Carlson Companies

Headquarters: 701 Carlson Pkwy.
Minnetonka, MN 55305
Employees: 171,000
CEO: Marilyn Carlson Nelson
Privately held

Website: http://www.carlson.com

Career Site

Carlson Companies is a global leader in the marketing, travel, and hospitality industries. Among the brands in the Carlson family of services are: Regent International Hotels ; Radisson Hotels & Resorts; Park Plaza Hotels & Resorts ; Country Inns & Suites By Carlson; Park Inn hotels; Regent Seven Seas Cruises ; T.G.I. Friday's and Pick Up Stix restaurants; Carlson Wagonlit Travel; Cruise Holidays; All Aboard Travel ; Cruise Specialists; Fly4Less.com ; CruiseDeals.com ; Results Travel; Carlson Destination Marketing Services; Carlson Leisure Travel Services; SeaMaster Cruises; SinglesCruise.com; CW Government Travel; Carlson Marketing; Peppers & Rogers Group ; and Gold Points Reward Network , an online/offline consumer loyalty program.

Ranked among the largest privately held corporations in the United States, Carlson Companies is based in Minneapolis. Carlson-related brands and services employ about 171,000 people in more than 150 countries.

Carlson Real Estate Company owns and manages a portfolio encompassing 5 million square feet of office and industrial properties concentrated in Minnesota and Arizona.

Many of Carlson Real Estate Company's flagship properties are located in Carlson Center, a premier development in west suburban Minneapolis. This project, about a 10-minute drive from downtown Minneapolis, is one of the highest quality mixed-use developments in the United States.

Carlson Companies was recognized as one of the 100 Best Companies for Working Mothers by Working Mother magazine. It is the fifth time in the last six years that Carlson has been selected as a "100 Best" company.

In 2005, sales under the Carlson brands worldwide (including franchised operations) totaled $34.4 billion.

History

The history of Carlson Companies is a classic business success story in the American free enterprise system. Starting in 1938 with an idea and a $55 loan, entrepreneur Curtis L. Carlson (1914-1999) founded the Gold Bond Stamp Company in his home city of Minneapolis. Carlson knew that grocery stores, drug stores, gas stations and other independent merchants could use stamps to distinguish themselves from their competitors. During the 1950s and 1960s, in fact, Gold Bond and sister company, Top Value Stamps, helped revolutionize the way retail goods were marketed. Trading stamps proved to be right for the times and swept the nation in a wave of dramatic growth.

In the late 1960s, when the trading stamp market reached its peak, the Gold Bond Stamp Company expanded into the hospitality industry. In the 1970s, the company acquired dozens of additional businesses, including the highly successful T.G.I. Friday's restaurant chain in 1975 and internationally renowned Ask Mr. Foster travel agencies. To reflect its diversification, Gold Bond changed its name to Carlson Companies in 1973.

In 2000, the company acquired the Park Hotel and Park Inn brands.

Benefits

- Health
- Dental
- Vision
- 401(k) retirement savings plan
- Flexible spending accounts
- Vacation and holiday plan
- Purchased time off
- Leave of absence
- Tuition reimbursement
- Elective life insurance
- Short- and long-term disability insurance
- Free, 24/7 employee-assistance program
- Legal assistance
- Adoption assistance
- Domestic-partner coverage

Updated October 20, 2006