BUSINESS
November 2, 2012 | By Tiffany Hsu
Billionaire financier Warren Buffett already has his hands in newspapers, jewelry, insurance and other holdings. Now, with the acquisition of Oriental Trading Co., the 82-year-old can add party planning. Buffett said Friday that his Berkshire Hathaway Inc. firm will buy Omaha-based Oriental Trading, the largest direct retailer of more than 40,000 discount party goods, for an undisclosed sum. Berkshire Hathaway is also headquartered in Omaha. The mail-order merchant, which sells supplies, crafts, school supplies, toys and novelties, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2010, burdened with a huge debt load, and suffering from low consumer spending and higher costs.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
August 23, 2012 | By Dennis McLellan, Los Angeles Times
Before Charles N. Huggins began working at See's Candies in 1951 as a manager in the company's packing department in San Francisco, his favorite candies were black licorice and, thanks to his World War II service as a paratrooper, Hershey's chocolate. But as Huggins' sweet tooth remained a constant during his rise up the ladder to become the candy company's president and chief executive in 1972, his taste clearly underwent a See's-influenced evolution. And like a kid in a candy store, he had no trouble reciting his favorites in a 1998 San Diego Union-Tribune interview: "Butter Creams, Pecan Buds, Candied Ginger, Chocolate Truffles, Chocolate Lollypops, Chocolate Nut Fudge, Victoria Toffee and Polar Bear Paws.
BUSINESS
July 24, 2012 | By William D'Urso
Someone, let the lollipop guild know. See's Candies now owns the Guinness World Records title for the largest lollipop. The company constructed the behemoth in its See's Candies Lollypop Factory (yes, See's spells it with a 'y') in Burlingame on July 18. The chocolate flavored confectionary collossus weighs in at 7,003 pounds and is 4 feet 8.75 inches in length, 3 feet 6 inches in width and 5 feet 11 inches in height. With the stick, the lollipop is nearly 12 feet long. See's Candies is owned by Berkshire Hathaway Inc., which bought the company from the See family in 1972.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
February 6, 2009 | Bob Pool
Sweet. Los Angeles officials are taking steps to commemorate the city's confectionery culture, just in time for Valentine's Day. Members of the Cultural Heritage Commission agreed Thursday to consider designating the original home of See's Candies, near Western Avenue and Beverly Boulevard, as a historic landmark. Nomination papers calling for recognition of the first See's candy kitchen and retail shop were filed at City Hall in an empty 5-pound See's box by candy lover Charlene Nichols.
BUSINESS
April 14, 2007 | Jerry Hirsch, Times Staff Writer
Calling all chocoholics. Put down the truffles and power up the PC. It's time to weigh in on a fundamental question: What is chocolate? Two of California's oldest confectioners, See's Candies Inc. and Guittard Chocolate Co., are battling an attempt to loosen government rules that dictate what ingredients go into the sweet stuff. Legally, the candy that melts hearts and comforts the brokenhearted is made with cocoa butter and, in the case of milk chocolate, whole milk.
FOOD
February 11, 2004 | Charles Perry, Times Staff Writer
This is Mary See's town. We only live here. See's Candy has owned L.A., chocolate-wise, for more than 80 years. Charles See may have come here from Canada, but he understood this burg -- he opened his second store in Grauman's Chinese Theater and his third on the route of the Rose Parade. He made a point of putting his shops on the shady side of the street, knowing that in our climate more pedestrians would be walking there. He understood our eager susceptibility.