When did HomCo go out of business?

Sometimes when I’m winnowing thrift shops for great finds to fill my own online stores, I come across a HOMCO lady.  Recently I found six at once!  These handpainted porcelain beauties are about 9″ tall.  They were sold by Home Interiors and Gifts, a purveyor of fine porcelain figurines.

Called Victorian Ladies, these collectibles sell well, with some being highly sought due to rarity or great beauty.  The lady with the parasol is the most valuable in the set pictured above.  Most ladies have names, the parasol woman is Miss Georgia.  The seated lady is Courtney.  All these figurines are currently for sale in my eBay shop.

The history of HOMCO is quite interesting.  The business was founded in Texas in 1957 by Mary C. Crowley, a single mother of two.  She had been working for others and wanted to do more.  She scraped and borrowed enough cash for a start up.  Her business was based on part-time sellers, women who were mothers like herself and needed extra money.  The sellers were called “displayers” and the wares were displayed in homes.  The saleswomen kept about 60% of the profit from each sale.  The merchandise was all carefully selected decorative items and useful objects for the home.

Mary’s business grew so that by the early 1960s she had $1 million in sales.  Her philosophies were maintained throughout the time she ran the company, even when her children became the operators.  The salespeople were all women and her business was based on Christian values.  Many of the items sold had religious significance.  By the 1980s her business was making multi-millions in profits.  Mary passed away in 1987.  The company was finally sold in 1998, and went bankrupt in 2008.  It was bought by Home & Garden Party.

The Victorian Ladies are just one of the popular lines.  Denim Days, figurines featuring children wearing denim are very collectible.  Also in demand are the Nativity series and the teddy bears.  The HOMCO marks include an early crossed arrows with four feathers, later crossed swords and house roofline with chimney, most included numbers to identify the particular model.  Many figurines are identified today by the model number.

American decorating accessories manufacturer

Home Interiors and Gifts was a direct sales company specializing in decorating accessories, which were sold by more than 140,000 representatives through home parties in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. Highland Capital Management later owned a majority interest in the company.[1] The company is defunct since 2008.

History

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Mary Crowley founded Home Interiors on December 5, 1957.[2] Its product lines included artificial flowers, candles, framed artwork, mirrors, sconces, small furniture, and shelves. The company bought many of its products from its own manufacturing subsidiaries such as Laredo Candle Company.[1] Her son, Don Carter, joined her in managing the business.[3]

By 1982 Home Interiors had a sales force of 38,000 and gross sales of over $400 million.[4] By 1984 the stated figures were $450 million in sales by a sales force of 39,000, mostly women, who sell door to door and at parties where women socialized as they bought "figurines" and other home decorations.[5]

Home Interiors under Crowley's leadership had a charismatic culture that was conservative, Christian, individualistic, and featured self-help rhetoric; the company promoted the fact that it offered women flexible working schedules, membership in an enthusiastic community of saleswomen, and income.[6][7]

Buyout

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In 1994, Home Interiors and Gifts was sold to the investment firm of Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst in a $1 billion leveraged buyout.[1][8] The company sold more than $850 million annually in silk and polyester flower arrangements, porcelain puppies and other decorative household items at home parties.[1]

The company announced on April 29, 2008, that it and certain of its subsidiaries filed voluntary petitions under Chapter 11 of Title 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code for the Northern District of Texas (filing number 08-31961) in order to re-align the Company's business operations and restructure its debt. The Company intends to work with its constituencies to exit bankruptcy as expeditiously as possible, while executing on its reorganization plans. In addition to the Company, Dallas Woodcraft Company, LLC, Laredo Candle Company, LLC, HIG Holdings, LLC, Titan Sourcing, LLC, DWC GP, LLC and Home Interiors de Puerto Rico, Inc., filed voluntary petitions. Home Interiors' Mexican and Canadian subsidiaries as well as Domistyle, Inc. were not a part of the filing.[citation needed]

After bankruptcy Home Interiors was bought by Penny and Steve Carlile, the owners and founders of Home & Garden Party founded in 1996. They merged the two companies renaming it Celebrating Home and it continues to operate from Home and Garden Party's headquarters in Marshall, TX. After the merger Heather Chastain (former president of Home Interiors) became president of Celebrating Home. She has since been removed from her position and is no longer with the company. Home Interiors Mexico operation was also purchased by the Carliles but it continues to operate under the Home Interiors name as an independent entity.

In 2006, Home Interiors was generating $500 million in annual sales with Mike Lohner as CEO.[9] Lohner resigned when Dallas-based investment fund Highland Capital Management acquired a majority interest in Home Interiors.[9] He was replaced as president and chief executive officer by Richard W. Heath, who had founded Dallas-based BeautiControl Cosmetics Inc. in 1981.[9]

Further reading

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References

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