Cost Plus World Market

Cost Plus Inc.
Trade name	Cost Plus World Market
Type	Subsidiary
Industry	Retail, Online shopping
Founded	1958; 63 years ago; Fisherman's Wharf; San Francisco, California, U.S.
Founder	William Amthor
Headquarters	Alameda, California, U.S.
Number of locations	258 (2020)
Area served	United States
Key people	Jack Schwefel, CEO
Products	Furniture, Curtains, Wine, Beer, Rugs, Bedding, Home Decor, Home accessories, Housewares, Gifts, Kitchenware, Tableware, Cookware and bakeware, Food
Revenue	US$963.83 million (2011)
Net income	US$16.5 million (2011)
Number of employees	6,127
Parent	Front Burner LP
Website	www.worldmarket.com

Inside a Cost Plus World Market in Kennesaw, Georgia

Cost Plus World Market is an American chain of specialty/import retail stores, selling home furniture, decor, curtains, rugs, gifts, apparel, coffee, wine, craft beer, as well as several international food products. The brand's name originated from the initial concept, since abandoned, of selling items for "cost plus 10%". Its current headquarters are located in Alameda, California.^[2] The company was previously a subsidiary of Bed Bath & Beyond since being acquired in 2012. It was sold in 2021.

History[]

Cost Plus opened its first store at 2552 Taylor Street on Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco, California, in 1958. This location permanently closed in 2020. Founder William Amthor discovered that San Franciscans loved imported discount retail merchandise when he sold some extra rattan furniture. Amthor operated a small family-owned furniture store in San Francisco at the time, but instead of displaying the rattan furniture in his store, he rented 4,000 square feet (370 m²) of warehouse space in the Fisherman's Wharf area of San Francisco. The rattan furniture sold quickly, convincing Amthor to start importing merchandise as a new business. He opened his first store devoted exclusively to imported merchandise later in 1958 and began importing wicker by the shipload.^[3] In 1962, with the help of Tandy Corporation, another Cost Plus-named import chain was founded in Texas, named Cost Plus Imports. These stores would, in 1965, be renamed Pier 1 Imports, and would be sold in 1966.

The success in San Francisco led Amthor to quickly open other stores across the Bay Area and later in other states. There are 258 stores spread across 39 states and Washington, D. C.

In the 1990s, "Cost Plus" shifted the branding of its stores to either Cost Plus World Market or simply World Market in markets new to the brand (generally in the Eastern or Southern regions of the United States). In 1996, Cost Plus World Market went public and began trading on the NASDAQ stock exchange.

In February 2006, Cost Plus reported quarterly earnings of $125 million, with $367 million in revenue for the 4th fiscal quarter of 2006. Annual earnings were $280 million with over $800 million in revenue. Cost Plus was acquired by Bed Bath & Beyond in 2012.^[4]

In 2014, Cost Plus World Market launched an online crowdsourcing-model marketplace called Craft by World Market.^[5] The website posts items for one month at a time, and sells only products that have a certain number of pre-orders to ensure that enough customers will buy them.^[6]

In October 2019, Bed Bath and Beyond announced pending closure of 60 stores; 40 of the shuttered stores will be Bed Bath and Beyond locations, while 20 will be World Market or other subsidiaries.^[7] This was later followed with the company's decision to sell Cost Plus World Market to Front Burner Retail LP by February 2021, in 2020.^[8]