The encyclopedia · Strategy & Leadership · Strategic decision · 2009–2022
Crabtree & Evelyn went from 126 US stores to an online-only shell
Crabtree & Evelyn grew from a Massachusetts soap shop to 126 US stores. A 2009 Chapter 11 and two ownership changes later, the stores were gone.
Crabtree & Evelyn · 2019-07
What happened
Crabtree & Evelyn was founded in 1972 in Cambridge, Massachusetts by Cyrus Harvey, selling soaps, fragrances, candles and personal-care products. The brand grew to 126 stores in the United States and a substantial international wholesale business. At its peak, it was one of the best-known specialty personal-care retailers in American malls.
In July 2009, Crabtree & Evelyn filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, blaming rising rent costs and declining mall traffic. The company closed 30 of its 126 US stores as part of the restructuring. The case was one of several specialty retailers caught between the 2008 recession and the early shift to e-commerce.
The company was sold to Kwong Ming, a Hong Kong holding company, in 2012. The new owners tried to reposition the brand, but the business continued to struggle as online shopping eroded mall foot traffic. In 2016, the brand was sold again — this time to a consortium led by American investor J. Christopher Burch, who also owned the Tory Burch fashion label. The consortium paid approximately $100 million.
Inside two years, the 2016 owners ran out of options. In November 2018, Crabtree & Evelyn announced that it would cease all retail and wholesale operations worldwide. All stores were closed. The brand relaunched as a purely online business in July 2019, but the US website stopped accepting orders in February 2022 and has remained dormant since.
Why it happened
- The 2009 Chapter 11 and two ownership changes in four years created strategic whiplash — each new owner had a different vision, and none executed long enough to turn the business around.
- Crabtree & Evelyn was a mall-based specialty retailer as mall foot traffic declined nationwide, and the company never built a credible online channel to replace lost store sales.
- The 2016 sale to Burch's consortium valued the brand at roughly $100 million, but the new owners were unable to reverse the decline and exited the retail business within two years.
- The Hong Kong ownership (2012–2016) straddled two markets too different to serve together — the brand tried to be both a mass personal-care brand and an upmarket gift retailer, and failed at both.
The lesson
Selling a declining brand is not the same as fixing it. Crabtree & Evelyn went through two owners in four years, and each treated the purchase price as the strategy, not the beginning of one.
Aftermath
Crabtree & Evelyn still exists as a dormant e-commerce site, no longer accepting orders. The brand that once had 126 stores and a global wholesale network has effectively ceased operations. The case is cited as an example of a heritage personal-care brand that failed to adapt to the online shift in retail.
Sources
- Crabtree & Evelyn — Wikipedia (Chapter 11 2009, sale to Kwong Ming 2012, Burch acquisition 2016, retail closure 2018, online relaunch 2019)
- Financial Times — How the scented gift brand lost its way (November 2018)
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