Ecommerce

Club Monaco Corporate Office

Club Monaco has it’s beginnings in Ontario, Canada. Business partners Joe Mimran, Saul Mimran and Alfred Sung opened their first store on Queen Street West in 1985. That location is still in existence today. There is a cafe below the sales floor, allowing customers to take a coffee break while shopping, which was a unique idea at the time.

The company’s first store in the USA was opened in 1989 in the beach town of Santa Monica, California, where it quickly became popular. In 1999, Ralph Lauren acquired the company, where it still operates as a subsidiary.

Club Monaco has transitioned itself into an international lifestyle brand that offers what it calls “affordable luxury with a modern sensibility. Each location has its own concept, as well as clothing style and design. In addition to their own brand of clothing, the company carries upscale, third-party accessories, such as Ray-Ban sunglasses, Mackage Leather, and Citizen of Humanity brand jeans. Other upscale clothing items include Chanel and Hermes. Since 2007, Luxottica began selling sunglasses and prescription sunglasses through the Club Monaco brand.

Beginning in August of 2013, the company launched their first footwear line consisting of all leather flats and heels made in Italy. Later that same month, the company also introduced a higher-end label simply titled ‘Collection’.

The company relies heavily on social media accounts for marketing, using sites such as Pinterest, Facebook, and Tumblr to present its “lookbooks” or “inspirations” which can also be viewed on their website through their “Culture Club” page.

Headquarters are located in the Starrett-Lehigh building in New York, New York.

Club Monaco

History

Headquarters are located in the Starrett-Lehigh building in New York, New York.

Pet Food Depot Corporate Office

Pet Food Depot was founded in 1990 in Phoenix, Arizona by the current owner and CEO Bob Schuhle. Starting off with a small “country store” and feed location and 1 pick up truck for delivery, the company has grown to two large locations, with one in Phoenix, the other in Scottsdale, Arizona.

In addition to high-quality brands of pet foods, the company also sells small pets, such as rabbits and parakeets, as well as pet supplies, such as grooming products and tools, pet treats, training aids, and pet beds.

Unlike many of the big box stores, the company believes it has stayed in business due to their personalized customer service, as well as advice which is given both in store and on their blog.

Many employees have worked at the store since the early 1990’s and have many years of experience to call upon.

Pet Food Depot has headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona, as well as 4 out of 5-star ratings on Yelp, Mapquest, and Google.

Pet Food Depot

History

Unlike many of the big box stores, the company believes it has stayed in business due to their personalized customer service, as well as advice which is given both in store and on their blog.

Many employees have worked at the store since the early 1990’s and have many years of experience to call upon.

Pet Food Depot has headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona, as well as 4 out of 5-star ratings on Yelp, Mapquest, and Google.

VRBO Corporate Office

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Chewy.Com Corporate Office

Chewy.Com, often called simply Chewy, was founded in 2011 by Ryan Cohen and Michael Day, originally under the name Mr. Chewy. Cohen had wanted to open an animal rescue site but once he saw the number of sites already in operation, he thought he might do better to open a pet food and supply business and donate cash to the rescues already in operation. Chewy donates a portion of every sale to various rescues around the US.

The company is an online retailer who offers more than 30,000 pet products, mainly for dogs and cats. Its primary product is pet food, and it offers a range of options from gourmet to discount brands of foods. Other products include leashes, grooming tools, toys, and strollers. Delivery for purchases over $49 is free and customers can also opt for scheduled food deliveries. Orders can be placed online or by phone.

The company lost money their first 6 months in operation but turned things around. In 2012, Chewy had an annual revenue of $25 million. The next two years saw an increase in customer traffic of more than 500%. The company opened two new distribution centers, one in Florida, the other in Sparks, Nevada, to help meet customer demand. In 2016, after being in business for only 5 years, the company stated annual revenue was $900 million.

In addition to sales, the company also employs artists and writers who are given the task of composing hand-written postcards for all new purchases. Artists also paint detailed images of customers’ pets at random. Customers who submit photographs of their pets to customer service, or through Facebook or other social media sites, such as Twitter, are entered into a drawing a special gift.

In April of 2017, Petsmart announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Chewy for $3.35 billion, which is the biggest E-commerce acquisition in history.

In an article dated February of 2018, Forbes stated that Chewy.Com had surpassed Amazon in pet food market sales.

Not everyone is happy about the acquisition of Chewy.Com Several manufacturers are pulling their products from Chewy’s line up, including Fromm Family Foods, based in Mequon, Wisconsin, and Champion PetFoods, headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta, and Tuffy’s Pet Foods, which makes NutriSource, PureVita, and Natural Planet. All three companies believe that this move is about money and volume sales, not quality and meeting the needs of their customers’ pets.

Chewy seems to have picked up some customer service skills, however. In January 2019, after a customer left a negative review on their website, Chewy not only responded, but refunded the customers money and made suggestions for another product she might like that got good reviews.

Chewy’s stock has been doing well so far. Stock prices have risen in 2019, perhaps because owner Amazon has been pushing deep discounts and had their customer service reps act as if they are simply bonkers over your pet.

Due to the coronavirus and subsequent quarantine, many pet stores were forced to close. This allowed Chewy.Com to take up the slack and the company’s outstanding second quarter profits for 2020 should cause concern for brick and mortar stores.

Chewy.Com

History

In April of 2017, Petsmart announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Chewy for $3.35 billion, which is the biggest E-commerce acquisition in history.

In an article dated February of 2018, Forbes stated that Chewy.Com had surpassed Amazon in pet food market sales.

Invisalign Corporate Office

Invisalign was founded by former adult orthodontic patient Zia Chishti, who was a Stanford student, struggling with his retainer. He realized that most dental orthodontics could be done the same way – in a series of very small movements. He partnered with Kelsey Wirth to seek developers.

The company received FDA approval in 1998 and sales began in 1999. While many orthodontists were against the idea at first, high consumer demand and obvious results soon made this brand become one of the most popular among dentists.

The company, Align Technology, went public on the NASDAQ in 2001 under the ticker symbol ALGN. As of 2014, Align Technology states that at least 2.4 million people around the world had been treated with Invisalign, and 80,000 dentists had been trained how to use it.

The Invisalign Express 10, which uses 10 aligners, was introduced in 2005. Invisalign 1.5 was released in 2009, followed by Invisalign G3 in 2010 and G4 in 2011. Invisalign G3 and G4 were designed for more complex treatments. An Invisalign Express 5 version, which uses 5 aligners, was introduced in 2012. Invisaligners are manufactured in Mexico, with treatment plans being made in Costa Rica.

Also in 2005, Harvard School of Dental Medicine began requiring that its orthodontic graduate students complete Invisalign certification before they graduate.

Aligners are made from a molding cast, which clients can make at home or at a dental office. Aligners are then worn by the patient for 20 hours a day, each aligner lasting about 2 weeks before moving on to the next aligner. Most patients will take about 13 months to complete the treatment. Long lasting “retainers” are worn each night for a minimum of 2 years.

In March of 2011, the company acquired Cadent System, Inc., a dental firm, for $190 million. The company also operates separate subsidiaries in Hong Kong and Australia that sell Invisalign in their respective markets. Headquarters for Invisalign is still located in San Jose, California.

Invisalign

History

Also in 2005, Harvard School of Dental Medicine began requiring that its orthodontic graduate students complete Invisalign certification before they graduate.