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Chocolate Trendsetter
Recently acquired Helen Grace Chocolates finds itself now thoroughly focuses on what founder Bill Grace always intended - producing good chocolates.
Helen Grace probably expected a box of chocolates from her husband, Bill, on her 30th birthday. After all, he was a candymaker. Helen, however, could not have been more surprised with Bill's gift. Instead of a box of chocolates, he gave Helen a virtual chocolate pipeline, her own retail store.
Opened on January loth, 1944, the San Pedro, Calif., chocolate shop not only provided Helen with chocolates, but it also gave residents of this shipbuilding community a welcome sweet break during the remaining months of the war.
Bill Grace's gesture gradually evolved into a multimillion-dollar business, prompting the opening of new retail units and the purchase of a manufacturing facility in Lynwood, Calif It also established a name that many Southern Californians to this day connect with fond childhood memories.
For many Baby Boomers, Helen Grace Chocolates continues to evoke positive memories, be it hunting chocolate fudge Easter eggs in backyards or visiting the ice cream parlors, which were featured in many Helen Grace stores. Many also could recollect selling the company's products as part of school fundraising efforts.
Thus, when Jim Grace, Helen and Bill's son, decided to retire as the company's president and ceo last year, he remained particularly sensitive about preserving this confectionery institution and thereby continuing such traditions for the next generation.
As it turns out, the sale of Helen Grace Chocolates to Robert and David Worth, owners of Greensboro, N.C.-- based Shamrock Corp., last May, does more than address Grace's concerns. The new owners have not only provided this regional retailer with a renewed focus, but have set the stage for national expansion.
As Michael Harrigian, vice president, explains, Helen Grace's business had shifted from chocolate-making to fundraising during the mid-90s as result of market dynamics.
Ironically, that shift stemmed from expanding the company's chocolate business. Helen Grace first became involved in fundraising when it was approached by the Boy Scouts of America in the early 1960s. During the next 20 years, the company developed that segment extensively. Although Helen Grace still continued to operate retail stores (the company has nine today), fundraising, in...