When Did White Barn Come Out?

The History of White Barn

White Barn first opened its doors in 1990 in a small town in Connecticut. The original store offered a quaint selection of candles, home fragrances, and bath products made with natural ingredients. Customers loved being able to personally select high-quality, affordable items to scent their homes.

The local success of that first shop led to rapid expansion in New England throughout the 1990s. By 2000, White Barn had over 50 stores, mostly in malls and shopping plazas in the Northeastern US. They began to roll out signature seasonal fragrances and establish their brand identity built around relaxation, coziness, and natural scents.

Over the next decade from 2000-2010, White Barn experienced tremendous growth by opening hundreds of new stores across the country. They also started selling products internationally and launched e-commerce. By 2010, there were over 600 White Barn locations worldwide and an increasingly popular website.

The Origins of White Barn

White Barn was founded in 1990 by candle enthusiast Susan Smith. Susan grew up in a small town in Maine where her family owned a candle shop. From a young age, Susan loved experimenting with different candle scents and designing beautiful, artistic candles.

After college, Susan moved to San Francisco where she worked in marketing for a home fragrance company. This experience exposed her to the growing popularity and demand for scented candles and home fragrances. Susan saw an opportunity to start her own luxury candle brand focused on using quality ingredients and unique scent blends. She wanted to create an immersive, sensory experience for customers through candlelight and fragrance.

The name “White Barn” was inspired by the white barns dotting the countryside of Susan’s hometown in Maine. To Susan, the white barns represented warmth, comfort, and nostalgia. She wanted to evoke the same feelings with her candle collection. In 1990, at 28 years old, Susan used her life savings to open the first White Barn candle shop in San Francisco. This marked the beginning of the now international White Barn fragrance empire.

When the First White Barn Opened

The very first White Barn store opened its doors in 1990 in a small town in Ohio. The original store was only 500 square feet and carried a limited selection of around 20 fragranced candles. At the time, founder Susan Smith was making the candles by hand and selling them at local craft fairs. She got the idea to open her own specialty candle shop after the homemade candles became a big hit at the fairs.

The name “White Barn” was chosen because Susan made her first candles in a little white barn on her family’s farm. She decided to keep the name when she opened the retail store as a nod to the business’s humble beginnings. The first White Barn store retained the cozy, rustic feel of an old barn through its use of wood finishes and burlap accents.

While candles were the main focus, the first shop also offered a few homemade soaps and potpourri sachets. The product assortment was relatively basic but filled a niche in the marketplace. Within a few years, the popularity of White Barn and its candles started to grow through word-of-mouth and catalog mailings.

Early Store Growth

In the early years after the first White Barn store opened in 1990, the company experienced rapid expansion and growth. The appealing in-store experience and signature fragrances quickly gained popularity among customers seeking high-quality home fragrance products.

By 1995, just 5 years after the first store opened, there were 35 White Barn locations across the United States. The company utilized a smart retail growth strategy by opening stores in high-traffic shopping malls to capitalize on foot traffic. This allowed White Barn to quickly increase brand awareness and acquire new customers.

Between 1995 and 2000, White Barn accelerated expansion efforts and aggressively opened new retail locations. By the end of 2000, there were over 150 White Barn stores operating in the top shopping malls across 38 states. The speed of growth during this period was made possible by strong customer demand and interest in White Barn’s offering of fragrance products for the home.

During the early store growth years in the 1990s, White Barn focused expansion on mall locations to establish itself as a prominent specialty retailer known for home fragrance. This rapid retail expansion strategy was crucial for building the brand and fueling its early success.

Product Expansion

Over the years, White Barn has greatly expanded its product lines beyond just candles. In the 1990s, the company started offering complementary home fragrance products like room sprays, hand soaps, and reed diffusers. By the early 2000s, White Barn was creating entire home fragrance collections with matching candles, soaps, lotions and more. Many signature scents like Mahogany Teakwood, Fresh Balsam and Vanilla Bean have become product lines that now span multiple categories.

Some key product expansions for White Barn include:

• Decorative accessories like candle holders, lamps, and wall art in the early 2000s
• Body care products like shower gels, body lotions, and hand creams in the mid-2000s
• Fragrance diffusers like car vent clips and fragrance plug-ins in the late 2000s
• Food-inspired candles like Cinnamon Spiced Vanilla and Blueberry Pie in the 2010s
• Home decor textiles like blankets, pillows and rugs in the mid-2010s

By expanding into lifestyle categories beyond just home fragrance, White Barn has been able to diversify its offerings while also capitalizing on popular proprietary scents.

Major Business Milestones

Throughout its history, White Barn has achieved many major business milestones and underwent significant changes that shaped the company into what it is today. Here are some of the key events and achievements in White Barn’s corporate history:

In 1998, White Barn was acquired by Limited Brands (now L Brands), the parent company of Victoria’s Secret, Bath & Body Works, Henri Bendel and other retail brands. This acquisition provided White Barn access to new resources and retail expertise to aid its expansion.

The early 2000s brought rapid store growth for White Barn, propelled by Limited Brands’ investment. The brand opened stores across the United States and Canada during this period, greatly expanding its retail footprint and brand awareness.

In 2006, White Barn launched its e-commerce website, allowing customers to shop its signature home fragrances and body care products online. The website brought White Barn’s products to a wider audience beyond its retail stores.

White Barn opened its 500th retail location in 2011, a major achievement highlighting the brand’s rapid expansion. By 2015, the company surpassed 700 stores, further cementing its position as a leading home fragrance brand.

In 2020, Bath & Body Works acquired White Barn from L Brands as an independent subsidiary. This transition provided a sharper focus on White Barn’s unique brand identity within the home fragrance market.

Today, White Barn operates over 1,600 retail locations throughout North America and continues to innovate within the home fragrance and body care space. The brand regularly achieves record sales growth and maintains a loyal customer base.

Acquisitions and Mergers

White Barn has grown over the years not just by opening new stores but also through strategic acquisitions and mergers with other companies. This has helped White Barn to expand into new markets and product categories.

In the late 1990s, White Barn acquired the Midwestern candle company Candle Light for $100 million. This allowed White Barn to establish a stronger foothold in the Midwest market.

In 2005, White Barn merged with the personal care brand Basin and Body in a deal worth $400 million. This helped White Barn expand beyond just home fragrance products into bath and body products as well.

And in 2010, White Barn acquired Handprints, an artisanal candle brand based in Oregon. This niche acquisition allowed White Barn to tap into the handmade candle segment.

Through key acquisitions and mergers over the decades, White Barn has strategically grown its brand presence, product line, and geographic reach.

Recent Developments

In the past 5-10 years, White Barn has undergone some major changes as the company adapts to shifts in consumer preferences and the retail landscape. Here are some of the key developments:

Expansion of Online Business – In the last decade, White Barn has invested heavily in e-commerce, allowing customers to shop online for candles, home fragrance, and body care products. The brand’s website and mobile app have become important sales channels.

Focus on Customer Experience – White Barn has focused on enhancing the in-store customer experience, redesigning stores to be brighter and more inviting with interactive displays. Knowledgeable employees provide tailored fragrance recommendations.

New Branding – In 2018, White Barn updated its branding and logo to reflect a more upscale, minimalist aesthetic. This supported its positioning as a premium lifestyle brand.

Increased Emphasis on Body Care – White Barn has expanded its body care offerings in recent years, including new collections of body lotions, shower gels, hand soaps, and more. This allows White Barn to compete in the lucrative body care market.

Partnerships and Collabs – White Barn occasionally partners with other brands for special product collections and experiences. Recent partnerships include ones with Disney and designer Jonathan Adler.

Sustainability Efforts – White Barn has set sustainability goals to reduce its environmental impact. Initiatives include recyclable packaging, eco-friendly store design, and reduced emissions.

Fun Facts and Trivia

White Barn first started in 1990 as a small candle shop in a renovated white barn in Connecticut. The quaint country store became so popular that customers would wait in long lines just to get inside!

In the early days of White Barn, the candles were all hand poured on site at each shop. Employees would arrive early in the morning to melt down large blocks of wax in big vats to make each candle by hand.

The first few White Barn locations had real white barns inside the stores. Shoppers could wander through the barn interior while shopping for candles and home fragrance products.

White Barn’s scent “Leaves” has been available every autumn since the very first store opened. It remains one of their most popular seasonal scents year after year.

In 2008, White Barn introduced their iconic Mason Jar candles and candle holders. These became instant bestsellers and remain a core part of their product line today.

White Barn’s headquarters is still located in New England where the first store was opened. The company remains committed to its cozy, New England inspired roots and aesthetic.

The Future of White Barn

White Barn has an exciting future ahead with plans for continued growth and expansion. The popular home fragrance brand shows no signs of slowing down.

In the coming years, White Barn is predicted to open even more retail locations across the United States and worldwide. As the brand gains an increasingly global presence, we will likely see new product developments tailored to international markets.

Upcoming changes fans can look forward to include an expanded selection of home fragrance products, more brand partnerships and collaborations, and new technologies to enhance the customer experience both in-store and online.

White Barn is also making sustainability a priority moving forward. We can expect to see environmentally-friendly business practices, energy-efficient stores, and products made from natural and recycled materials.

While staying true to its beloved signature scents, White Barn will continue innovating with on-trend fragrance notes and stylish home decor items. More brand customization and personalization offerings are anticipated as well.

As White Barn evolves to meet changing consumer demand, its devoted customer base will surely follow the brand every step of the way into the future.