Channel Home Centers Double-Sided Keychain Charm
3.15" x 1.57"
$4.99
Sale price
$4.99
Regular price
Skip to product information
GhostCorp Apparel - resurrecting iconic corporate ghosts.
Carry a small reminder of Channel Home Centers and its place in regional retail history with this double-sided keychain charm. The brand grew from a Newark lumber operation into a multistate home-improvement chain, then experienced corporate ownership, a leveraged buyout, and bankruptcy reorganization. In 1994, most Channel stores took the Rickel name, making the transition a lasting point of interest for collectors and former shoppers. A thoughtful keepsake for anyone who remembers the stores or studies changing retail brands.
Channel Home Centers, also known as Channel Lumber Company and Channel, was a home-improvement chain based in Whippany, New Jersey. Accounts differ on its origins: a 1975 profile traced the business to a Newark lumber operation started in 1922 by Abraham Levy and Morris Charin, while a 1990 account and company releases gave 1908 as the founding date. Louis L. Slater, Levy’s son-in-law, opened the first retail outlet in Newark in 1948. Channel had seven New Jersey locations in 1963 and 24 by late 1975. W. R. Grace and Company bought it from the Slater family in 1977. Expansion reached New York, Connecticut, and Delaware in 1978, then Maryland and Massachusetts in 1979. In 1986, executives acquired the company in a leveraged buyout that included 202 retail locations in 20 states, among them Handy City and Handy Dan stores. Channel later operated 89 outlets in nine states. It filed for Chapter 11 protection in 1991, closed stores, and emerged in March 1992. In 1994, a venture capital firm bought Channel and competitor Rickel and combined their operations under the Rickel name. Fifty-nine of Channel’s 60 stores were rebranded; the Totowa, New Jersey, store was the exception.
Channel Home Centers Double-Sided Keychain Charm
$4.99
Sale price
$4.99
Regular price
Carry a small reminder of Channel Home Centers and its place in regional retail history with this double-sided keychain charm. The brand grew from a Newark lumber operation into a multistate home-improvement chain, then experienced corporate ownership, a leveraged buyout, and bankruptcy reorganization. In 1994, most Channel stores took the Rickel name, making the transition a lasting point of interest for collectors and former shoppers. A thoughtful keepsake for anyone who remembers the stores or studies changing retail brands.
Channel Home Centers, also known as Channel Lumber Company and Channel, was a home-improvement chain based in Whippany, New Jersey. Accounts differ on its origins: a 1975 profile traced the business to a Newark lumber operation started in 1922 by Abraham Levy and Morris Charin, while a 1990 account and company releases gave 1908 as the founding date. Louis L. Slater, Levy’s son-in-law, opened the first retail outlet in Newark in 1948. Channel had seven New Jersey locations in 1963 and 24 by late 1975. W. R. Grace and Company bought it from the Slater family in 1977. Expansion reached New York, Connecticut, and Delaware in 1978, then Maryland and Massachusetts in 1979. In 1986, executives acquired the company in a leveraged buyout that included 202 retail locations in 20 states, among them Handy City and Handy Dan stores. Channel later operated 89 outlets in nine states. It filed for Chapter 11 protection in 1991, closed stores, and emerged in March 1992. In 1994, a venture capital firm bought Channel and competitor Rickel and combined their operations under the Rickel name. Fifty-nine of Channel’s 60 stores were rebranded; the Totowa, New Jersey, store was the exception.
Product features
- Acrylic construction with white base and double-sided print
- Compact size ~3.15" x 1.57" (8 x 4 cm); measurements may vary up to 1"
- Includes metal ring and short chain for secure attachment
- Durable, lightweight—made for everyday carry
- Manufactured product sourced from China; intended for adult use
Care instructions
- Clean with a soft, damp cloth. Avoid any chemicals.