public traded as nyse burl industry retail founded 1972 ; 44 years ago 1972 founders monroe milstein headquarters florence new jersey u.s. number of locations 567 key people tom kingsbury president & ceo products clothes baby clothes furniture home decor items and gifts revenue us 4.7 billion 2013 owner bain capital number of employees 28 000 website burlingtoncoatfactory.com burlington coat factory sometimes known as just burlington is an american national off price department store retailer with 540 stores in 44 states and puerto rico with its corporate headquarters located in burlington township new jersey . in 2006 it was acquired by bain capital in a take private transaction and in 2008 tom kingsbury became president and ceo . the company went public again in 2013 . contents 1 history 2 charitable partnerships 3 business issues 4 references 5 external links history edit the company was formed and incorporated in 1972 when henrietta milstein convinced her husband monroe to purchase a former factory outlet in burlington new jersey for 675 000 using money she had saved from her job as a librarian for most of the 75 000 down payment . 1 2 monroe and his father abe milstein had been running a successful wholesale and retail outerwear business together since 1946 . 3 initially the milsteins sold coats and jackets wholesale but in order to become less dependent on the seasonal coat business they gradually began adding additional clothing items and accessories eventually expanding into linens gift items a baby department and shoes . 4 5 a second location was opened in 1975 in copiague on long island and milstein asked his son lazer who was living in israel at the time to return home and act the store s legal owner for the new location . lazer agreed on the condition that the store be closed saturdays in observance of the sabbath . 2 at the time businesses faced legal action for being open on sunday with an exception made for religions observing a different sabbath . 6 in 1983 with 31 locations the company whose name was burlington coat factory warehouse corporation since it was bought by the family in 1972 went public . 7 in 2006 the company was purchased by bain capital partners for 2.06 billion . 1 the milstein family held almost 30 million shares of the burlington coat factory warehouse corporation making approximately 1.3 billion and monroe milstein was unassociated with the business following the sale although two of his sons stephen and andrew stayed on briefly . 2 mark nesci the former executive vice president and chief operating officer was named to serve as the acting ceo . 8 a holding company called burlington coat factory holdings inc. was formed to be the ultimate parent of the chain . 9 in july 2012 the company received a 40 million incentive from the new jersey economic development authority as part of the state s grownj program in order to build a new headquarters in florence adjacent to its existing headquarters keeping the company from moving its headquarters outside the state . 10 on june 27 2013 burlington filed its s 1 registration statement with the sec for an initial public offering . 11 in october 2013 the company s stock rose more than 40 % on its first day of trading . 12 the company reported 4.35 billion in sales for the 12 month period ending august 3 2013 . 13 as of october 2013 the company operated 503 stores in 44 states and puerto rico under the names burlington coat factory cohoes fashions baby depot mjm designer shoes and burlington shoes . 14 15 in june 2016 it was announced that burlington stores had joined the fortune 500 for the first time . 16 charitable partnerships edit burlington has partnered with charitable organizations for several years . since 2002 they have partnered with the joining the leukemia and lymphoma society s light the night campaign collecting donations at the store checkout . 17 18 with an annual fundraiser that runs from july through october the company raised more than 3 million in 2013 bringing the total raised by the company to date to more than 19 million . 19 in 2006 burlington launched the warm coats and warm hearts drive to collect coat donations for those in need . partnering with abc s good morning america and the national nonprofit fashion delivers burlington stores served as drop off spots for the donations which were then distributed within the area by local charities . since the program s inception over 1.2 million coats have been collected and distributed . 20 21 in 2012 the company first partnered with womenheart the national coalition for women with heart disease to promote women s heart health education during national heart health month 22 23 as part of this partnership the company holds a yearly red dress event where red dresses are sold in stores with 1 from every sale donated to womenheart . 24 in 2014 as part of the partnership they launched the heart of style tour . 25 for the tour a bus traveled to various store locations with heart health professionals on board providing blood pressure tests and body mass index bmi tests and education about women s heart disease . 26 business issues edit under investigation from animal welfare organization humane society of the united states burlington coat factory has been accused of labeling real fur products as faux fur . the company agreed to pull the false advertisements after an undercover investigation revealed faux fur as actually made from the pelts of animals killed in china . 27 burlington coat factory s coats have also been found to contain dog pelts . 28 29 30 burlington coat factory s logo is often supplemented with the tag not affiliated with burlington industries . 31 32 when burlington coat factory settled a trademark dispute with fabric maker burlington industries in 1981 burlington coat factory agreed to say in advertising that the two companies are not affiliated . 33 34 even though burlington industries ceased operations in 2004 it would be five years before the not affiliated disclaimer would disappear from tv commercials . as of 2009 the sub heading has been removed from all logos used by the company . 35 the old burlington coat factory on 45 park place in new york planned to be replaced by the unrelated controversial park51 in the september 11 2001 attacks after hijacked united airlines flight 175 penetrated through the south tower of the world trade center part of the plane s landing gear and fuselage came out the north side of the tower and crashed through the roof and two of the floors of the burlington coat factory at 45 47 park place between west broadway and church street 600 feet 180 meters north of the former world trade center . the store had been the company s first location in manhattan opened in 1991 . 36 three floor beams of the top floor of the building were destroyed causing major structural damage . 37 38 39 nearly nine years later the building was part of a national controversy as efforts to build a muslim center and mosque at the site as the cordoba house sparked protest . 40 41 42 43 44 references edit a b bloomberg news 2006 01 19 . bain capital purchases burlington a retailer . new york times . retrieved 2014 02 20 . a b c strauss robert 2006 02 05 . 2 billion later nytimes.com . new york times . retrieved 2014 02 20 . burlington coat factory offers range of rugs . free online library . thefreelibrary.com . 1998 09 14 . retrieved 2014 02 20 . apparel stores analysis monroe milstein burlington coat factory warehouse corporation bcf round table shx tse . twst.com . retrieved 2014 02 20 . burlington stores inc. company profile from hoover s 609 387 7800 . webadept.hoovers.com . 2010 10 21 . retrieved 2014 02 21 . twists quirks and coats success was based on family luck and a crucial rule . philly.com . articles.philly.com . 2011 08 30 . retrieved 2014 02 20 . burlington coat factory corporate office corporate offices & headquarters . corporateofficehq.com . retrieved 2014 02 20 . milsteins biggest deal burlington coat sold for 2.06 billion . philly.com . articles.philly.com . 2006 01 19 . retrieved 2014 02 20 . anne d innocenzio . burlington stores shares climb in market debut . the reporter . retrieved 2014 02 20 . michael mancuso 2012 07 12 . burlington coat factory receives 40m from grownj program to keep headquarters in new jersey . nj.com . retrieved 2014 02 20 . burlington holdings inc. form s 1 received 06 27 2013 14 04 05 . nasdaq.com . retrieved 2014 02 20 . pfeifer stuart 2013 10 02 . burlington coat factory ipo a big hit with investors . latimes.com . retrieved 2014 02 20 . bain capital backed burlington stores sets terms for 200 million ipo . nasdaq.com . retrieved 2014 02 20 . burlington expects 250 million from ipo mrketplace mr magazine . mrketplace.com . 2013 10 03 . retrieved 2014 02 20 . avik das 2013 10 02 . burlington stores returns to market shares jump 50 pct chicago tribune . articles.chicagotribune.com . retrieved 2014 02 20 . here are the 15 new 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philadelphia cbs philly . philadelphia.cbslocal.com . 2014 01 30 . retrieved 2014 02 20 . burlington pulls faux coat ads corpus christi caller times . caller.com . 2006 12 13 . retrieved 2014 02 20 . boccio rose january 2 2001 . fur raising reality dog and cat pelts fetch a profit . pqasb.pqarchiver.com . retrieved may 30 2009 . md. bill seeks to end mislabeling of fur coats . washingtonpost.com . february 5 2008 . retrieved may 30 2009 . mooar brian december 18 1998 . secret search led to discovery of dog fur in u.s. clothing ; investigation humane society estimates at least 2 million domesticated animals abroad are killed annually to make garments toys and other products . pqasb.pqarchiver.com . retrieved may 30 2009 . burlington coat factory ad . pittsburgh post gazzette . 1997 01 15 . retrieved 2014 02 20 . madison capital times thursday april 10 2003 page 82 . newspaperarchive.com . retrieved 2014 02 20 . burlington coat to clarify ads . burlington coat factory warehouse corp. ordered to change its advertising in trademark infringement suit with burlington industries inc. brief article highbeam business arrive prepared . business.highbeam.com . 1992 04 14 . retrieved 2014 02 20 . 1990 burlington coat factory commercial . youtube . 1990 12 06 . retrieved 2014 02 20 . burlington holdings inc. burlington coat factory . retail career hub . 2013 06