Carlson Companies
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| Type | Closely Held Corporation |
|---|---|
| Industry | Hospitality, Travel |
| Founded | 1938 |
| Headquarters | Minnetonka, Minnesota, USA |
| Key people | Hubert Joly (President and CEO) |
| Products | Hotel, Restaurant and Travel services |
| Employees | About 170,000 |
| Website | http://www.carlson.com |
Carlson (often referred to by its previous name Carlson Companies) is a privately held international corporation in the hotel, restaurant, and travel industries. Headquartered in Minnetonka, Minnesota, near Minneapolis,[1] Carlson brands and services, including franchised operations, employ more than 170,000 people in more than 150 countries and territories.[citation needed] The company's 2008 sales, including those from franchised operations, totaled $38 billion. It is one of the largest family-held corporations in the United States.
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[edit] History
Carlson was founded in 1938 as the Gold Bond Stamp Company by Curt Carlson, who used a $55 loan to start his venture. Founded during the Great Depression, Mr. Carlson used "Gold Bond Stamps", a consumer loyalty program based on trading stamps, to provided consumer incentive for grocery stores.
Gold Bond stamps were used as customer incentives in many supermarkets and gas stations (and other businesses), and they could be redeemed for a large array of merchandise, from a set of steak knives up to a mink coat. During the 1950s, Carlson was the largest supplier of mink coats in the United States. Revenue from this business was brisk until the late 1960s, when trading stamps began to lose popularity.
The company was renamed "Carlson Companies, Inc." in 1973 as it diversified into hospitality, corporate incentive, and travel industries.
In 1962, Carlson purchased its first Radisson Hotel in Minneapolis. CCI (as it was known internally) then went on to purchase T.G.I. Friday's in 1975 and Country Kitchen International in 1977. In 1987 Carlson founded Country Inns & Suites By CarlsonSM. In 2000, Carlson acquired the Park Plaza® and Park Inn® brands.
The original Radisson acquistion was of a vintage Minneapolis hotel, named for explorer Pierre Radisson. Mr. Carlson and nine local businessmen friends bought it jointly, each holding 10%. The other owners later dropped out one by one, Curt Carlson buying up each person's share until he owned the entire hotel. It was demolished in 1982, considered as being too old and deteriorated to renovate profitably. However, Carlson had built an associated hotel a few years earlier, the Radisson South, which was thriving. That, and the success of a Radisson Inn built near the company headquarters, motivated Carlson to construct a new Radisson on the downtown site of the demolished hotel. Thereafter, the chain grew rapidly by franchising the name and taking management contracts for new hotels throughout the USA.
By the early 1980s, Curt Carlson had acquired over 50 diverse businesses, most of them small and some not running profitably. Under the administration of president Edwin C. "Skip" Gage, husband of Curt's younger daughter, the majority of those small enterprises were sold. The company then purchased the MacDonald Plaid Stamp business (a public company listed on the NYSE) and merged it with the Gold Bond Stamp business, to become the largest trading stamp company in the world.
In 1994 Carlson Travel Group and Paris-based Wagonlit Travel signed an alliance to form Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT) — one of the world's largest business travel management companies.
In a return to its roots, the Carlson Companies started an electronic consumer incentive program named GoldPoints.com in 1997. The program later was modified and became goldpoints plusSM, the incentive program of Carlson Hotels. Effective March 31, 2011 Club CarlsonSM will replace the goldpoints plus hotel loyalty program.
In 1998, Curtis L. Carlson named his daughter Marilyn Carlson Nelson as his successor; a year later he died. Hubert Joly became Carlson's president and chief executive officer in 2008, and Nelson continues to serve as chairman of the board.
[edit] Portfolio
Carlson's subsidiaries include:
- Carlson Hotels
- Carlson Restaurants
- Travel
[edit] Diversity
In 2010, for the eighth time in recent history, Carlson was named one of the 100 Best Companies for Working Mothers by Working Mother magazine. For four consecutive years, 2006–2009, Carlson was named one of the “Best Places to Work for LGBT Equality.” In 2002, Carlson was on Fortune magazine's list of “The 100 Best Companies to Work For.”
[edit] Notes
[edit] External links
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