Yankee Candle Company began in 1969, as penniless Mike Kittredge, age 16, melted crayons to form a candle as a Christmas present for his Mom. A neighbor, mesmerized by his fabulous creation, expressed her desire to purchase one of his candles; thus Yankee Candle Company was born. Mike used his parent's basement, kitchen, and garage to produce his scented candles. Five years later, in 1974, Mike moved production into an old paper mill located in Holyoke, Massachusetts. In 1998 Forstmann Little & Company partnered with Yankee Candle Company and began to publicly trade on the NYSE in 1999. Mike Kittredge sold his first candle to a neighbor for $1.36, in 1969 and in 2005 Yankee Candle Company's total sales were $601,180,000. Mike's humble beginning in the family home has grown into a "wholesale customer network of 16,400 store locations, a growing base of Company owned and operated retail stores (390 located in 42 states),⦠direct mail catalogs, its website,⦠international distributors, and to a European wholesale network of approximately 2,200 store locationsâ¦" (2006) Yankee's passion for fragrance has become a profitable entity with visions of continued global expansion.
(Old) Yankee Stadium
English: A view of the Yankee Candle flagship stor...
English: The Yankee Candle store in the Newport Ce...Yankee Candle Company has branded their product as long-lasting and strong in fragrance. Yankee has developed over 150 fragrances for their various candle products. Their product line includes jars, votive, tarts, wax potpourri, pillars, tapers, and tea lights candles. Yankee's design is innovative and their scents are pleasant, relaxing, and rejuvenating. Yankee Candle Company's design department is visionary in developing candles to accent modern décor and fragrances that appeal to its customers. Yankee will explore and introduce aromas that are common to the Greek culture as they expand into this new market. Yankee Candle will emulate their "passion for fragrance" and provide a wide variety of choices for its new...