Timeline: Fingerhut Companies, Incorporated

Manny Fingerhut

Fingerhut was founded in Minneapolis in 1948 by brothers Manny and William Fingerhut as a direct marketer of automobile seat covers.

The brothers continually expanded their product lines and customer base through direct mail marketing and by what they called “putting the right products in front of the right customers at the right time.”

Today, Fingerhut’s operations consist of its core Fingerhut catalog businesses. In addition, the company conducts business through its Fingerhut.com and Fingerhut En Espanol Web sites.

Among the catalog businesses are: Arizona Mail Order, which issues catalogs under the names of Old Pueblo Traders, Lew Magram, Brownstone Studio and Bedford Fair; Figi’s and Popular Club Plan.

Timeline

1948: The Fingerhuts found the company in Minneapolis.

1949: Fingerhuts begin direct marketing their seat covers.

1960: St. Cloud Fingerhut opens at the new industrial center.

1968: St. Cloud Fingerhut has a data processing center installed.

1970: Fingerhut’s first public stock listing is completed.

1974: Theodore Deikel, Manny Fingerhut’s son-in-law, becomes the president of the company.

1975: Deikel is named the chief executive officer of Fingerhut.

1979: American Can buys company for $136 million.

1983: Deikel resigns.

1988: Company revenues hit a new high of $1 billion.

1989: Deikel rejoins company.

1990: Fingerhut stocks go on sale on the New York Stock Exchange. About 6.3 million go on sale for an ISO price of $16.50 a share. Within a few months, the price almost doubles.

1991: Launch of 800 number increases sales.

1992: Fingerhut’s Tennessee warehouse is opened.

1994: St. Cloud Fingerhut expands by more than 500,000 square feet.

1999: Federated Department Stores Inc. buys Fingerhut for $1.7 billion. Fingerhut is part of the company’s Federated Direct Division.

2000: Fingerhut sales take a dip and some 600 St. Cloud Fingerhut workers are laid off due to this.

2001: Sales go down further. The company announces plans to retrench more workers soon after.

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