its own products in the United States. This helped them control the quality and design of their items.
Leadership and Expansion
In 1991, Margrit's daughter, Dominique Schurman, became the CEO of the company. At that time, there were about 37 Papyrus stores. The company was making $10 million each year.
By 2005, the number of Papyrus stores grew to around 146. In 2009, the company that owned Papyrus, Schurman Retail Group, bought 346 other stores from American Greetings. Many of these new stores were later changed into Papyrus stores.
Closing Down the Stores
On January 16, 2020, a sad announcement was made. All 260 remaining Papyrus stores and other Schurman retail stores would be closing. The very next day, sales began to clear out all the products. This process is called "liquidation."
About 30 of the closed Papyrus stores were later taken over by another company called Paper Source. This happened by early March 2020.
What Papyrus Sold
Papyrus stores were known for selling many fancy paper products. They had a wide selection of stationery and greeting cards.
Unique Greeting Cards
The stores were especially famous for their high-end greeting cards. These cards were very special. They often had cool decorations like buttons, fabric, leather, zippers, glitter, and other fun additions.
Other Popular Products
Besides cards, Papyrus also offered other items. You could find journals, small note cards, and gift wrap. They also helped people create custom invitations for parties or events.
Papyrus stores also sold gifts, jewelry, and fashion accessories. These items were often under the NIQUEA.D brand. Other brands sold in Papyrus stores included American Greetings and Carlton Cards. The Papyrus logo was a pink hummingbird. You could see this distinct logo on many of their products.
