Christmas Tree

Christmas Tree

Christmas Tree Shops to relocate headquarters
Boston Business Journal - 1:43 PM EDT Wednesday, July 11, 2007
by Naomi R. Kooker
Journal staff
Christmas Tree Shops Inc. is moving its headquarters from South Yarmouth, Mass., to Middleborough, Mass., where it owns the distribution and office facility it built in 1996.
A holiday-themed retailer known for its year-round and seasonal bargains of housewares and gift items is moving to consolidate operations. It has leased the 40,000-square-foot headquarters in South Yarmouth since 1982.
It is moving into its 750,000-square-foot Middleborough location at 64 Leona Dr. next summer with plans to expand the office space.
Christmas Tree Shops spokeswoman and Marketing Director Michele Watkins said, "No employee will lose their job because of this."
Watkins would not disclose how many people worked in the South Yarmouth and Middleborough facilities, but said the company will hire more people as it continues to grow and open more stores.
Cape Cod Times archives from 2004 listed 130 employees at the headquarters at the time, according to a Cape Cod Times news report.
Christmas Tree Shops plans to open a store in Foxboro, Mass., this fall; it is opening another store in Delaware this summer.
She did not disclose what the company pays in rent for its South Yarmouth location.
Mill Lane Management Inc. in Yarmouthport, which operates the Christmas Tree Shops headquarters at 261 White Path in South Yarmouth, has not been officially notified by the company, which has 270 days left to the end of its lease year.
In 2003, New Jersey-based Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (Nasdaq: BBBY) acquired Christmas Tree Shops Inc., which was started in 1970. The company operates 35 stores in nine states.
Naomi R. Kooker can be reached at nkooker@bizjournals.com.