The Hallmark Gold Crown store at 1663 Rockville Pike at Congressional Plaza in Rockville is under new ownership. Previously known as "Banner's Hallmark," the greeting card, ornament, stationary and gift shop has been acquired by Norman's Hallmark. Norman's is the nation's largest independent owner of Hallmark Gold Crown stores. The Bethesda Hallmark store was also recently acquired by Norman's. Hallmark's big season begins in mid-summer, with the rollout of its annual keepsake Christmas ornaments, so the timing of the ownership change makes sense.
Banner's is a local company, headquartered in Gaithersburg, while Norman's is based in Newtown, Pennsylvania. Banner's region has been Maryland, Virginia, and the Carolinas. Norman's has been focused in the Keystone State and New Jersey, but seems to be slowly expanding southward into Maryland. Norman's takes the prize for longevity; Banner's has been around since the 1970s, while Norman's was founded in 1939.
That is a nice Hallmark store.I saw the Foo Fighters play in the Congressional Plaza parking lot in 1997,it was when Tower Records was still open and they played for free,few thousand people showed up.it was nice. It's on YouTube somewhere. In Gaithersburg in 1970s we didn't have a Hallmark Store,but we had a card and gift shop called "Cardwrites" and then it was sold and charged its name to "The Golden Pineapple"
ReplyDelete