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see talk page
Mattyr99 (talk | contribs)
61 edits
who's to say this donation was minor? that's a lot of money to me
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==Philanthropy==
==Philanthropy==


CEO Eric Smidt is the founder and president of the Smidt Family Foundation, which donates to the University of Southern California <ref>[http://www.usc.edu/hsc/info/pr/ccr/02winter/news.html Honor Roll of Donors]</ref> and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. In 2012, the Foundation funded a new public high school in Los Angeles known as "[[Smidt Tech]]" for Alliance College-Ready Public Schools (an independent non-profit charter school manager).<ref>[http://www.smidttech.org SmidtTech.org]</ref> Smidt also focused on the impact of severe budget cuts to Southern California's public education system and vocational training programs, which he decided to support. Smidt stated, "For far too long, vocational education has not been given the attention and funding it deserves. At a time when a well trained workforce is essential to compete in the global economy, the United States too often falls short."<ref>[http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/harbor-freight-tools-donates-to-lausd-adult-schools-186373751.html Harbor Freight Tools Donates To LAUSD Adult Schools]</ref>
⚫
On January 9, 2013, CEO Smidt, through Harbor Freight Tools, donated $1.4 million of tools and equipment to the Los Angeles Unified School District’s (LAUSD) Career Technical Education.<ref>[http://lausd.tumblr.com/post/40123735423/thank-you-to-harbor-freight-tools-for-their LAUSD Thanks Harbor Freight Tools]</ref> The donation was presented to LAUSD Board President Monica Garcia and Executive Director Michael Romero at the East Los Angeles Skills Center and Occupational Center in front of an assembly.

Starting locally, Smidt discovered that the Los Angeles Unified School District’s (LAUSD) Career Technical Education programs budget was cut to 1/4 of its previous annual budget. Through Smidt’s initiative, Harbor Freight Tools invited LAUSD’s industrial career education instructors to visit the company’s Pasadena store to compile a "wish list" of tools and equipment they would want for their programs to thrive if budgetary allocations allowed. This list amounted to more than 55,000 items (which would fill 15 40' semi-trailer trucks.

⚫
On January 9, 2013, Smidt, through Harbor Freight Tools, fulfilled the entire list and donated $1.4 million of tools and equipment to the LAUSD Division of Adult and Career Education.<ref>[http://lausd.tumblr.com/post/40123735423/thank-you-to-harbor-freight-tools-for-their LAUSD Thanks Harbor Freight Tools]</ref> The donation was presented to LAUSD Board President Monica Garcia and Executive Director Michael Romero at the East Los Angeles Skills Center and Occupational Center in front of an assembly of students enrolled in the respective industrial training programs.

Harbor Freight Tools has also sponsored a number of other local charitable events, including a Toy Drive & Car Show in Danville, VA <ref>[http://www.prbuzz.com/business-entrepreneur/49405-charity-toy-drive.html Charity Toy Drive & Car Show in Danville, VA]</ref> and Siblings In Cancer in Rocklin, CA,<ref>[http://siblingsincancer.blogspot.com/2008/09/harbor-freight-tools-fundraiser.html Siblings in Cancer: Harbor Freight Tools Fundraiser]</ref> as well as contributed tools to help Boy Scouts with their Eagle projects.<ref>[http://live.harborfreightblog.com/eagle-scout-service-project/3614 Boy Scout Does His Eagle Project the Harbor Freight Way]</ref>


==Parody==
==Parody==

Revision as of 23:45, 16 December 2013

HARBOR FREIGHT TOOLS
Company typePrivate
IndustryRetail
FoundedLos Angeles, California (1977)
HeadquartersCalabasas, California
Number of locations
476
Area served
United States
Key people
Eric Smidt (CEO)
ProductsTools
RevenueIncrease $2 billion (2010)[1]
Number of employees
11,000
Websitewww.harborfreight.com blog.harborfreight.com

Harbor Freight Tools is a privately held discount tool and equipment retailer, headquartered in Calabasas, California, which operates a chain of retail stores as well as a mail-order and eCommerce business. The company has over 475 stores in 46 states, offering over 7,000 tool and related products. The company employs over 11,000 people in the U.S..

History

Harbor Freight was founded in 1977 as a mail-order business by Eric Smidt and his father, Allan, in a small North Hollywood building, as Harbor Freight & Salvage Co. The company changed its name to Harbor Freight Tools and, in 1980, opened its first retail store in Lexington, Kentucky. In 1985, Eric Smidt became the president of Harbor Freight; he served under that title until 1999 when he became CEO.[2]

Mail order

The company subsequently acquired US General, another mail-order tool and equipment company. At first, the company mailed promotions in standard #10 business envelopes. In the early 1980s, the company relocated to Camarillo, CA, acquiring the former headquarters of Unity, another large mail-order company, and launched its first mail-order catalog in the mid-1980s.

Retail stores

Harbor Freight Tools store, Ypsilanti Township, MI

In 1980, Harbor Freight opened its first retail store in Lexington, Kentucky, to sell returned merchandise from its mail order business. The venture proved successful, and Harbor Freight began to open stores across the United States. As of 2013, Harbor Freight operates over 475 retail stores in 46 states.

Number of stores opened:

  • 1980 to 1990 - 11
  • 1991 to 2001 - 103
  • 2002 to 2012 - 304

Brands

Harbor Freight sells in-house OEM brands sourced directly from manufacturers. These brands include, US General (tool storage), Central Pneumatic (air-driven/pneumatic tools/accessories), Pittsburgh (automotive and hand tools), and Chicago Electric (power tools). [3]

Quality Assurance Facility

Harbor Freight's Quality Assurance facility is located in Calabasas, CA. Opened in 2010,[4] the facility utilizes state-of-the-art diagnostic equipment and methodologies to test products in development through post-production with the objective of detecting and eliminating potential defects and improving models.[5]

Website

Harbor Freight’s first website went online in 1997.[6] It had a modest catalog of products, a brief "About Us" section and an order form for the printed catalog. There were also links to a customer service page with delivery times and return policies. In all, the original website had 10 landing pages. The current Harbor Freight Website[7] has over 64,000 indexed pages.[8] It had over 43 million unique visitors in 2012 according to compete.com from visitors mostly within the United States.[9] It sells over 5,000 different products online, most of which are sold in its retail stores.

Corporate affairs

Harbor Freight Tools is headquartered in Calabasas, California; the company expanded marketing, merchandising, and other support systems when it relocated to a 90,000-square-foot (8,400 m2) facility in September 2010.[10] Harbor Freight has distribution space in Camarillo, California, Moreno Valley, California and Dillon, South Carolina. Another facility in Oxnard, California is scheduled to close in early 2013. Revenue has been reported to exceed two billion dollars annually.[11]

On April 4, 2013, Harbor Freight Tools announced a $75 million expansion project for the Dillon distribution center, which will add 1 million square feet to the facility and 200 new jobs.[12] At the time of the announcement, Dillon County had one of the highest unemployment rates in South Carolina.[13]

Investor relations

In 2012, Harbor Freight, through Credit Suisse, secured a $750 million loan to refinance existing debt and fund a dividend for the company’s private shareholders.[14] Additionally, Harbor Freight has a $400 million ABL revolving credit line through Wells Fargo & Co.[15]

Philanthropy

CEO Eric Smidt is the founder and president of the Smidt Family Foundation, which donates to the University of Southern California [16] and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. In 2012, the Foundation funded a new public high school in Los Angeles known as "Smidt Tech" for Alliance College-Ready Public Schools (an independent non-profit charter school manager).[17] Smidt also focused on the impact of severe budget cuts to Southern California's public education system and vocational training programs, which he decided to support. Smidt stated, "For far too long, vocational education has not been given the attention and funding it deserves. At a time when a well trained workforce is essential to compete in the global economy, the United States too often falls short."[18]

Starting locally, Smidt discovered that the Los Angeles Unified School District’s (LAUSD) Career Technical Education programs budget was cut to 1/4 of its previous annual budget. Through Smidt’s initiative, Harbor Freight Tools invited LAUSD’s industrial career education instructors to visit the company’s Pasadena store to compile a "wish list" of tools and equipment they would want for their programs to thrive if budgetary allocations allowed. This list amounted to more than 55,000 items (which would fill 15 40' semi-trailer trucks.

On January 9, 2013, Smidt, through Harbor Freight Tools, fulfilled the entire list and donated $1.4 million of tools and equipment to the LAUSD Division of Adult and Career Education.[19] The donation was presented to LAUSD Board President Monica Garcia and Executive Director Michael Romero at the East Los Angeles Skills Center and Occupational Center in front of an assembly of students enrolled in the respective industrial training programs.

Harbor Freight Tools has also sponsored a number of other local charitable events, including a Toy Drive & Car Show in Danville, VA [20] and Siblings In Cancer in Rocklin, CA,[21] as well as contributed tools to help Boy Scouts with their Eagle projects.[22]

Parody

Harbor Freight Tools was satirized by MAD magazine, which ran a parody of the Harbor Freight Tools flyer in their June 2012 issue, portraying several fictional tools and their supposed functions.[23]

Criticism

Harbor Freight Tools was sued by a group of HFT store managers, who alleged that they were misclassified as "exempt" under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Harbor Freight won a declassification of the class action.[24][25]

Co-Founder Alan Smidt filed a lawsuit against Harbor Freight Tools and his son Eric Smidt in response to the replacement of most of the company's legacy management team following the 2008 economic downturn. The lawsuit was settled in April 2011. The terms of the settlement have not been disclosed.[26]

In 2010, Harbor Freight was sued by a female manager who worked there for 27 years alleging sexual discrimination. The lawsuit was dismissed in 2011.[27]

References

  1. ^ Harbor Freight Moody's Report
  2. ^ About Harbor Freight
  3. ^ www.harborfreight.com Harbor Freight Tools]
  4. ^ Harbor Freight Tools Moving Jobs to Calabasas
  5. ^ Harbor Freight Tools Tool Cart
  6. ^ Harbor Freight Tools archive website
  7. ^ Harbor Freight Tools
  8. ^ Google
  9. ^ Google
  10. ^ Harbor Freight Tools Moving Jobs to Calabasas
  11. ^ Tool Maker Says Fix Is In at Rival: Harbor Freight Alleges Lumber Business Stole Trade Secrets
  12. ^ Harbor Freight Tools announces 200 new Dillon County jobs
  13. ^ Harbor Freight expanding South Carolina facility Bloomberg Businessweek News
  14. ^ RLPC: Harbor Freight Sweetens Terms on TL
  15. ^ Wells Fargo Capital Finance Portfolio
  16. ^ Honor Roll of Donors
  17. ^ SmidtTech.org
  18. ^ Harbor Freight Tools Donates To LAUSD Adult Schools
  19. ^ LAUSD Thanks Harbor Freight Tools
  20. ^ Charity Toy Drive & Car Show in Danville, VA
  21. ^ Siblings in Cancer: Harbor Freight Tools Fundraiser
  22. ^ Boy Scout Does His Eagle Project the Harbor Freight Way
  23. ^ Mad Magazine
  24. ^ Green v. Harbor Freight Tools USA, Inc.
  25. ^ District Court Decertifies FLSA Class of Retail Managers
  26. ^ Harbor Freight Founder Settles Lawsuits
  27. ^ Day v. Harbor Freight Tools USA, Inc., Ventura County Superior Court Case No. 56-2010-00378876-CU-OE-VTA
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