inc. type public traded as nyse tcs industry retail founded dallas texas 1978 headquarters coppell texas number of locations 80 may 2016 1 key people melissa reiff ceo sharon tindell president and chief merchandising officer jodi taylor cfo melissa collins cmo kip tindell chairman garrett boone chairman emeritus revenue usd 795 million 2015 2 net income usd 5.1 million 2015 2 usd 22.7 million 2014 owner leonard green & partners number of employees 4 281 3 slogan the original storage and organization store website www.containerstore.com the container store in schaumburg illinois the container store in pasadena california this article needs additional citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . may 2016 learn how and when to remove this template message the container store group inc. is a specialty retail chain company that operates the container store which specializes in storage and organization solutions . on july 1 1978 the container store opened its doors in a small 1 600 square foot 150 m2 retail space in dallas . kip tindell chairman and ceo garrett boone chairman emeritus and architect john mullen opened a retail store offering a mix of products devoted to helping people simplify their lives . in doing so they originated a new category of retailing storage and organization . initial cash capital was provided by garrett his father and john mullen who were founding directors officers and shareholders of the company . 4 5 6 in 1999 the company bought one of its main suppliers elfa international a swedish corporation that specialized in shelving and storage units . 7 company president melissa reiff has credited the company s devotion to recruiting and retaining a highly qualified workforce as one of the keys to its success . 8 the company has made fortune s list of 100 best companies to work for in each of the past 17 years through 2016 . 9 in february 2007 its owners announced that they were exploring alternatives including selling the company to private investors in order to fund future growth . they stated that they would not sell unless they received guarantees that the corporate culture was preserved . on july 2 2007 the company announced that they had closed a deal with a private equity firm based in los angeles leonard green & partners which obtained a majority stake . 10 11 12 contents 1 history 2 see also 3 references 4 external links history edit garrett boone and kip tindell met while working in the paint department of montgomery ward . 13 the first store location outside texas opened in atlanta georgia in april 1991 . 14 by december 1998 the chain had grown to 18 stores in operation . 15 in october 2000 its first new york metropolitan area store opened . 16 as of november 2004 it had 33 locations 17 and reached 38 with the opening of the first los angeles area location in october 2006 . 18 following the deal with leonard green & partners announced in july 2007 the company announced plans to open 29 more stores in the next five years . the first arkansas location little rock opened in march 2008 followed by the first arizona location scottsdale in the summer and the first minnesota location edina and second ohio location cincinnati that fall . 12 relevant discuss as of may 2016 the container store has 80 locations with plans to open several stores in the following months . 19 on may 9 the company announced that kip tindell would be stepping down as ceo and would be succeeded by coo and president melissa reiff . 20 21 see also edit hold everything store chain that closed in 2006 organized living chain that closed in 2005 storables references edit store locator at containerstore.com a b why container store s founder is quitting ceo job at fortune.com the container store at fortune.com hoover s inc. fact sheet on the container store container store s workers huddle up to help you out . usa today . apr 29 2002 . retrieved oct 26 2009 . containerstore.com about us retrieved 2009 10 16 howell arnesa a. june 5 2007 . lessons from a colossal cleanup . cnnmoney.com . retrieved oct 26 2009 . maria halkias . pioneering retailer in storage niche leaves rivals in dust the dallas morning news january 31 2007 the container store . fortune . 2016 03 03 . retrieved 2016 05 20 . container store put on market retailer wants to use equity but preserve workplace culture the dallas morning news krt february 17 2007 container store agrees to partner with leonard green . the new york times . july 3 2007 . retrieved oct 26 2009 . a b container store says expansion plan on track . the dallas morning news . march 7 2008 . retrieved oct 26 2009 . they fill a niche and a need . the record bergen county . may 5 2002 . retrieved oct 27 2009 . getting it together in vogue in the 90s . the atlanta journal constitution . mar 23 1991 . retrieved oct 27 2009 . hays constance l. dec 23 1998 . service takes a holiday ; these days the customer isn t always treated right . the new york times . retrieved oct 26 2009 . beller peter sep 24 2000 . the container store opens its first new york site . the new york times . retrieved oct 26 2009 . powers vicki nov 1 2004 . finding workers who fit . cnnmoney.com . retrieved oct 26 2009 . container store finds right box in denver . rocky mountain news . oct 10 2006 . retrieved oct 26 2009 . store locations . the container store . retrieved 2016 05 20 . why container store s founder and ceo is quitting . fortune . 2016 05 09 . retrieved 2016 05 20 . the container store announces its organized succession plan . investor relations the container store . retrieved 2016 05 20 . external links edit official website v t e leonard green & partners healthcare aspen dental ims health retail bj s wholesale club the container store david s bridal del taco equinox fitness j.crew jo ann stores neiman marcus petco rite aid sports authority tourneau whole foods market retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title the container store & oldid 732213197 categories private equity portfolio companiesretail companies of the united statescompanies based in coppell texascompanies listed on the new york stock exchangehidden categories articles needing additional references from may 2016all articles needing additional referenceswikipedia articles that may have off topic sectionsofficial website different in wikidata and wikipedia navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this page print export create a bookdownload as pdfprintable version languages add links this page was last modified on 30 july 2016 at 11 32 . text is available under the creative commons attribution sharealike license ; 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