Carlson Companies

Carlson

Type	Closely Held Corporation
Industry	Hospitality, Travel
Founded	1938
Headquarters	Minnetonka, Minnesota, United States
Key people	David Berg (President and CEO)
Products	Hotel and Travel services
Number of employees	About 175,000
Website	www.carlson.com

Carlson (often referred to by its previous name Carlson Companies) is an American privately held international corporation in the hotel and travel industries. Headquartered in Minnetonka, Minnesota, a Minneapolis suburb, Carlson brands and services, including franchised operations, employ more than 175,000 people in more than 160 countries and territories. The company's 2012 sales, including those from franchised operations, totaled $37.6 billion. It is one of the largest family-held corporations in the United States.

Carlson was founded in 1938 as the Gold Bond Stamp Company by Curt Carlson, who used a $55 loan to start his venture. Founded during the Great Depression, Mr. Carlson used "Gold Bond Stamps", a consumer loyalty program based on trading stamps, to provide consumer incentive for grocery stores.

Gold Bond stamps were used as customer incentives in many supermarkets and gas stations (and other businesses) and they could be redeemed for a large array of merchandise, from a set of steak knives up to a mink coat. During the 1950s, Carlson was the largest supplier of mink coats in the United States. Sales were brisk until the late 1960s when trading stamps began to lose popularity.

The company was renamed Carlson Companies, Inc. in 1973 as they diversified into the hospitality, corporate incentive, and travel industries.

In 1962, Carlson purchased their first Radisson Hotel in Minneapolis. CCI (as it was known internally) then went on to purchase T.G.I. Friday's in 1975 and Country Kitchen International in 1977. In 1987, Carlson founded Country Inns & Suites By Carlson. In 2000, Carlson acquired the Park Plaza and Park Inn brands.

The original Radisson acquisition was a vintage Minneapolis hotel, named for French explorer Pierre Radisson. Mr. Carlson and nine local businessmen friends bought it jointly, each holding ten percent. The other owners later dropped out one by one, Curt Carlson buying up each person's share until he owned the entire hotel. It was demolished in 1982, considered as being too old and deteriorated to renovate profitably. However, Carlson had built an associated hotel a few years earlier, the Radisson South in south suburban Bloomington, which was thriving. That, and the success of a Radisson Inn built near the company headquarters, motivated Carlson to construct a new Radisson on the downtown site of the demolished hotel. Thereafter, the chain grew rapidly by franchising the name and taking management contracts for new hotels throughout the USA.