MacKenzie-Childs

In 1983, the founders started a business making ceramic goods under the name Victoria and Richard MacKenzie Childs, Ltd.{{Cite web |title=Trademark Status & Document Retrieval |url=https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=73747011&caseType=SERIAL_NO&searchType=statusSearch |access-date=2024-02-06 |website=tsdr.uspto.gov}} After the registration lapsed, the company was registered as MacKenzie-Childs, Ltd. in 1997.

In 2000, MacKenzie-Childs, Ltd. entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection following financial difficulties including a $15.3 million debt to BSB Bank & Trust,{{Cite web |last=Bishop |first=Susan |date=April 19, 2004 |title=BACK IN BUSINESS; THE MACKENZIE-CHILDSES, OUT OF BANKRUPTCY, ARE RE-EMERGING WITH A NEW BRAND AND A NEW COMPANY. |url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/BACK+IN+BUSINESS;+THE+MACKENZIE-CHILDSES,+OUT+OF+BANKRUPTCY,+ARE...-a0115700430 |access-date=2024-02-06 |website=www.thefreelibrary.com |publisher=HFN (The Weekly Newspaper for the Home Furnishing Network)}} a 25 to 55 percent price increase, an expensive advertising campaign, and two long-term leases for unopened retail locations on Rodeo Drive and Madison Avenue.{{Cite web |last=Zisko |first=Allison |date=June 4, 2001 |title=MACKENZIE-CHILDS STORE TO OPEN IN MANHATTAN |url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/MACKENZIE-CHILDS+STORE+TO+OPEN+IN+MANHATTAN.-a076161656 |access-date=2024-02-06 |website=www.thefreelibrary.com |publisher=HFN (The Weekly Newspaper for the Home Furnishing Network)}}

Pleasant Rowland, founder of American Girl, purchased MacKenzie-Childs, Ltd. from bankruptcy court for $5.5 million in 2001.{{Cite web |date=2001-06-04 |title=Pleasant Rowland Buys McKenzie-Childs |url=https://www.giftsanddec.com/business-news/pleasant-rowland-buys-mckenzie-childs/ |access-date=2024-02-06 |website=Gifts & Decorative Accessories |language=en-US}} Since the founders of the company still owed a debt to BSB Bank & Trust, Rowland offered Victoria and Richard MacKenzie-Childs $10 million contingent upon a non-compete agreement.{{Cite web |date=2007-03-13 |title=MacKenzie-Childs trademark case decision due March 21 |url=https://www.syracuse.com/news/2007/03/mackenziechilds_trademark_case.html |access-date=2021-05-09 |website=syracuse |language=en}} The founders refused to sign the agreement, filed for personal bankruptcy, and allegedly gave up all rights to the MacKenzie-Childs name.{{Cite web |last=Bishop |first=Susan |date=April 19, 2004 |title=BACK IN BUSINESS; THE MACKENZIE-CHILDSES, OUT OF BANKRUPTCY, ARE RE-EMERGING WITH A NEW BRAND AND A NEW COMPANY |url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/BACK+IN+BUSINESS;+THE+MACKENZIE-CHILDSES,+OUT+OF+BANKRUPTCY,+ARE...-a0115700430 |access-date=2024-02-06 |website=www.thefreelibrary.com |publisher=HFN (The Weekly Newspaper for the Home Furnishing Network)}}

As part of a larger project led by the Aurora Foundation to revitalize and redevelop the town, Rowland's purchase ensured that the company would remain headquartered in Aurora.{{Cite news |last=Rubiner |first=Betsy |date=2003-10-12 |title=TRAVEL ADVISORY; An Alumna Makes Over a College and Its Town |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/12/travel/travel-advisory-an-alumna-makes-over-a-college-and-its-town.html |access-date=2024-02-06 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite news |last=Barry |first=Dan |date=2001-05-18 |title=Big Change Is Bearing Down On Small Town; College Gets Rich Graduate To Pump Some Money Into the Old Place |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/18/nyregion/big-change-bearing-down-small-town-college-gets-rich-graduate-pump-some-money.html |access-date=2024-02-06 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} The purchase of MacKenzie-Childs, Ltd. was one of many multi-million dollar investments Rowland made in Aurora, where she attended Wells College in the 1960s.

Rowland began restructuring the home decor company to ensure its profitability. In 2005, the company laid off 20 of 240 employees and restructured the management team.{{cite web|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-138836369.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104000216/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-138836369.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 4, 2012|title=20 employees laid off at MacKenzie-Childs|date=November 17, 2005|work= The Post-Standard |location=Syracuse, NY|accessdate=18 April 2010}} In 2007, Rowland announced her intention to find a buyer having "accomplished her turnaround goals with the company."{{Cite web |last=The Citizen staff |date=2008-05-08 |title=Aurora company sold by Rowland |url=https://auburnpub.com/news/local/aurora-company-sold-by-rowland/article_1b3d83ec-4c00-5d0f-8d65-0dc18434a842.html |access-date=2024-02-06 |website=The Citizen |language=en}}

In 2006, MacKenzie-Childs, Ltd. sued founders Victoria and Richard MacKenzie-Childs. The founders had started a new business using the mark "Victoria and Richard." The lawsuit cited trademark violation, as their last name and trademarks referencing it, had allegedly been sold off in the bankruptcy proceedings.{{Cite web |last=Telesca |first=Michael |date=January 9, 2008 |title=Mackenzie-Childs, Ltd. v. Mackenzie-Childs, 06-CV-6107T {{!}} Casetext Search + Citator |url=https://casetext.com/case/mackenzie-childs |access-date=2021-05-09 |website=casetext.com}}{{Cite web |last=Astor |first=Will |date=2006-03-03 |title=Company sues former owners over name use |url=https://rbj.net/2006/03/03/company-sues-former-owners-over-name-use/ |access-date=2021-05-09 |website=Rochester Business Journal |language=en-US}} The founders countersued Rowland for attaching their name to designs they did not create.

In 2008, Rowland sold the company to Lee Feldman and Howard Cohen, partners at the Twin Lakes Capital equity firm based in Rochester and Manhattan.{{Cite web |last=Debra J. Groom |first=The Post-Standard |date=2008-05-07 |title=MacKenzie-Childs sold to Rochester, Manhattan firm |url=https://www.syracuse.com/news/2008/05/mackenziechilds_sold_to_roches.html |access-date=2024-02-06 |website=syracuse |language=en}}

In 2014, Castanea Partners, a private equity firm, invested in Aurora Brands (the owner of MacKenzie-Childs, Ltd.){{Cite news|url=https://www.castaneapartners.com/news-post/castanea-partners-announces-investment-in-aurora-brands/|title=Castanea Partners Announces Investment in Aurora Brands {{!}} Castanea Partners|date=2014-09-02|work=Castanea Partners|access-date=2018-11-29|language=en-US}}

In 2018, MacKenzie-Childs, Ltd. acquired Patience Brewster Inc.{{Cite news|url=https://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2018/09/mackenzie-childs_acquires_skaneateles_patience_brewster_inc.html|title=MacKenzie-Childs acquires Skaneateles' Patience Brewster Inc.|work=syracuse.com|access-date=2018-11-29|language=en-US}} The terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Patience Brewster, an upstate New York book illustrator and ornament designer, joined the company's creative team. MacKenzie-Child, Ltd. and Brewster pursued the design and development of products for the Patience Brewster by MacKenzie-Childs collection.

MacKenzie-Childs, Ltd. is well-known for its annual Barn Sale. The company headquarters were built on a dairy farm built in the late 1800s and renovated between 2001 and 2003.{{Cite web |title=Visit Us (MacKenzie-Childs) |url=https://www.mackenzie-childs.com/visit-us.html |access-date=2024-02-06 |website=www.mackenzie-childs.com}} The sale began in a single tent in 1996 and grew to thousands of customers at the Aurora-based campus every year.{{Cite web |last=Hernandez |first=Sunny |date=2023-07-07 |title=MacKenzie-Childs Barn Sale back in store after 3-year hiatus, dates announced |url=https://www.newyorkupstate.com/central-ny/2023/07/mackenzie-childs-barn-sale-back-in-store-after-3-year-hiatus-dates-announced.html |access-date=2024-02-06 |website=New York Upstate |language=en}}

In 2017, the Barn Sale drew more than 26,000 shoppers to the company's sixty five acre property in Aurora, making the event one of the premier draws for tourists in Cayuga County. Held over four days, the sale offers discounts off retail price.{{Cite news |last=Wilcox |first=David |title=We sell fun: The 2018 MacKenzie-Childs Barn Sale, by the numbers |url=https://auburnpub.com/lifestyles/we-sell-fun-the-mackenzie-childs-barn-sale-by-the/article_7c264644-4eab-505c-9213-62936999b48b.html |access-date=2018-11-29 |work=Auburn Citizen |language=en}}

After the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the MacKenzie-Childs Barn Sale moved online-only.{{Cite web |last=Hernandez |first=Sunny |date=2022-07-06 |title=MacKenzie-Childs Barn Sale dates announced, remains virtual |url=https://www.newyorkupstate.com/events/2022/07/mackenzie-childs-barn-sale-dates-announced-remains-virtual.html |access-date=2024-02-06 |website=New York Upstate |language=en}} The Barn Sale resumed in-person shopping in July 2023.

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Category:Companies based in New York (state)