White House Black Market
 |
|
| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | 1985 |
| Headquarters | Fort Myers, Florida |
|
Number of locations
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451 boutiques, 67 outlet stores |
|
Area served
|
United States, Puerto Rico, U.S Virgin Islands, Canada |
| Products |
Apparel and accessories |
| $888M (fiscal 2014) | |
| Parent | Chico's (2003-present) |
| Website | whitehouseblackmarket |
White House Black Market is an American women’s clothing retailer headquartered in Fort Myers, Florida. The multichannel brand, founded in 1985, specializes in upscale clothing for women ages 35 and older. While black, white and iterations of the two shades is the company’s hallmark, White House Black Market is also known for its sleek lines and seasonal accent colors.
White House Black Market owns and operates various clothing and accessories boutiques in the United States and Canada, where they sell their exclusive collection of tops, dresses, skirts, pants, jackets, outerwear, shoes jewelry and accessories. Since 2003, White House Black Market has operated as a subsidiary of Chico's.
The company began in 1985 when cofounders Patricia Smith and Richard Sarmiento opened the first store called The White House, in Baltimore, Maryland. True to its name, The White House only carried women’s clothing in shades of white. The boutique performed extremely well, catering to an upscale clientele of women.
In 1991, with the help of National Retail Group, a North-Carolina-based consulting firm, The White House began its national expansion. After a decade of selling exclusively white merchandise, the brand launched a new retail format — "Black Market"— in 1995. A few experiments followed, where Sarmiento the founders housed both White House and Black Market under the same roof. His endeavors were successful, and in 1997, the company began converting existing stores to this White House Black Market combination concept.
In 2003, Chico’s FAS, Inc. purchased White House Black Market after the privately held firm went public. The purchase price for the specialty retailer was $90M, with $85.6M in cash and about $4.4M in Chico’s common stock.
White House Black Market’s collections include dresses, jackets, pants, shoes, swim, tees, accessories and "everyday essentials". Key collections include:
White House Black Market’s marketing program consists of the company’s loyalty program (WHBM Rewards), direct marketing efforts (direct mail, email), national print and broadcast advertising, internet and direct phone sales, social media marketing, and public relations and community outreach programs.
In fiscal 2014, WHBM re-launched its rewards program as WHBM Rewards. The program includes tier-based discounts, promotions, free shipping and invitations to private sales based on customer’s annual spend.
White House Black Market currently operates more than 440 boutiques and over 60 outlets across the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and the U.S Virgin Islands.
The opening of a White House Black Market store in Toronto, Canada on October 24, 2014 was the first push toward international expansion for Chico’s brands. As of January 31, 2015 White House Black Market had five stores across Canada.
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Wikipedia