Schurman Retail Group facts for kids
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| Private | |
| Industry | Stationery |
| Founded | 1950 |
| Founder | Marcel Schurman Margrit Schurman |
| Headquarters |
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U.S.
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Area served
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Worldwide |
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Key people
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Dominique Schurman (CEO) |
| Products |
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| Brands |
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| Owner | Schurman family American Greetings (15%) |
Schurman Retail Group was a company from Fairfield, California, USA. They were known for selling greeting cards, stationery, gifts, and other paper products. The company ran popular stores like Papyrus, NIQUEA.D, and Paper Destiny. They also sold products from American Greetings and managed Carlton Cards stores in Canada. At one point, Schurman Retail Group had over 450 stores across the United States and Canada. They were one of the biggest greeting card retailers in America.
Contents
Company History
How it Started: Schurman Fine Papers
The company began in 1950 in Berkeley, California. A couple named Marcel and Margrit Schurman started it right in their kitchen! It was first called Schurman Fine Papers. They started by bringing beautiful greeting cards and paper items from Europe. They sold these special products to local gift and book shops.
In their first year, the company made $20,000. By 1961, they had made $1 million. By 1965, they had a warehouse and many employees. This showed how much they were growing!
Opening Papyrus Stores
In 1973, Margrit Schurman opened the very first Papyrus store in Berkeley. This store only sold their company's products. Over the next five years, more Papyrus stores opened across the USA. The company even started letting other people open Papyrus stores as franchises.
By the 1980s, Schurman Fine Papers was making about $10 million each year. Marcel and Margrit's youngest daughter, Dominique Schurman, joined the company in 1982. She later became the CEO. In the 1980s, the company also started making its own Papyrus products in the USA.
Dominique Schurman quickly became a vice president. When her father, Marcel, retired in 1991, Dominique took over as the CEO. Her main goal was to make the Papyrus brand even more famous. She also wanted to keep creating unique greeting cards in-house. By 2005, Dominique had helped increase the number of Papyrus stores from 37 to 146.
Becoming Schurman Retail Group
In 2009, Schurman Retail Group made a big deal with American Greetings. They sold the Papyrus brand and its wholesale business to American Greetings. In return, Schurman Retail Group bought 341 American Greetings stores. They also took over Carlton Cards stores in Canada.
After this deal, the company started earning $200 million in sales each year. In 2012, American Greetings, which owned a small part of Schurman Retail Group, asked them to manage Clintons stores in the United Kingdom.
By November 2019, Schurman Retail Group was facing challenges. They tried to get lower rent for their stores and thought about closing some. By early 2020, all 254 of their remaining stores, including Papyrus, Paper Destiny, NIQUEA.D, American Greetings, and Carlton Cards, were closed. The company had to go through a special legal process called Chapter 11 Bankruptcy to sort things out.
Company Brands
Papyrus
Papyrus was the main brand for Schurman Retail Group. It was also a chain of retail stores. Papyrus stores sold many different items. These included greeting cards, gift wrap, stationery, journals, custom invitations, and other gifts. The first Papyrus store opened in 1973 in Berkeley, California. Papyrus products were known for their pink hummingbird logo.
American Greetings
In 2009, Schurman Retail Group bought over 300 American Greetings stores. Many of these were later changed into Papyrus shops. Papyrus stores also sold American Greetings products. American Greetings owned a 15% share in Schurman Retail Group. Schurman Retail Group also managed Carlton Cards stores in Canada, which are owned by American Greetings.
Other Brands
Schurman Retail Group also had other brands. These included NIQUEA.D and Paper Destiny. NIQUEA.D offered gifts, jewelry, and other accessories. These items were sold in Papyrus stores. Paper Destiny was another store that sold greeting cards, stationery, and other products. It was similar to Papyrus but offered products at a different price range.
