Sur La Table
Company typePrivate
IndustryRetail
Founded1972; 52 years ago (1972)
HeadquartersSeattle, Washington, US
Number of locations
59
Products
  • Cookware
  • Bakeware
  • Cutlery
  • Small electrics
  • Cooking tools
  • Housewares
OwnerMarquee Brands
CSC Generation
Websitesurlatable.com

Sur La Table, Inc. is a privately held retail company based in Seattle, Washington, that sells kitchenware including cookware, cutlery, cooks' tools, small electrics, tabletop and linens, bakeware, glassware and bar, housewares, food, and outdoor products. As of October 2018, Sur La Table sold products in 184 stores in 32 states across the United States, as well as through their website and catalogs. Cooking classes are available in over 80 stores.[1] Sur La Table has a blog, A Sharp Knife & Salt, that focuses on food, chefs, restaurants and products.[2] Many of the company's stores offer culinary classes[3] with plans to include a kitchen in every new store.[4] The company's corporate headquarters is located in Seattle's Georgetown neighborhood.

In French, sur la table means on the table. French pronunciation: [syʁ la tabl][5]

History

Sur La Table's Pike Place location in Seattle, Washington.
Store in New York City.

Shirley Collins founded Sur La Table in 1972, opening a single retail location in Seattle's Pike Place Market. In 1995, Collins sold the company.[6]

In 2005, Kathy Tierney took over as the chief executive officer and advocated an expansion policy of opening new stores in "lifestyle centers", malls, and on city streets "with a mix of upscale national brands and creative local merchants, anchored by an upscale or organic-themed grocery store that encourages frequent trips." Sur la Table became the second-largest specialty cookware retailer in the United States behind Williams Sonoma.[7]

In January 2011, Sur la Table launched a website and gift registry program.[8]

In September 2011, Sur La Table was purchased by Bahrain-based Investcorp for an undisclosed amount. It had 86 stores.[9]

On February 18, 2020, it was reported that Sur La Table and Discovery, Inc.'s Food Network Kitchen streaming service would team up together to produce a "first-of-its-kind cooking ecosystem" which will allow students to participate with the in-store cooking class via online streaming.[3]

In March 2020, the company closed all 130 outlets due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In June 2020, the company announced that it would indefinitely lay off 27 workers, or about 18% of the staff, at its corporate headquarters in Georgetown. The separations began on July 1 and did not include severance packages.[10]

In July 2020, Sur La Table filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy[11][12] and was acquired by Marquee Brands and CSC Generation for $88.9 million.[12] By September 2020, it planned to close 73 stores.[13]

References

  1. ^ Bandaranayake, Nadee (October 8, 2018). "Sur La Table: From cooking class to loyal customer". NRF. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  2. ^ "A Sharp Knife & Salt". Retrieved June 19, 2015.
  3. ^ a b "Sur La Table And Discovery's Food Network Kitchen Join Forces On Content And Marketing Partnership". Discovery Channel. February 18, 2020. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  4. ^ Berman, Nat (2019). "20 Things You Didn't Know about Sur la Table - 6. Most of Sur La Table retail stores are equipped with kitchens". Moneyinc.com. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  5. ^ Oxford French Minidictionary. Oxford University Press. 2002. p. 279. ISBN 0-19-860467-X.
  6. ^ Mulady, Kathy (January 28, 2002). "Sur La Table gets $14 million". Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
  7. ^ Tice, Carol (June 24, 2005). "A wiser Sur La Table picks its outlets selectively". Puget Sound Business Journal.
  8. ^ "Sur La Table Dishes Up New Location at Hearst Tower in New York Media Epicenter". Hearst. August 15, 2011. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  9. ^ Martinez, Amy (September 21, 2011). "Sale of Sur La Table may be recipe for growth". The Seattle Times. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  10. ^ "Sur La Table to lay off a fifth of its corporate staff and possibly close five stores". The Seattle Times. June 26, 2020. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  11. ^ Assis, Claudia (July 8, 2020). "Kitchenware retailer Sur La Table files for bankruptcy". MarketWatch. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  12. ^ a b Chouinard, Haley (August 11, 2020). "Sur La Table sells for nearly $90 million to One Kings Lane buyer". Business of Home. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
  13. ^ Leggate, James (September 11, 2020). "Sur La Table closing more stores under new ownership after bankruptcy". FOXBusiness. Retrieved November 13, 2023.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sur La Table.


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