WILLIAMSBURG, Va., Nov. 15, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Yankee Candle's (NYSE:YCC) newest flagship store in Williamsburg will celebrate its grand opening on Sunday, Nov. 20, 2005, and Yankee Candle executives will hold a ribbon cutting ceremony the following evening at 6 p.m.
"We are very excited about bringing this retail and family entertainment concept to Williamsburg," said Craig W. Rydin, Chairman and CEO of Yankee Candle. "Building on the success of our South Deerfield, MA store, which has been a beacon for visitors to Massachusetts for more than two decades, this newest flagship is a natural next step for Yankee Candle. We are delighted with the warm hospitality that Williamsburg has already shown us, and we welcome the opportunity to contribute to the already strong retail and business environment and economy in this vibrant area."
Those who enter the new Yankee Candle Williamsburg store will step into a place unlike any they have ever seen, Rydin added. Families will be immediately transported into a world of enchantment and fun, where a musical fountain welcomes them to a town square and animated mice entertain on a clock tower stage under a painted sky that magically changes from day to night.
And that's just the beginning of this unique small town destination, he added. Amid fun-filled activities and innovative architectural features, Yankee Candle Williamsburg will showcase thousands of the company's signature scented candles among a myriad of home and garden accessories, toys and holiday merchandise.
The Williamsburg store is Yankee Candle's first shopping entertainment center outside its South Deerfield, Mass. flagship store. The 42,000 square foot store with three public entrances draws on features that have attracted millions to the South Deerfield location over the past 23 years, making it one of the most popular shopping and tourist destinations in New England.
In addition to its famous scented candles, the new Williamsburg destination will feature interactive activities like candle dipping, candle-making demonstration, animated musical entertainment, and an old-time photo studio, among other visual delights to entice families to visit, stay, shop and enjoy the surroundings. Yankee Candle plans to employ six full time and 65 part time sales associates, according to Rydin.
New store hours will be 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily and the store will be closed Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. The toll-free telephone number is: (877) 616-6510.
"Yankee Candle Williamsburg is going to be a magical place where the unusual is usual, Santa comes in the summer, it snows 12 months of the year and we guarantee you will find your favorite fragrance," said Steve Farley, Senior Vice President, Retail. "It will be truly a fantasy for ever new visitor."
About Yankee Candle
The Yankee Candle Company, Inc. (NYSE:YCC) is the leading designer, manufacturer, wholesaler and retailer of premium scented candles in the giftware industry. Yankee has a 36-year history of offering distinctive products and marketing them as affordable luxuries and consumable gifts. The Company sells its products through a North American wholesale customer network of approximately 16,200 store locations, a growing base of Company-owned and -operated retail stores (393 located in 42 states as of November 11, 2005), direct mail catalogs, its Internet Web site, www.yankeecandle.com, international distributors and to a European wholesale customer network of approximately 2,200 store locations through its distribution center located in Bristol, England. For more information visit the Web site and to request a catalog call 1-800-243-1776.