| Our History
MacPherson’s was founded in Montana in 1906 as a distributor
to the shoe repair trade. Its modern history, however, began in
1978 by which time we had become a small, San Francisco-based distributor
of art materials serving northern California.
Over the next several years the company expanded its geographical
reach gradually, adding product lines and building operating infrastructures.
Beginning in 1987 MacPherson's diversified into engineering and
drafting products through the acquisitions of Fullerton Sales (Los
Angeles) and U.S. Blueprint (Chicago) in 1989. Our largest acquisition
was Artcraft in the spring of 2000. The mid-to late-1990s was a
period of industry consolidation and during this time Artcraft had
acquired Leisurecrafts Company, a Los Angeles-based art and crafts
distributor (1993) and forged a marketing agreement with DMR Distributors,
Inc., a Florida distributor of art materials (1999).
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MacPherson’s, meanwhile, had acquired the marketing operations
of Virginia-based Eastern Art Supply (1991) and New York-based Paularte
Products (1997). The combined companies now form the largest art material
distribution company in the U.S.
This trend of consolidation has not, of course, been unique to
our industry. It has been forced by distributors’ requirements
to generate the sales volume and gross profits needed to provide
programs and services demanded by the market. Moreover, as retail
chain customers have expanded geographically, their suppliers have
also had to expand geographically to provide comprehensive support.
MacPherson’s looks forward to a successful future as a company
promoting the success of our retail customers by providing the most
comprehensive and cost-effective service in the art materials industry.
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