Pottery Barn

American home furnishing store chain

Pottery Barn

Company type| Subsidiary
Industry| Home furnishing
Founded| 1949; 76 years ago (1949)
Founders| Paul Secon, Morris Secon
Headquarters|

San Francisco, California

United States

Number of locations

| 184 (2022)

Key people

| Monica Bhargava, President[1]
Products| Furniture and decor, bedding, bath, lighting, rugs, and windows
Parent| The Gap (1984–1986)
Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (1986–present)
Website| www.potterybarn.com

Pottery Barn is an American upscale home furnishing store chain and e-commerce company,[2] with retail stores in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Australia. Pottery Barn is a wholly owned subsidiary of Williams-Sonoma, Inc.

The company is headquartered in San Francisco, California. Pottery Barn also operates several specialty stores such as Pottery Barn Kids and Pottery Barn Teen. It has three retail catalogues: the traditional Pottery Barn catalogue; Pottery Barn Bed + Bath to focus on its bed and bath lines; and one for outdoor furniture.[3]

## Early history

[edit]

The Pottery Barn was co-founded in 1949 by Paul Secon and his brother Morris in Chelsea, Manhattan. Paul discovered three barns full of pottery from the factory of Glidden Parker in Alfred, New York, who had stored extras and seconds up the road from the business, hence the inspiration of the chain's name.[4] Paul sold his share in 1966 and Morris sold his to a pair of outside partners - R. Hoyt Chapin and Walton Brush in 1968. Chapin and Brush expanded the business to include five stores in NYC, one in Stamford, Ct. one in Hartford Ct. and several franchise stores in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and California before selling to The Gap in 1984. [5]

The company was acquired by Williams-Sonoma, Inc. in 1986.[6][7] Growth continued until the Great Recession.[8] Its mail-order catalog was first published in 1987. In 1999, the company introduced Pottery Barn Kids as a premium children's home furnishing and accessories brand.[9] By 2000, the company had launched an e-commerce site for quick ordering process.[10]

Pottery Barn Teen, the first home retailer to focus on teenagers, was launched in 2003. The first Pottery Barn Teen store opened in Georgia in 2009, as well as in New York City and Chicago. The store has a sub-brand Pottery Barn Dorm for young people starting college life.[11]

## Later history

[edit]

The Pottery Barn store in Beverly Hills, California Pottery Barn in Calgary

In 2017, the company introduced an augmented reality app for iOS that allowed users to virtually place Pottery Barn products into a room and save room design ideas.[12] It also announced PB Apartment, a small-space furnishings line, for millennials.[13]

In 2018, Pottery Barn Kids partnered with John Lewis which marked the first appearance of the brand in the United Kingdom. Its shop-in-shops featured furniture and accessories for nurseries.[14] Ireland became the first European country to hold the franchise for Pottery Barn Kids in 2019.[9] Pottery Barn Teens partnered with Aquafil on the Spring 2020 collection "Watercolor Dots" rug, which uses regenerated nylon made from waste gathered in the ocean and other bodies of water.[15]

## In popular culture

[edit]

Pottery Barn is referenced a number of times in Friends. For instance, when Rachel buys furniture for Phoebe's apartment (which she is staying in at the time), and claims it's all authentically old furniture, rather than being from Pottery Barn.[16]

Another example is in Seinfeld, Kramer talks with Jerry about how he is receiving too many catalogs from Pottery Barn. He saves the collected catalogs, takes them, and throws them into the store.[17]

Sheldon Cooper references it often in The Big Bang Theory.

A Pottery Barn retail store is seen situated next to Felix Unger's Manhattan F.U. Enterprises office/studio in The Odd Couple's first season in 1970.[18]

Pottery Barn is referenced in the Broadway musical Dear Evan Hansen, as a location where the title character works. He informs another character that he can get her and her family a discount in "overpriced home décor."[19]

In the season 3 episode of the American family sitcom Boy Meets World titled "What I Meant to Say", Corey Matthews confesses to his girlfriend, Topanga Lawrence, that he loves her. Eric Matthews, Corey's older brother, then under social pressure, tells his girlfriend, Christie, that he loves her as well. This leads Christie to take Eric on a trip to Pottery Barn, which Eric laments. While at Pottery Barn, Eric and Christie buy a ceramic cat and napkin holders.[20][21]

The brand's "Found" collection sells vintage items from around the world.[22] The company has partnered on collections with a number of pop cultural brands such as Harry Potter, Star Wars, Frozen, Thomas & Friends, Fantastic Beasts, and Friends.[23]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Coleman, Kendall (August 18, 2023). "WILLIAMS-SONOMA, INC. ANNOUNCES LEADERSHIP UPDATE".
2. ^ "West Elm, Pottery Barn drive Williams-Sonoma's strong revenue growth in Q3". Furniture Today. November 22, 2019. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
3. ^ Romano, Catherine (December 13, 2018). "Start Buying Furniture the Millennial Way—or Risk Missing Out". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
4. ^ Miller, Stephen. "Paul Secon, 91, Founded Pottery Barn". The Sun. Retrieved April 3, 2017.
5. ^ Hevesi, Dennis (March 8, 2007). "Paul Secon, 91, Who Helped Found Pottery Barn Chain, Dies". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
6. ^ "Pottery Barn". Williams-Sonoma, Inc. 1986.
7. ^ "Williams-Sonoma Acquires Pottery Barn" (M&A Deal Summary). Mergr. September 1, 1986.
8. ^ Post, Sarah Halzack | The Washington (May 28, 2017). "Pottery Barn's big problem: Your tiny apartment".`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
9. ^ a b Pollock, Sean. "Starry homeware giant Williams‑Sonoma brings Pottery Barn Kids to Arnotts". ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
10. ^ "Pottery Barn Builds Its Online Home". DMNews.com. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
11. ^ Johnson, Jenna (August 19, 2011). "Stores offering designer dorm gear for the college-bound". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
12. ^ "Williams-Sonoma launches AR iOS app for Pottery Barn - Retail Business Review". www.retail-business-review.com. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
13. ^ Keller, Hadley. "A Smart Furniture Line for Apartment Dwellers". Architectural Digest. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
14. ^ "Pottery Barn Kids bringing wholesale business to the UK". Retail Dive. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
15. ^ "Pottery Barn Teen, Aquafil partner for a new sustainable rug". Furniture Today. December 30, 2019. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
16. ^ Bright, Kevin (January 6, 2000), The One with the Apothecary Table, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, retrieved December 8, 2017
17. ^ Pomorski, Chris (August 12, 2014). "Junk Mail? The Pros and Cons of Restoration Hardware's 17-Pound Catalog". Observer. "In revenge, he throws his catalogs at the doorstep of a Manhattan Pottery Barn."
18. ^ "The Odd Couple" Oscar, the Model (TV Episode 1970), retrieved December 8, 2017
19. ^ Kearse, Kerri (October 8, 2019). "The Real-Life Story That Inspired Dear Evan Hansen, What Will Change in the London Run, and More From New York Comic Con". Playbill. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
20. ^ "is pottery barn still in business". www.manzelan.com. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
21. ^ What I Meant to Say, retrieved July 28, 2020
22. ^ Weinstein, Emily (October 26, 2011). "All That Authenticity May Be Getting Old". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
23. ^ Plante, Stephie Grob (July 12, 2019). "Pottery Barn is releasing a Friends collection for the show's 25th anniversary". Vox. Retrieved April 30, 2020.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pottery Barn.

* v
* t
* e

Williams-Sonoma, Inc.

* Chuck Williams (founder)
* Laura J. Alber (CEO)

Subsidiaries|

* Hold Everything†
* Pottery Barn
* Pottery Barn Kids
* PBteen
* Rejuvenation
* West Elm
* Williams Sonoma

* v
* t
* e

Gap Inc.

Brands|

* Gap
* Banana Republic
* Old Navy
* Intermix
* Hill City
* Athleta

People|

* Donald Fisher
* Doris F. Fisher
* Robert J. Fisher
* William S. Fisher
* John J. Fisher

Discontinued and
former brands|

* Forth & Towne
* Piperlime
* Pottery Barn (sold to Williams-Sonoma, Inc.)

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