Cloud 9

A Child during the Great Depression, Doug Anderson became impressed during a time of chaos and need, of the values of thrift and self-promotion. Anderson came from a family of retailers, and his father operated a furniture store on the north side of Chicago until the Depression forced its closure in 1931. Later, Anderson, now a teen, helped the family survive by selling newspapers, cookware, and socks on the streets of Chicago. ( ” Sandra ‘s Fight ” )

By 1940 the nation was gearing up for war. With an opportunity to serve serve his country, Anderson joined the Navy. He landed in the procurement division at Savannah, and would learn skills that would later serve him in his first retail enterprise. His cheerful demeanor in the face of stress of logistics during wartime earned him the name Doug “Cloud 9” Anderson. ( ” Sandra ‘s Fight ” )

After two years of duty at Savannah, Anderson returned to civilian life. His Navy connections helped land him a position supplying the canteen with merchandise at the Naval Station Great Lakes, north of Chicago in late 1944. But shortly thereafter, the war ended and the needs of the Navy diminished, and his contract was canceled. ( ” Sandra ‘s Fight ” )

With soldier return in drove back home , and start family , Anderson is decided decide the timing was perfect to strike out on his own and open his first shop . With a lease in hand and perfect location on Chicago Avenue in Evanston , only the name is remained remain .( ” Sandra ‘s Fight ” )

wait until the last minute at the city business licensing office , he was ask by the impatient clerk for the business name , the only blank spot on his application . Anderson is decided decide on the spot , Cloud 9 , his Navy nickname , would have to do .( ” Sandra ‘s Fight ” )

The Evanston location was open in March 1948 as a general merchandise store . tout low price and a large selection of good . Cloud is saw 9 see early success at its Chicago Avenue shop . Customers is loved love have the selection the city , without have to leave the neighborhood and head to the loop in Downtown Chicago to shop .( ” Sandra ‘s Fight ” )

By 1951, The United States had now entered into the post-war boom. Business was growing and Anderson was quick to follow his customers to the fast growing suburbs. With new homes to be furnished and families to be fed and clothed. Cloud 9 saw its business soar in the early 50’s. Five new locations were added in Greater Chicago and employee count topped 100 under CEO Ray Maxwell. ( ” Sandra ‘s Fight ” )

In 1955, Cloud 9 officially became Cloud 9 Superstore. The new name sat well with customers desires to find many categories of goods under one roof. Average square footage per store doubled during the decade of the 50’s. ( ” Sandra ‘s Fight ” )

By 1977 , under CEO Jim Jensen , Cloud 9 realize its path forward would have to include the large , but competitive market on the coast . With store in Virginia and California , Cloud 9 Superstores is spanned now span America , coast to coast . During the 1970 ‘s , Cloud is became 9 became the fifth large national retailer and employ over 30,000 .( ” Sandra ‘s Fight ” )

Following the expansion of the early 1980’s, Cloud 9 began rapid expansion, not only to all of the lower 48 states, but to Canada, Mexico & Japan. The 80’s later saw Cloud 9 grow from 128 to 337 stores. In 1982, employee count topped 70,000. ( ” Sandra ‘s Fight ” )

In 1997, Cloud 9 was quick to harness the growth of computerized tracking and growth modeling. In the late 90’s the previously centralized distribution channel was diversified to regional centers, helping profitability jump. ( ” Sandra ‘s Fight ” )

After Neil Penderson became ceo in 2005 , Cloud is realized 9 realize the grow diversity of the United States and its stable of store around the world . In 2006 , Cloud is began 9 begin its industry lead diversity hire program , successfully lift minority employee count from an average of 15 % per share to nearly 40 % .( ” Sandra ‘s Fight ” )

Today, Cloud 9 has stores in all 50 states, 19 countries and employs over 65,000 people worldwide. ( ” Sandra ‘s Fight ” )

The Cloud 9 Superstores of today are dynamic market segment leaders in a number of categories like Sporting Goods and Outdoor Furniture. Growth and expansion continues today with an average new store opening every 30 days. ( ” Sandra ‘s Fight ” )

Cloud 9 Superstores are also market leaders worldwide. In the European Union, Cloud 9 Superstores have 40% of the mass market share. In India, sales growth has been over 15% year over year for a decade. ( ” Sandra ‘s Fight ” )