Talbots

Not to be confused with the automobile manufacturer, Talbot. For additional meanings, see Talbot (disambiguation).

The Talbots, Inc.

File:Talbots logo.svg
Trade name	Talbots
Company type	Private
Industry	Fashion
Founded	1947 (1947) Hingham, Massachusetts, U.S.
Founder	Rudolf Talbot Nancy Talbot
Headquarters	Hingham, Massachusetts , U.S.
Number of locations	493 (February 2021)
Key people	Lizanne Kindler (CEO)
Products	Clothing, shoes and accessories
Revenue	US$ 2 billion (2021)
Owner	Sycamore Partners
Number of employees	8,894 (2021)
Website	www.talbots.com

File:TalbotsHudsonOhio.JPG

A Talbots retail location in Hudson, Ohio

The Talbots, Inc., known commercially as Talbots and presented as TALBOTS, is a U.S.-based specialty retailer and direct sales company focusing on women's apparel, footwear, and fashion accessories.

By 2018, the brand operated a total of 495 stores across the United States: this included 425 standard Talbots outlets (with 412 situated in the U.S.), 65 Factory Outlet locations (all in the U.S.), and five Clearance centers (four within the U.S.).

History

The inaugural Talbots store was established in 1947 in Hingham, Massachusetts by Rudolf and Nancy Talbot. The following year, in 1948, the company initiated its direct mail catalog by sending out 3,000 flyers to contacts sourced from The New Yorker magazine. By 1973, the business—which had expanded to encompass a growing catalog operation alongside five physical stores—was sold to General Mills.

Expansion efforts focused primarily on the eastern seaboard of the United States. In 1988, when General Mills divested its Specialty Retail Division, ownership of Talbots transferred to JUSCO Co. Ltd., now known as ÆON Co., Ltd.

Talbots transitioned to a publicly traded entity in 1993, listing on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol TLB. In August 2012, New York City-based private equity firm Sycamore Partners purchased Talbots for $391 million, inclusive of debt.