Harry & David Corporation
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| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Food and gifts |
| Founded | 1910 |
| Founder | Samuel Rosenberg |
| Headquarters | Medford, Oregon, United States |
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Number of locations
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Approximately 50 retail locations Two operational locations: Medford, Oregon (headquarters, orchards, manufacturing and distribution); Hebron, Ohio (distribution center) |
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Area served
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United States |
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Key people
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Steven Lightman, President |
| Products | Gift baskets, holiday and special occasions gifts, pears and fruit, flowers and plants, chocolates and sweets |
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Number of employees
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8,000 including seasonal employees (2013) |
| Parent | 1-800-Flowers (2014–present) |
| Website | harryanddavid |
Harry & David Holdings, Inc. (Harry & David) is an American-based premium food and gift producer and retailer. The company sells its products through direct mail, online and in retail stores nationwide, and operates the brands Harry & David, Wolferman's, and Cushman's. Harry & David was founded in 1910 by Samuel Rosenberg as Bear Creek Orchards in Medford, Oregon, as a premium fruit company. As of 2014, it is owned by 1-800-Flowers.
The company first began operations in 1910, when Samuel Rosenberg purchased Comice pear orchards in Southern Oregon after encountering the orchard's pears at the previous year's Alaska–Yukon–Pacific Exposition. Located in Medford, Oregon, the pear orchards themselves dated to 1885, and were named Bear Creek Orchards after Bear Creek, which ran through the property.
In 1914, Rosenberg's sons Harry and David Rosenberg took over the management of the property, after their father's death and the completion of their agricultural degrees at Cornell University. The brothers named the pears "Royal Riviera," and focused on selling them to customers in Europe. As their business continued to grow in the 1920s, the brothers built a packing house and a pre-cooling plant to prepare the pears to be shipped long distances. When the Great Depression reduced the European demand for their pears, the brothers began instead to market to customers in the United States, first to businessmen in Seattle, and by 1934 in San Francisco and New York City.
The company officially began to sell via mail order in 1934. The brothers advertised in magazines and newspapers, with their first ad appearing in Fortune in 1936. Other ads appeared in National Geographic, The New York Times and Time. In 1937, the company introduced its "Box of the Month" plan. This was later renamed the "Rare Fruit Club" and eventually the "Fruit of the Month" club. In the late 1930s, Harry and David adopted their stepfather's last name, Holmes, due to concerns about rising anti-semitism as World War II approached.
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Wikipedia