Out with the candles, in with the Lego

Just build candles out of Legos.

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Is there anything going on with the huge store in Deerfield? Or is that staying the same.

I like visiting there every once in a while.

Worth it.

tj maxx ran them out of town

The store is remaining open. Most of the corporate employees will work from home or be assigned to another building.

Morningstar bless those sent to the factory in Whately.

Yankee Candle is royally fucked until they find competent leadership.

Misinterpreted the chants

It amazes me that scented candles are such a big business.

They used to have a great auto museum at the Deerfield location.

I feel like so many people use candles for display and never light them, which is is even more baffling.

An amazing run for a company selling a non-essential commodity. Hopefully they can weather the shifting winds, but I think downsizing was inevitable competing with battery powered candles and plug-in scents.

What happened to it?

I do love Yankee but they are way overpriced. Always have been.

Oh no, how else will I have a deeply uncomfortable asthma attack

It must have been a pet project of founder Mike Kittredge. Everything changed after he sold the company. Now that YC is owned by Newell Brands it’s all about quarterly profits for shareholders.

It’s at his sons house now, (it’s the craziest thing I have ever seen) father passed away son is selling the family compound in Levrett. Has an underground pool grotto made to look like you are outside, couple car barns (heated and AC) bowling alley. Normal stuff

It's just the building that's down the street from the Big store. The Village.

I worked on an ATM in the building. It's nice, but there was a ton of wasted space in there even back in like 2018. It's a smart idea to get rid of it and go somewhere smaller.

Oh yeah, I do recall seeing a video of that palace. Place is insane.

They rented it anyways and the owner of the building had some financial issues a few years back.

They should have purchased the old Channing‐Bete property. It sold for a song all things considered.

Someone mentioned a lot of employees from corporate going remote, so im wonder if it’s full blown downsizing, or restructuring to drastically reduce costs by removing rent for an office building

That's a lot of candles.

Turns out a great business niche is lame last-second christmas gifts

My wife lights one every single night. They're out of wax in about a week and a half. Candles, baby. Big biz.

Yeah it's bizarre, I used to live by there and the operation is huge. Sometimes the smell is... a lot.

If you've never been, the store itself is quite a trip. It's kind of a Jordan's Furniture vibe? Not quite as big, but very immersive and pretty intense around Christmastime. I did go one with my ex to buy a christmas tree topper star though, and the staff was really confused; they didn't have stars, just angels. Leaving money on the table there, Yankee Candle.

"I have one word for you, Benjamin: plastics candles."

Sold off most of it about 15-20 yrs ago. Missed the chance to get a 71 Lt1 Corvette for about $24k at the time. They're worth a bit more than that now....

I think of that every time I go by the old building....

And a lot of them smell like vomit.

I think you may have olfactory issues.

Well maybe not vomit, but so overwhelming that I want to vomit, or like old lady purfume.

I buy candles and their stores are weird now. It’s like they changed what they are all about for the worse. I love buying Christmas tree candles during the holidays and we ended up doing bath and body works instead. Comparable quality and cheaper too. Selection was way better.

Does reducing office space not count as downsizing, too?

I mean physically, i guess it really depends on perspective here because of there isnt a significant layoff of corporate employees i wouldnt necessarily consider it?

I’ve told this story on here before- but one of my best friend’s used to play semi-pro paintball with the owner of Yankee Candle’s kids, and the owner would foot all of the bills for the team, basically sending his stoner son and his friends around the country to get waxed in tournaments they had no right to actually compete in. Finally the guy had enough with burning money on this team and offered his son a Lambo to quit. The kid took the Lambo.

His kid is an absolutely epic pos.

I’ve only met him a small handful of times. Def didn’t like him too much though.

I guess you must just have people over all the time when you have a crazy place like that? Seems like it would be depressing and a little eerie hanging out in that giant place by yourself.

Also, that has to be the most boring collection of luxury cars I’ve ever seen. If I’m going to spend that kind of dough on cars, I’m at least going to buy something unusual or interesting.

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/VzkAAOSwJ05iWAa~/s-l500.jpg

Try going in one of those stores around Christmas.

Looks like remote, if they own the property they can sell. From what I understand businesses generally lease office spaces for 10 years at a time so maybe they’re just not renewing

Oh thank god. I like going to the store in Deerfield when I'm up there lol

There was a rumor that the father (Mike Kittredge) founded a new candle company, Kringle Candle, so that his son would actually work instead of playing golf all day.

Oh I thought that was the location they were closing. Damn that threw me. We just went in December while visiting home from SC.

It right near the big Yankee Candle shop too. My wife and I go there for holliday candles while there's sales.

Is the son the one who started Kringle Candle? I didn’t realize the founder died.

Pretty much every brand of candle is as good as Yankee candle for way less money.

I buy candles from Walmart now, and they smell as good as the rest.

I only go for Richardson’s chocolate ;)

>It amazes me that scented candles are such a big business.

They probably wouldn't be if people knew how bad they were for your lungs.

Or maybe they still would be, because I know that yet I still light scented candles.

It's not a daily thing for me though, not by far. I'll get like a couple of small seasonal ones for the time of year. Some of the fall and Christmas are just so good (who can say lighting up Spiced Pumpkin on fall night isn't relaxing as hell?).

Burning them daily is just not healthy though. Light one with paraffin wax and turn on your air purifier if you have one, the air quality will be down to zero in minutes.

Some advice for people who do like scented candles while on this topic.....

Around a decade plus ago, the original owners of Yankee Candle sold the business.

They now own Kringle and Country Candle, and they use their original Yankee recipes.

So if you've noticed your Yankee Candles aren't as good as they were years ago....it's because the new company is getting cheaper and cheaper with them.

Try Kringle/Country ones.

Store, lab, and factory staying here. But really, fuck Newell Brands and their “portfolio”. In general, fuck companies who do nothing beyond keeping a portfolio of other companies.

I worked in the warehouse way back when it was still under Kittridge’s ownership THUS higher quality products. 25 years later I still have stuff that smells lightly of that cursed potpourri.

That compound is the loneliest thing I’ve ever seen.

Who wants battery powered candles 😂

Candles too expensive I just buy oil from candle science and im bussin like the garden of Eden 😊😊😊

Well that was easy. What do we do next?

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Here’s a more comprehensive video tour of the place.

https://youtu.be/xhfJwDvf_5g

Good trade.

Big Candle is waxing us!

Before the holidays I secured a big contract for a local composting company I worked at to service the corporate offices, a contract that was going to save the business They laid me off last week and then saw the news of the offices closing. Justice.

It always throws me when people other places in the world know what Yankee Candle is. In 8th grade I took a class trip to Alaska and we were poking around in a mall at one point and found a little Yankee Candle display. We told the shopkeeper we were from where Yankee Candle is from, and she was legitimately excited about it.

Really, though, I don't understand caring about the actual candles. If it wasn't the place I went to see Santa at Christmas, I can't imagine caring about it at all.

That’s good to know about their new company. I bought a couple of small Yankee Candles a few months ago and was very underwhelmed. I’m currently into the ones from Stonewall Kitchen, but I’ll look into Kringle.

That is completely true, atleast according to my friend, who stays in close contact with the son.

Taxachusetts

The founder's and now son's house in Leverett is an incredible display of wealth

That’s awesome. Hard work and smart moves pays off!! Hopefully it motivates you too work harder, save more and apply to Yankee candle. You just need to check your attitude.

Lmao thanks lil bud

From the article - they are cutting 13% of their workforce.

Richardson's is right down the road from there, Better selection. Up the road actually it's North on route 5

get ‘em now candles are gonna get cancelled like gas

Kringle is great, they have a nice shop, restaurant, and toy shop in Bernardston, MA

Yes. Just give us here at Yankee your address so we can bill you or put on a lean on your property to cover the consultation we just gave you. Be humble, say yes to whatever your boss asks at work and realize the more hours you get to work at yankee the better you feel as a person

I didn't know that. That's a pretty long drive for me, but I was planning on a weekend trip to Keene this October. Sounds like a good stop on the way up or down.

I’d recommend a quick stop there and the new Treehouse brewing location in Deerfield.

Thanks for the recommendation. I might have to turn my three day trip into a four day one.

Stop buying carcinogenic fake fragranced candles like Walmart Drones and buy real beeswax to support actual humanity

But no, boomers and their boomerlings were raised on potpourri horse shit

That is correct. Also the Farm Table restaurant (which was very good when it first opened) Micheal Kittredge and Micheal Kittredge Jr (one who owns and runs everything now)

Ya I remember wondering why their were helicopters circling that day. They were filming his property to sell and it’s a town over from me.

The Carrera GT is something to behold and the E Type Jag is nice, but yes nothing super unique.

Are they related to the Kittredge people who own the restaurant supply store?

Nope, I know the place well my family has a restaurant. Complete coincidence, though Kittredge Center at HCC is indeed named after the father. So the story goes, he started making candles in his mothers garage and built his wealth. The local story on the other hand involves the importation of cannabis to the region (George Jung, come to mind) I think he distributed weed at UMASS and then found a way to make the money become legal. Now I await the hit squad

Didn’t the father go to HCC?