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Ballard Designs corporate headquarters in west Atlanta.
Ballard Designs corporate headquarters located in west Atlanta.

Ballard Designs is an omnichannel retail company that designs and sells home furniture and accessories with a European influence.[1] Formally part of Cornerstone Brands, a subsidiary of HSN Inc. (NASDAQ: HSNI),[2] the company is now one of the Qurate Retail portfolio brands, collectively owned by Qurate Retail Group (NASDAQ: QRTEA, QRTEB). There are currently 17 retail stores:[1][3] Three in Florida (Tampa, Jacksonville and a design studio concept in West Palm Beach[4][3]), Oak Brook, Illinois,[5] King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, Natick, Massachusetts, Atlanta, Georgia (the company's flagship store opened here in 2018),[6][7] Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, Denver, Colorado, Tysons Corner, Virginia,[8] Garden City, New York, Charlotte, North Carolina,[9] Nashville, Tennessee,[10] and four in Texas (Dallas,[11][12][13] Fort Worth[14][15], Houston,[16] and Austin[17]). There are also three outlet stores: one near its corporate headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, one near its distribution center in West Chester, Ohio, and a third in Louisville, Kentucky.[18] The company's Margate, Florida outlet closed in 2020. Other locations are slated to open in 2024 including Greenville, South Carolina.[12][19][1]

Ballard Designs
Formation1983
Headquarters1670 Defoor Ave. NW, Atlanta, GA 30318-7562
President
Karen Mooney
Websitehttps://www.ballarddesigns.com

History

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Ballard Designs was founded in 1983 [20] by Helen Ballard. Ballard got her start in the retail industry after winning Metropolitan Home magazine's home decorating contest. When the photos of her Ansley Park condo were published, more than 500 readers contacted the magazine asking where they could buy Ballard's furniture and accessories, especially a dolphin-based table. A year later, Ballard quit her job, sold her home and started Ballard Designs.[1][21] The first catalog was a two-page black-and-white brochure featuring a replica of the dolphin-based table from her home. It became Ballard Designs' first big seller.[20][3]

In 1996 Ballard Designs merged with Cornerstone Brands,[20] publisher of several home and apparel catalogs, including Frontgate, Garnet Hill and Smith+Noble. Cornerstone Brands was acquired by IAC/InterActive Corp in 2005 and later became a subsidiary of HSN, Inc.[2] In 2007, Ballard Designs opened its first retail store in Tampa and expanded less than a year later to Jacksonville.[22]

Ballard continued to serve as Chief Executive Officer of Ballard Designs until she retired in 2002. She also served as a member of the Board of Directors of Cornerstone Brands.[23]

In 2010, the company partnered with designer Suzanne Kasler[24][3] to create its first designer collection.[25][26] In December 2012, Ballard Designs launched the Ballard+ app, an augmented reality shopping application developed by Marxent Labs which allows consumers to interact with the Ballard Designs catalog using their iOS device.[27] The app has since been discontinued[28] and replaced with an online 3D room planning tool enabling customers to see what Ballard Designs products will look like in their space.[3] In 2014, renowned interior designer and entertaining expert, Bunny Williams,[29][3] became the second major designer to offer a signature collection under the Ballard Designs brand.[30][31][32] Internationally noted designer Miles Redd[33][3] was welcomed by the brand in 2017 with a collection of furniture and accessories inspired by classic architecture and old Hollywood.[34] That same year, Ballard's parent company, HSN Inc., was acquired by Liberty Interactive, owner of QVC Home Shopping Network. Liberty Interactive was renamed Qurate Retail Group in 2018.[3]

Today, Ballard Designs circulates more than 19 million catalogs annually,[1][3] operates an e-commerce website, and maintains a decorating blog and podcast under the name, How To Decorate.[1][35][3] Since its premiere in October 2016, the podcast as recorded more than 290 episodes featuring leading designers, taste makers, and the latest trends in interior design.[1][36]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g "About Us". Ballard Designs. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
  2. ^ a b "Cornerstone Brands part of IAC spin-off". Business Courier. August 21, 2008. Retrieved 7 February 2012.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Lauren, Amanda. "The Past, Present And Future Of Ballard Designs". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-01-25.
  4. ^ Lester, Thomas (2022-06-08). "Ballard Designs unveils new concept to fuel multi-state expansion strategy". Furniture Today. Retrieved 2023-01-25.
  5. ^ "Ballard Designs Meets The Windy City". Oak Brook, IL Patch. 2018-11-01. Retrieved 2022-04-01.
  6. ^ www.bizjournals.com https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2018/07/10/first-look-at-ballard-designs-new-flagship-store.html. Retrieved 2022-04-01. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  7. ^ "flagship-ballard-designs-new-flagship-store.html". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2018-08-02.
  8. ^ Cooper, Rebecca (Mar 16, 2016). "Tysons lands first-to-market retailer, another Carhartt store and other retail news". American City Business Journals. Washington Business Journal. Retrieved 2018-08-02.
  9. ^ "New store coming this fall to SouthPark mall". charlotteobserver. Retrieved 2018-08-02.
  10. ^ Hoffman, Holly (18 November 2020). "Ballard Designs Nashville Opens in Time for the Holidays". Nfocus. Retrieved 2022-04-01.
  11. ^ "Ballard Designs opening stores in Texas | Furniture Today". furnituretoday.com. 9 May 2018. Retrieved 2018-08-02.
  12. ^ a b "Retail & Outlet Locations". Ballard Designs. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
  13. ^ "Ballard Designs, a popular home furnishings catalog, is the latest new brand to open Texas stores". Dallas News. 2018-05-03. Retrieved 2018-08-02.
  14. ^ "Ballard Designs opening stores in Texas". Furniture Today. 2018-05-09. Retrieved 2022-04-01.
  15. ^ "Ballard Designs, a popular home furnishings catalog, is the latest new brand to open Texas stores". Dallas News. 2018-05-03. Retrieved 2022-04-01.
  16. ^ "Ballard Designs Opens First Houston Location". Retail TouchPoints. 2021-03-23. Retrieved 2022-04-01.
  17. ^ Duff, Mike (2023-01-20). "Ballard Designs Opens Austin Store, Number Four in Texas". HomePage News. Retrieved 2023-01-25.
  18. ^ www.bizjournals.com https://www.bizjournals.com/louisville/news/2020/11/13/three-retailers-opening-pop-up-st-matthews.html. Retrieved 2022-04-01. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  19. ^ "Retail Profile: Ballard Designs". Home Accents Today. 2010-10-21. Retrieved 2022-04-01.
  20. ^ a b c Leslie, Katie (August 10, 2008). "Ballard Designs Celebrates 25 Years of Offbeat Home Décor". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved 7 February 2012.
  21. ^ Brewer, Daryln (1987-07-30). "WHERE TO FIND IT; Architectural Details". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-04-01.
  22. ^ Del Franco, Mark (July 23, 2007). "Ballard Designs Opens First Store". MultiChannel Merchant. Retrieved 7 February 2012.
  23. ^ "Helen Ballard Weeks". Forbes. Archived from the original on 8 April 2012. Retrieved 7 February 2012.
  24. ^ DECOR, The Editors of ELLE (2021-06-03). "It's Here: The ELLE DECOR A-List 2021". ELLE Decor. Retrieved 2022-04-01. {{cite web}}: |first= has generic name (help)
  25. ^ "Suzanne Kasler for Ballard Designs collection to debut in August | Home Accents Today". www.homeaccentstoday.com. 27 May 2010. Retrieved 2017-06-29.
  26. ^ Sapienza, Terri (2010-08-26). "Ballard Designs, a different kind of catalogue". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2018-08-02.
  27. ^ Dave Larsen (22 December 2012). "Marxent launches "tap-to-buy" catalog app". Dayton Daily News. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
  28. ^ "Order Information". Ballard Designs. Retrieved 7 February 2012.
  29. ^ "Bunny Williams". Architectural Digest. 2015-11-18. Retrieved 2022-04-01.
  30. ^ "Bunny Williams Launches a New Collection for Ballard Designs | Architectural Digest". Architectural Digest. Retrieved 2017-06-29.
  31. ^ "Bunny Williams and Ballard Designs join forces". Washington Post. Retrieved 2017-06-29.
  32. ^ "Bunny Williams Launches a New Collection for Ballard Designs". Architectural Digest. 2014-07-31. Retrieved 2022-04-01.
  33. ^ "Designer Miles Redd launches furniture collection with Ballard Designs | Furniture Today". www.furnituretoday.com. 13 July 2017. Retrieved 2018-08-02.
  34. ^ "Best of Atlanta 2017: Hometown chain: Ballard Designs". Atlanta Magazine. 2017-11-17. Retrieved 2022-04-01.
  35. ^ "Best of Atlanta 2017: Hometown chain: Ballard Designs". Atlanta Magazine. 2017-11-17. Retrieved 2018-08-02.
  36. ^ Kirby, Nathalie; Keller, Hadley (2020-09-14). "16 Design Podcasts You Should Be Listening to". House Beautiful. Retrieved 2023-01-26.
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