American homeware retailer, Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. has completed the sale of its Christmas Tree Shops business to Handil Holdings, which is owned by Marc and Pam Salkovitz.
Handil — a contraction of their children’s names, Hannah and Dillon — has operated mostly in the greeting card business for the past few years, but now intends to focus on Christmas Tree Shops.
In a statement to Forbes magazine, Mr Salkovitz said: “Since I moved from Philadelphia to Boston in 1983, I’ve loved this chain, and for a long time, it just kept getting better.
“While CTS maintained their stronghold on the seasonal business, we watched as the brand started to become less relevant… as the emphasis shifted solely towards the financial metrics and with that, the company lost a bit of its soul.”
But the business itself remained viable, he said. “What got us most interested in acquiring CTS was when we learned that there were still so many passionate and loyal customers who have stuck with the brand and craved more. They love the excitement of the treasure hunt, seeing the bargains and all of the special finds. We viewed this as an opportunity to rebuild the legacy with a renewed focus on the customer, updated branding initiatives, operational efficiencies and new merchandising strategies.”
Christmas Tree Shops, which was purchased by Bed Bath & Beyond in 2003 for $200 million, operates from 80 retail locations around the United States.
6 thoughts on “Handil Holdings completes purchase of Christmas Tree Shops”
Always loved the CTS especially the one in Falmouth, MA on Cape Cod.
I purchased ,not too many years ago, a set of 12 Dinner Clear Glass Plates , 12 matching Salad/dessert Plates and 12 matching Mugs.
While the dishes were clear glass, they do have a design around the edge and in the center
Unfortunately, 3 of the dinner plates have broken as have 2 salad/dessert plates.
Is there any way that I might purchase my 3 dinner plates and 2 salad/dessert plates.
Thank you for your help !
I can’t imagine a store with a sign CTS. This hurts so deeply to remove the excitement of shopping at the Christmas Tree Shops on Cape Cod. We go now to the shops in the Carolinas, but their inventory is so low and no Cape Cod merchandise. It has become bland. Might as well go to Walmart.
Walmart is actually owned by right wing evangelicals so probably a better fit anyway. Enjoy!
Grew up with CTS – now that Handil Holdings owns it, the quality and selection is not what it used to be – we especially loved the Yankee Candles that were reasonably priced and now they’ve taken those away as well. Very disappointed – selling mostly junk.
Not at all plaseed with your WEB page for Christmas Tree Shops. Been a customer since the begining on Cape Cod. Loved the store.
Live a distance from the closest one so when I go to the store, I make a list of what you have and the price. The Web site does not provide that information or the size of tables and other furniture. After speaking with many friends, I know am not the only one who is not happy with the WEB page.
I love the CTS but now that I am on oxygen full time I cannot get to shop there. I wish you would go back to offering shopping on line with shipping.
Linda Williams
117 Balsam Lane
Clayton, NC 27527
A former Massachusetts resident.