Cost Plus World Market is a chain of specialty/import retail stores, selling home furniture, decor, curtains, rugs, gifts, apparel, coffee, wine, craft beer, as well as several international food products. The brand's name originated from the initial concept, since abandoned, of selling items for "cost plus 10%". Its current headquarters are located in Alameda, California. The company has been a subsidiary of Bed Bath & Beyond since being acquired in 2012.
History
Cost Plus opened its first store at Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco, California, in 1958. Founder William Amthor discovered that San Franciscansloved imported discount retail merchandise when he sold some extra rattan furniture. Amthor operated a small family-owned furniture store in San Francisco at the time, but instead of displaying the rattan furniture in his store, he rented of warehouse space in the Fisherman's Wharf area of San Francisco. The rattan furniture sold quickly, convincing Amthor to start importing merchandise as a new business. He opened his first store devoted exclusively to imported merchandise later in 1958 and began importing wicker by the shipload. The success in San Francisco led Amthor to quickly open other stores across the Bay Area and later in other states. There are 276 stores spread across 35 states. In the 1990s, "Cost Plus" shifted the branding of its stores to either Cost Plus World Market or simply World Market in markets new to the brand. In 1996, Cost Plus World Market went public and began trading on the NASDAQstock exchange. In February 2006, Cost Plus reported quarterly earnings of $125 million, with $367 million in revenue for the 4th fiscal quarter of 2006. Annual earnings were $280 million with over $800 million in revenue. Cost Plus was acquired by Bed Bath & Beyond in 2012. In 2014, Cost Plus World Market launched an onlinecrowdsourcing-model marketplace called Craft by World Market. The website posts items for one month at a time, and sells only products that have a certain number of pre-orders to ensure that enough customers will buy them. In October 2019, Bed Bath and Beyondannounced pending closure of 60 stores; 40 of the shuttered stores will be Bed Bath and Beyond locations, while 20 will be World Market or other subsidiaries.
