Olan Mills

{{Short description|Former Portrait photography and Church directory company}}

{{Infobox company

| name = Olan Mills Inc.

| logo =

| type =

| foundation = Tennessee, 1932, by Olan Mills Sr. and Mary Mills

| location_city = Chattanooga, Tennessee

| key_people = Olan Mills II, Chairman Emeritus,
Robert L. McDowell, CEO and President
Laura Carden, Vice-President of Finance and CFO
David Butler, President of Church Directories Division

| industry = Portrait photography, Church Directories

| revenue = unknown

| operating_income = unknown

| net_income = unknown

| num_employees = 3,700 (2001 est.)

| fate = Acquired by Lifetouch (2011)

| homepage = [https://www.churchdirectories.lifetouch.com/olan-mills-joins-lifetouch Lifetouch.com]

}}

Olan Mills, Inc. was a privately owned American company founded in 1932 by Olan Mills Sr. and Mary Mills which was headquartered in Chattanooga, Tennessee. It provided portrait photography and church directories through its two main corporate divisions: Olan Mills Portrait Studios and Olan Mills Church Division.

Its United Kingdom division, based in Northamptonshire and with numerous studios based in Mothercare stores, stopped trading on December 26, 2008. That was in preparation for the firm being placed into administration.{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7804393.stm|title=Photography studio ceases trading|publisher=BBC News|date=2008-12-30|accessdate=2008-12-30}}

On November 9, 2011, Lifetouch Inc. announced that it had purchased the Olan Mills photography business, Olan Mills Church Directories and Olan Mills Portrait Studios, its corporate functions, and the production operations in Chattanooga.{{cite web|url=http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2011/nov/09/chattanooga-based-olan-mills-sold-lifetouch/|title=Lifetouch Acquires Olan Mills|publisher=Chattanooga Times Free Press|date=2011-11-09|accessdate=2011-11-09}} In January 2012, Lifetouch announced the closing of two of Olan Mills's three facilities in Chattanooga with 383 job losses.{{cite web|url=http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2012/jan/31/-olan-mills-facilities-closing-383-jobs-cut/|title=Lifetouch closes Olan Mills photography facilities: 383 jobs lost|last=Pare|first=Mike|author2=Carey O'Neil|date=January 31, 2012|publisher=Chattanooga Times Free Press|accessdate=2 December 2012}} In 2019, the third facility closed costing an additional 150 jobs.{{Cite web |date=2019-02-05 |title=Lifetouch to close Chattanooga operations, with shutdown of Bonny Oaks facility to cost 150 jobs {{!}} Chattanooga Times Free Press |url=https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2019/feb/05/lifetouch-close-chattanooga-operations-cost-jobs/ |access-date=2025-03-24 |website=www.timesfreepress.com |language=en}}