Christmas Tree Shops (also known as Christmas Tree Shops andThat!, or simply andThat!) was an American chain of big-box specialty retail stores, headquartered in

Middleborough, Massachusetts Middleborough is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 24,405 as of 2023. The census-designated place of Middleborough Center, Massachusetts, Middleborough Center corresponds to the main village and commercia ...

. At its peak, the chain operated 72 stores in 20

U.S. states In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

, primarily in the

Northeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A '' compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—eac ...

. The company filed for bankruptcy in 2023 and closed all of its stores by August 12, 2023, officially ending its 53-year legacy.

History

Early years

In 1970, Charles Bilezikian and his wife Doreen opened the first Christmas Tree Shops in Yarmouth Port, Massachusetts on Cape Cod. The original location comprised three separate buildings: the Front Shop, the Back Shop and the Barn Shop (which mostly sold penny candy), hence the pluralization of the store's name. The first complex, which the Bilezikians lived above, was on Route 6A, and it was open seasonally in the spring through early fall. Beginning in the 1980s, the chain began expanding beyond Cape Cod, growing to reach eight stores by 1984. That year, the company purchased the Cape Cod Coliseum and converted it to a warehouse. The chain then entered

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

with a store in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

in September 1993. In the mid-1990s, Christmas Tree Shops introduced a series of commercials in which the chain's customers were recorded showcasing items they purchased, paired with the soon-to-be famous jingle, "Don't you just love a bargain?". This campaign lasted well into the 2000s.

Bed Bath & Beyond era

The chain was acquired by Bed Bath & Beyond in 2003, though the Bilezikians remained involved in its executive operations. Under Bed Bath & Beyond, the chain began to expand beyond New England, arriving in Bed Bath & Beyond's native

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, followed by

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

and

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. The chain entered the

Midwest The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

, with stores in

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

and

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. The original stores on Route 6A were closed in January 2007, though the site is now occupied by stores owned by the Bilezikians' son Greg. Some of the earlier Cape Cod stores, as in West Dennis, were dwarfed by newer built stores.

andThat!

In 2013, Christmas Tree Shops introduced a new brand and store format called Christmas Tree Shops andThat!, with the name change intended to avoid confusion in new markets unfamiliar with the store. By 2016, the name was shortened to simply "andThat!" for all new stores opened under Bed Bath & Beyond.

Handil era

In November 2020, Bed Bath & Beyond sold Christmas Tree Shops and its Middleborough, Massachusetts

distribution center A distribution center for a set of products is a warehouse or other specialized building, often with refrigeration or air conditioning, which is stocked with products (goods) to be redistributed to retailers, to wholesalers, or directly to c ...

to Handil Holdings, a private company, for an undisclosed amount. A year later, in November 2021, the company opened nineteen pop-up holiday-themed stores across the United States; these remained open through January 3, 2022.

Bankruptcy and liquidation

On May 4, 2023, following the collapse of its former parent company, Bed Bath & Beyond, Christmas Tree Shops announced that it was preparing to file for

Chapter 11 bankruptcy Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, w ...

protection; the chain and its parent company, Handil Holdings, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy the next day, May 5. Ten underperforming stores were closed following the filing, in hopes of allowing the company to restructure operations and emerge from bankruptcy by August. However, after the company defaulted on a loan used for its restructuring, it was eventually announced that unless a buyer could be found for the chain by July 5, the chain would liquidate and close all remaining stores. With no buyer found, liquidation sales began at all stores nationwide on July 7, with gift cards and coupons being honored through July 21. During liquidation, multiple websites and

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accounts impersonated the chain (which did not sell online), prompting the company to publicly disavow any online retailer using its name. The chain was also widely accused of falsely inflating regular prices before clearance discounts were applied. The last stores closed permanently on August 12, 2023. Four days later, the chain's bankruptcy case was formally converted to Chapter 7, as proceeds from liquidation sales fell short of targets. Many employees accused the company of failing to pay bonuses promised for work during liquidation sales; the judge presiding over the Chapter 7 case later ordered Hilco, the liquidator, to issue the promised paychecks. As a result of the liquidation, a planned new store in

Bohemia, New York Bohemia is a hamlet (and census-designated place) in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 9,852 at the 2020 census. It is situated along the South Shore of Long Island in the Town of Islip, approximately 50 miles from N ...

, which was slated for a summer 2023 opening, never opened.{{Cite web , date=2023-03-14 , title=Taco Bell, Harbor Freight Tools among new tenants planned for revamped Bohemia shopping center , url=https://www.newsday.com/business/sayville-plaza-bohemia-taco-bell-christmas-tree-shops-harbor-freight-tools-boot-barn-chick-fil-a-joann-gtuht4tw , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230818215149/https://www.newsday.com/business/sayville-plaza-bohemia-taco-bell-christmas-tree-shops-harbor-freight-tools-boot-barn-chick-fil-a-joann-gtuht4tw , archive-date=2023-08-18 , access-date= , website=Newsday , language=en

Stores

Christmas Tree Shops were bargain stores. They sold food, toys, household furnishings, Christmas decorations, and other seasonal holiday decorations. Most stores were typically reminiscent of older buildings ( Colonial,

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

, or even Old English barn styles, like in Sagamore,

Pembroke, Massachusetts Pembroke is an historic town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. Pembroke is a South Shore (Massachusetts), South Shore suburb of the Greater Boston, Boston metropolitan area. The town is located app ...

; and

Warwick, Rhode Island Warwick ( or ) is a city in Kent County, Rhode Island, United States, and is the third-largest city in the state, with a population of 82,823 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Warwick is located approximately south of downtown Pr ...

). Some stores, like the

Lynnfield, Massachusetts Lynnfield is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the 2020 census, the town population was 13,000. Lynnfield initially consisted of two distinct villages with a single governing body. Lynnfield Center had a mostly agricultura ...

store, were even more conceptualized; said store was famous for its lighthouse and fishing village motif.

References

External links

Somerville City TV (public access), Christmas Tree Shops in Assembly Square, Somerville, MA. (2014)
Yarmouth, Massachusetts Companies based in Barnstable County, Massachusetts Economy of the Eastern United States American companies established in 1970 Retail companies established in 1970 Retail companies disestablished in 2023 American companies disestablished in 2023 Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2023 Companies that filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2023 Companies that have filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy Retail companies of the United States 1970 establishments in Massachusetts 2023 disestablishments in Massachusetts 2003 mergers and acquisitions Defunct retail companies of the United States