posted on February 13, 2004 09:01:58 AM new
Franklin Mint Closes 30 Stores, Museum
FRANKLIN CENTER, Pa. Feb. 13 — The Franklin Mint, the company known for its eclectic range of pricey collectibles, from Scarlett O'Hara dolls to miniature John Deere tractors, has closed its 30 retail stores and its "museum."
Vice president and general counsel Howard Lucker called the closures "the next step" after the November announcement that the company would lay off 200 Delaware County workers. At the time, the company had said the stores and museum would remain open.
The Franklin Mint would not say why it was downsizing, but it has faced growing competition from companies such as eBay that auction collectibles.
Lucker said the stores closed at the end of January and the museum shut its doors in December. The Franklin Mint will employ fewer than 50 workers in Franklin Center but will continue to sell products through its catalog and Web site, he said.
The Franklin Mint, founded in 1964 by Joseph Segal as the National Commemorative Society and first known as a maker of coins, has sold thousands of products including die-cast cars, Faberge-inspired eggs and porcelain dolls.
The company museum, located next to its headquarters, attracted tens of thousands of visitors who flocked to see genuine artifacts such as jewelry once worn by Grace Kelly as well as vintage Franklin Mint collectables.
At the highly publicized 1996 auction of items owned by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, the museum acquired her fake pearl necklace, worn by Jackie in a famous 1962 photo, for $211,500. The museum also had Princess Diana's so-called "Elvis" gown, purchased for $151,000 at a charity auction in June 1997, a couple of months before she died.
Both were reproduced for sale the necklace in exact scale, the dress for a 17 1/2-inch Diana doll.
posted on February 13, 2004 03:05:17 PM new
Could also be a "sign of the times" Possibibly the people who used to buy the useless overpriced stuff this company put out with their disposable incomes and which depreciated in value as soon as they got it have decided the money should now be spent on the neccessities of life or saved for the future in case they too get downsized. The only company that I know of that did tremendously well at Christmas was Tiffany and I would imagine that they cater for the most part to the upper 5% of the population in terms of income.
buyhigh
posted on February 13, 2004 03:16:30 PM new
It isn't competition from ebay that killed them, but the fact ebay exists that did them in...face it, this stuff sells on the secondary market for a fraction of the original value. Those who want it can get it off ebay cheap, and those that want to "invest" can see on ebay the stuff is a sucker buy for investment purposes.
posted on February 13, 2004 03:28:24 PM new
All of their stuff always depressed the hell out of me -- like, what kind of fools blow moola on this dreck??
posted on February 13, 2004 03:36:37 PM new
There was a weak secondary market for FM stuff long before eBay. I remember a 60 Minutes segment -- must have been 15 years ago or so -- where a coin dealer was buying FM silver medallions, then dumping them in a scrap bucket.
But you are right: The ability to do price lookups has got to be the biggest factor in the impending death of Franklin Mint, not to mention Thomas Kinkade "works", which are also suffering from price collapse:
posted on February 13, 2004 03:46:12 PM newlike, what kind of fools blow moola on this dreck??
Lonely, socially-isolated people (many of them retired) to whom the superficial prettiness of the object -- whether it's a FM medallion, Bradford Exchange plate, or Lillian Vernon tschotchke -- appeals and who love getting things in the mail on a regular basis.
That those companies were as successful as long as they were means that there is a real hunger for comfort that can be purchased and delivered by mail.
This is where you, the eBay seller, come in.
Attract those people, keep giving them what they want and they'll have you rolling in clover for the rest of your days.
I've told this story before, but it's worth repeating.
My sweetie's uncle passed away last year in Alaska. When his daughter found him, he was lying in bed, looking for all the world as if asleep. The rest of the bed was covered with mail-order offers and get-rich schemes.
posted on February 13, 2004 04:36:33 PM new
I'm sorry for the people who will lose their jobs when FM closes, but I agree with the opinions stated above about the secondary market being zip, zilch, zero. I will never again purchase any FM "collectibles" at a yard sale, even if they're 25 cents each, in hopes of selling them on Ebay.
And as for Thomas Kinkade, I detest his kind of mass-produced "art." Cookie cutter stuff.
And who buys all this stuff? Ever watch "Cops"? Look on the walls of some of the homes they have to enter. It's all there, along with the cutesie bunnies and hearts and straw wreaths and all that stuff that people buy hoping to beautify their homes but don't have any decorating sense. One tiny Snow-White plate, crowned with a straw fake-flower swag, in the middle of a big blank wall AIN'T decorating!
I know I'm sounding mean and biased. I'm just sick of going to yard sales where there is table after table of little wooden plaques with cute sayings, and I know the owners bought them with high hopes. If they'd saved up some money, they could have gotten quality instead.
___________________________________
"I have resolved to allow my friends their peculiarities." -- Samuel Johnson
posted on February 13, 2004 05:07:45 PM new
You know another fact is; people like junk!
Look at all the catalog's like Harriet Carrier and Figi, or even the over priced ones like 7th Avenue. They stay in business. And stores like odd lot or K-mart. Ebay has got to be cutting into their market too.
posted on February 13, 2004 05:53:21 PM new
I've maintained for a while now that ebay is showing most collectors of mass produced collectibles just how worthless their collections are. No longer can they easily spout " my collection will be worth a fortune in twenty years ".
-------------- sig file ----------- *There is no conclusive evidence that life is serious*
posted on February 13, 2004 05:55:22 PM new
Speaking of gullible - I see beanie babies (tags etc and all - all over now for 50 cents each. What ever happened to that craze? Do people still think of them as an investment? Will admit some of them are sort of cute.
buyhigh
posted on February 13, 2004 06:11:11 PM new
I have a PERSONAL grudge against the Franklin mint- my husband worked there. Yep, for three years. they moved us to Pennsylvania, gave him his own office. They told him his job was to find out why morale was so low, and why there was so much wastages of hours...
Let me tell you, The first time I saw a Dilbert cartoon, I thought "This guy MUST be talking about the mint!" backbiting, insane people- women who burped loudly on purpose in meetings, one man rammed a co-workers car...
The artisans were the happy ones, but the support people were bonkers!
Everyone told him "They DON'T REALLY want to know what's wrong here" One important reason being that the primary source of all discontent seemed to be unkillable. One of those political hacks- if you complained about this person, you got fired.
Another thing they told him was "Don't buy a house- it's the death knell here" During the time we were there, we saw the truth of that. An employee would purchase a house- and lose his job within three months.
My husband got fired two weeks after I got pregnant.
So, that's my personal hatred of The Franklin Mint LOL!
But the gaudy tasteless trash they produce- they do that on purpose. There was some phrase they would use- I can't quite recall it, but it was something like "Trailor Bait" meaning the people who would buy were stupid trailor trash. They had NO respect for their market, and talked about how "this doll will look great on the back of the TV" Horrible people.
When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple
with a red hat that doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.
posted on February 13, 2004 06:12:16 PM new
I think eBay has busted a lot of markets for "rare" and "collector" stuff.
Re: Thomas Kinkade -- I remember seeing a 60 minutes type show on Thomas Kinkade. I was LMAO at the "investors" buying those works fo "art".
I could not believe what they were paying for prints that an assembly-line worker placed a few brush strokes of paint on. They showed one couple that had filled their house with over $80,000 worth of Thomas Kinkade "art".
posted on February 13, 2004 06:15:55 PM new
Buyhigh there was the woman who bought the lot from drunkensailor and then wanted to sue him, remember?
And that was well after the prices started sliding-
When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple
with a red hat that doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.
posted on February 14, 2004 04:03:35 AM new
I hate to see them close. It was such a hoot to see the latest "Collector's Edition" in my Sunday paper (a touching tribute to our armed services, endangered species, and the lighthouses keeping our coastline safe - and it's a music box!. There would be a new "first in a series" each week (was there ever a second in the series?).
I always meant to stop at the "museum" when in that part of PA; I guess I have lost my chance forever.
posted on February 14, 2004 05:00:00 AM new
I agree with the comments about FM and other mail order companies...
However Thomas Kinkade "Art" does have its own market and it is just that "Art" I hope people collecting it are buying it for its beauty not for "investment" as all collectibles should be purchased actually.
I think that is what has happend, everyone go into this buy it even if you don't like it... never unwrap it, keep in a closet it will triple in value... well it didn't you have not been able to enjoy the item and now it is worth a fraction of the cost...
People need to get back to buying what they like and enjoy it...
posted on February 14, 2004 05:08:07 AM new
It's not just mail order collectibles, it's most mass produced collectibles that ebay has changed forever. Avon bottles and baseball cards and a lot of other stuff. I bet a lot of America feels like they were tricked by the lines like 'watch the value grow on these collectibles' and now they want nothing more with collecting.
-------------- sig file ----------- *There is no conclusive evidence that life is serious*
posted on February 14, 2004 08:30:18 AM new
The market for Avon bottles bottomed out long before eBay and sports cards were already declining.
All Franklin Mint items aren't worthless so know what to look for when you're out there buying and you may get a good deal. The train sets and die-cast cars still bring money on ebay. Some of the dolls do okay also. This is an example.
posted on February 14, 2004 09:33:22 AM new
could be shill bidding.
-sig file -------the lobster in the boiling pot of water who tries to prevent the others from climbing out.
posted on February 14, 2004 02:00:00 PM new
You can add Jim Beam bottles to the list of so called collectables that bottomed out long before EBay existed plus all those numbered and registered plates that were to bring riches in retirement years.
buyhigh
posted on February 14, 2004 02:06:53 PM new
I always thought people bought and collected things because they liked it or enjoyed them, too. Aside from the antique furniture pieces or rare jewelry items. (now this is scary - me agreeing with twelvepole. lol.)
posted on February 14, 2004 02:27:40 PM new
someone must need a few thousand dollars to meet house payment.
-sig file -------the lobster in the boiling pot of water who tries to prevent the others from climbing out.
posted on February 14, 2004 04:27:32 PM new
I worked as a mid-level manager for TFM for 8 years in sales, customer service and marketing. It was a fascinating trip through a crazy organization. As Dragonmom said, there were a lot of internal politics, as there is in every organization, but this place was beyond reason. I could never really understand why. However, the senior management was always trying the "latest" Dilbert-buzzword technique on their guinea pig staff, hiring and firing as fast as they could, and the unwashed masses in service, sales and telemarketing were all essentially uneducated, especially in business (cheap labor), so the rumor mill was excruciatingly difficult to control. (And man, were there some doozies.)
I knew the customers well. They came from every walk of life -- from the ultra-rich, to household-name celebrities (loads of them), to those living on food stamps, and a whole lot of folks in between. Most of the customers didn't buy the stuff as investment material. They bought it because they like to have a lot of stuff -- plain and simple. They also got "hooked" on the drug of collectibility -- "I've got to have the WHOLE collection!"
And there were millions and millions of customers world-wide. It's hard to believe, but TFM was grossing nearly a billion dollars in sales per year in the late 80s, early 90s.
The owners of TFM (as it's affectionately called in-house) are Lynda Rae and Stewart Resnick. They own thousands of acres of orange, pistachio and pomegranate groves in Southern California, and their wealth stretches into many other areas as well. They won't miss the Mint. But the poor employees will miss their paychecks...
Oh, the horror stories I could tell. So I'm not surprised to see the place close its doors. Someday the brass in this nation will realize that EMPLOYEES are the number one customer, and businesses will profit as a result. Look at the J.M. Smucker company -- number one on the Forbes Top 100 Companies to Work For.
posted on February 14, 2004 06:08:17 PM new
rarebourbon
Thanks for this insight. Sounds like a nightmare place to work for even if its for a few weeks before they sack some poor smuck.
I do agree with other posters who said buy it because you like it.
posted on February 14, 2004 11:21:40 PM newDanziger, who once worked at the Franklin Mint, said American culture, particularly since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, had shifted from cocooning, which was all about buying things to fill emotional voids, to connecting with people and experiences.
"The Franklin Mint didn't see the end of cocooning," she said. "[It] didn't see the maturing of its market. [It] didn't see that young people don't want this stuff."
In addition to the 200 Franklin Mint employees notified today, an undisclosed number of freelancers and long-term temp workers were asked to pack up and leave.
"It's like watching the fall of the Roman Empire," said Leslie Rogalski, 47, of Havertown, a freelance copywriter, as she prepared to drive off. "It's devastating." She has worked there on a freelance basis since 1979.
The Franklin Mint was founded by Joseph Segel, who later started the cable TV shopping channel QVC, which is based in West Chester. The Resnicks bought the company from Warner Communications in 1985 for $167.5 million.
posted on February 15, 2004 12:30:20 AM new
I live about two miles from the Franklin Mint & have often stopped in the museum.
The whole complex is a very impressive, the buildings & grounds are beautiful. It is a landmark in this area & even has it's own post office.
I was glad to read in the article that Kiara posted that closing the museum is not in the plans. Jackie's pearls & Diana's dress among other things are there to see.
As for what they sell in the shop I find it hard to believe that anyone would even pay 1/4 of the asking price.
posted on February 15, 2004 10:18:15 AM new
McJane:
The museum is closing. Please re-read the initial post, which was in the news this past week. The article posted by kiara is an older one.
The only people left working at Franklin Center will be the website staff, for the most part. (The are now starting to lease parts of the building to other businesses.)
I'm surprised you like the "campus," McJane. The whole thing is really just a huge parking lot! There is a one mile walking trail through the woods in the back, but other than that it's just asphalt.
When I started working there, you had to get to work early to find a spot -- there were 1500 or so employees. Last year, in the middle of a workday, 80% of the parking spaces were available. They sent most of their sales and service work to India.
typing-too-fast-typos
[ edited by rarebourbon on Feb 15, 2004 11:26 PM ]
posted on February 15, 2004 03:42:24 PM newrarebourbon
I did read the initial post & saw the museum was closing, but thought it was a mistake after I read Kiara's. I never noticed the date, should have picked up on that.
About the building, the lawns, the view from Baltimore Pike, you really don't think it's impressive. Granted it looks a bit out of place & would fit better in downtown Philadelphia, but I can never help but look at it when I drive by.
Did you know it all started many years ago in a garage on Bailey Road in a little town called Yeadon.
