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See's Candies
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
See's Candies is a manufacturer and distributor of high quality candy, particularly chocolate, in the western United States. It was founded by Charles See and his mother Mary See in Los Angeles, California in 1921. The company is now headquartered in South San Francisco, California. It has kitchens at its headquarters and at a second location in Los Angeles, where there is also a retail shop. There is also a distribution center in South Los Angeles.
The chocolate in See's candies has been provided by the Guittard Chocolate Company since the 1950s; See's and Guittard pioneered the delivery of bulk chocolate in liquid form in tanker trucks in 1959[1].
The company is famous for its products, which it largely markets only in its own stores and at those of fellow Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary Nebraska Furniture Mart, allowing it to control the standards under which they are stored and marketed. They are also available in some California airports. Since the late 1990s, the company has also maintained a strong Internet presence via its website. It is also well-known for being one of the very early investments purchased by Warren Buffett (via Blue Chip Stamps) for his Berkshire Hathaway Corporation (in 1972), beginning the path of that company from a textile concern to being one of the world's most successful conglomerates.
The company's distinctive white stores are ubiquitous in nearly every U.S. state west of the Mississippi River. There are also stores outside the US in Hong Kong, Japan, and Mexico.
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According to the corporate website, Charles See arrived in the United States from Canada in 1921[1] with his mother Mary and his wife Florence. They opened the first See's Candies shop and kitchen on Western Avenue in Los Angeles in November 1921. They had twelve shops by the mid-1920's and thirty shops during the Great Depression. In 1936, See's opened a shop in San Francisco. In 1972, the See family sold the company to Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and Charles N. Huggins became President and CEO through 2006. He was succeeded by Brad Kinstler.
Charles Alexander See (1882-1949) was born in Canada and came to California in 1919 [2] which conflicts with the website history. He came with his wife, Florence MacLean Wilson (1885-1956) with whom he had three children: Laurence A. See (1912-?); Margaret M. See (1913-?); and Harry W. See (1921-?) who was born after they arrived in the U.S.[3] By 1920 they were living in Pasadena, California and Charles A. See was working as a druggist in a drug store[4]. In both 1920 and 1930 Mary See (1854–1939) was not part of the Charles A. See household.
- ^ See's Candies website
- ^ United States Census, 1930; Los Angeles, California
- ^ United States Census, 1930; Los Angeles, California
- ^ United States Census, 1920; Pasadena, California
