Iconic Brands We Just Can’t Call By Their New Name
Christmas Tree Shops is changing their name
For years, people all over the country have been shopping at the iconic Christmas Tree Shops for bargains on housewares, toys, greeting cards, beauty products, and yes, of course - Christmas decorations. The next time you step inside a Christmas Tree Shops store, though - you’ll notice that they’re going by a new name - “CTS.”
History of Christmas Tree Shops
Before it was bought by Bed Bath & Beyond in 2003, Christmas Tree Shops were primarily based in the Cape Cod area, where it was founded in 1970. Now, you can find their recognizable logo of a sleigh carrying a Christmas tree atop 80 stores in 20 US states, including here in Western New York on Niagara Falls Boulevard in Amherst.
In November 2020, Bed Bath & Beyond sold Christmas Tree Shops to a private company named Handil Holdings, and they have announced that some store rebranding will be in the works.
Apparently, a store named “Christmas Tree Shops” that doesn’t just sell Christmas trees has been a little confusing for customers throughout the years - understandably so, if you didn’t grow up with the stores in your life. For that reason, Christmas Tree Shops will now go by “CTS,” and plan to open an additional 15 stores throughout the next year under the new name.
Will people really start calling Christmas Tree Shops “CTS”?
As a kid, my family and I always spent a good chunk of summer vacation on the beaches of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and we always looked forward to our yearly stock-up at Christmas Tree Shops. At the time, you could only find Christmas Tree Shops in Cape Cod and its surrounding areas, so our yearly retreat to the store was always a huge event. My brother and I would jokingly sing their catchy jingle (“Don’t you just…looove a bargain?”) to ourselves and save up our allowance for weeks, ready to blow it on caramel Cow Tails candies and kitschy Cape Cod-themed merch. My parents loved it because it was a great way to grab the school supplies we needed in the fall at a much lower price than the other name-brand stores.
Now, I guess the learning curve will be on me and others like me who grew up “loving a bargain” at “Christmas Tree Shops,” not “CTS.” It will definitely be a hard adjustment for me to make - and I’ll miss seeing that familiar sleigh carrying that Christmas tree in July!
Maybe I just have a stubborn brain, though - because there are so many restaurants, stores, and other businesses that have changed their iconic names over the years, and I just can’t wrap my head around them. Is this a sign of me officially getting old? Are there other Western New Yorkers out there who still call their favorite stores of yesteryear by their old name, instead of embracing change and calling it by their new one?
For example…