Our Story
Our Story

Two Storied Companies - One Family

The Bradford Exchange and Hammacher Schlemmer—Our Shared Values Make Us Stronger Together

Back in 1973, even a visionary like J. Roderick MacArthur couldn’t have imagined what The Bradford Exchange would become today. His idea was simple enough, providing a way for people to affordably enjoy a variety of artwork that expressed what they were passionate about. For many years that idea took the form of collector’s plates, but times and tastes change quickly and we continue to change right along with them. In 1980, Hammacher Schlemmer, the world’s longest and most successful catalog company, was acquired by the Bradford Exchange, thus The Bradford Hammacher Group was born.

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Today we have a broad portfolio of exciting products we develop, find, and market to celebrate the many passions of our customers. New concepts are emerging all the time and creativity is always king. From the very beginning, our Principles, our Vision, and our Values have allowed us to remain at the forefront of an exciting, ever-changing marketplace. J. Roderick MacArthur probably wouldn’t recognize his company today—but he’d clearly see that the ideas and the ideals he founded it upon are still thriving.

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Our Culture is Driven By Our Shared Principles and Values
Our Principles
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Team Environment

Actively promote and maintain an environment of mutual respect, trust and honesty.

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Support a Learning Environment

Support continuous development of knowledge and expertise.

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Effective Communications

Share your vision and needs; personally discuss important and sensitive issues.

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Focus on the Organization First

Set realistic goals and expectations that support the overall corporate goals.

Our Values
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Honesty

We will be honest in all our dealings with our customers, employees and suppliers.

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Innovation

We will always seek to produce more unique and differentiated products and services for our customers, and to find better ways to more effectively and efficiently run our business.

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Fairness

We will be fair in all our dealings with our customers, employees and suppliers.

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Respect

We will treat our customers, fellow employees and suppliers as we would like to be treated.

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Teamwork

We will work as individuals and as a team for the betterment of the entire Company.

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Continuous Learning

We will be dedicated to continuously discovering and learning everything we can about human behavior so that we can grow and improve how we serve our customers in a cost-effective manner.

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Excellence

We will continually seek to excel by thoroughly understanding all of the aspects and details of our business, and by dedicating ourselves to continuous improvement from that knowledge.

We Love What We Do…So We Bought the Company

In 2013, our employees became owners through the formation of our Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). Each of us has a personal stake in the success of our company. We share a belief that to succeed we have to be better than great, we have to be better than what’s expected, and that gives us even more desire to do whatever it takes to make our customers, business partners, and employees happy. Together, we work hard each day to make sure that every time our customers interact with one of our brands, they will find something that they’ve never seen before, something they won’t find anywhere else, something that surprises and delights them.

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