Last Tuesday was full of love at The Container Store,
From the home office, distribution center to the sales floor!

The day was filled with employee gifts, balloons and whoopie pies,
And before the week was done – had one more BIG surprise!

Don’t worry if you missed it, we’ll take it from the top.
Just check out Rappin’ Rob G (aka our fabulous Loss Prevention Manager), his love rap beats just can’t be stopped!

At last month’s Marketing meeting, we were asked the following question “Why do you think The Container Store is a great place to work?” When it was my turn to answer, the word I thought of was “Connection.” We not only connect with each other as co-workers but we connect with our customers in a genuine way each and every day. There’s no script to follow which makes our interactions comfortable and natural. Our great people, both in the stores and in our Customer Solutions Department (our call center and online support staff), truly want to find a solution for our customers’ challenges. Many times they are sharing their intimate storage and organization secrets (or lack thereof) with us (what their home is like behind closed doors) and we develop a closeness where we feel like we can give them advice just like one of our dearest friends.

This was even more evident during our Annual elfa Sale that we just wrapped up. While this is the busiest time of year for us, it doesn’t stop us from spending the necessary time with each customer and gaining their trust. When they find out how easy it is to come up with a solution for their closet, they want to tackle another one. They also share their experiences with their friends and post “before/after” pictures to Facebook because they cannot wait to show off their new spaces. I just love how that connection we have with each customer truly make a difference in their homes and their lives.

— Chris, Customer Solutions Manager

Life is good when you partner with organizations like Life is good Playmakers that provides play-based training, support and resources to help kids overcome the life-threatening traumas of illness, violence and poverty. Playmakers are thousands of teachers, counselors, social workers and healthcare professionals who have dedicated their lives to healing and strengthening children.

The Container Store continued our partnership (we’ve sponsored the Life is good Festival two years in a row benefiting this great organization!) and donated elfa Shelving to outfit the Life is good Playmakers office. And as passionate fans of the Life is good brand and mission, our Boston-area employees were thrilled to install the elfa. “It was wonderful to have another opportunity to further this mutually beneficial relationship with Life is good and give back to this incredible cause!”

— Courtney, Store Manager – Sales/Training, Natick store.

Talk about LOVE!! Our National We Love Our Employees Day was an absolute success. We have had such a fun time today sharing the love for all of our GREAT employees in our stores across the country, our distribution center and our home office — it’s even written on the rooftop (watch the video here if you haven’t already)! Truly, there was more love today than we even have room to share on this blog but we hope you enjoy just some of our favorite photos and moments from our fabulous employees and customers across the country!

See photos from our celebrations nationwide.

Each and every one of our employees means so much to us and we cherish them every, single day! But it’s especially great to celebrate our 5000 employees from coast to coast (and our elfa employees on the other side of the pond) on this special day — our National We Love Our Employees Day!

As we bring our fiscal year to a close at the end of this month, it’s so fabulous to look back at what we‘ve accomplished as individuals and as a team. We’re a stronger company and community now more than ever. We’ve channeled our collective energy, passion and talents into opening four new stores, launching The Gift Registry and hundreds of new products, all while delighting our customers with service and solutions that we hope gets them dancing each time they open the door to their organized closet.

Together we make our success by our commitment to excellence in everything we do and our unwavering support of each other. And there are more great things on the horizon for our wonderful company in 2012, including more new stores and a wealth of opportunities for us all of our employees to shine!

Speaking of the horizon… did you hear what our fearless leaders Kip, Sharon, Melissa and Garrett did to tell our employees how much they’re loved? Let’s just say they did a bit more than just shout their love from the rooftop. They wrote our employees the BIGGEST LOVE NOTE EVER on the roof of our home office in Coppell, TX — it measures 58,800 square feet!! You’ve got to see it to believe it — be sure to watch the video at the top of this page.

Happy Valentine’s Day — and Happy We Love Our Employees Day!

Share the love! Leave a love note for our employees to win one of TEN $100 Gift Cards!

Want to share your love for our employees? Join us in celebrating our 5000 GREAT employees who make The Container Store a fun place to work and shop by writing your own love note to them below. Simply comment to this blog post. We’ll select 10 customers to win a $100 Store More Card for sharing their love. Winners will be announced on February 22^nd!

Did you see our Biggest Love Note Ever? Watch this fun video!

Share the Love Giveaway Official Rules

We will open our newest Los Angeles-area store in the South Bay community of El Segundo on Saturday and Sunday June 16 and 17 and have chosen Sandpipers as our nonprofit partner who will receive 10 percent of all sales from our new El Segundo store during Grand Opening Weekend.  Sandpipers is an all women volunteer organization dedicated to serving the needs of the South Bay community through charitable and philanthropic programs. Each year, Sandpipers donates more than 1,300 hours of community service, reaching more than 23,000 people in the community. The Container Store and Sandpipers are thrilled about this partnership and look forward to a successful Grand Opening Weekend.

Viva Las Vegas!  On Saturday and Sunday, May 12 and 13, we will celebrate the Grand Opening of our new store at Town Square Las Vegas! We are happy to donate 10 percent of all sales from our new Las Vegas store during Grand Opening Weekend to the Junior League of Las Vegas! The Junior League of Las Vegas is an organization of women committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women and improving communities through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. Together, we will open our new Las Vegas store with a bang, ensuring a big check to the League!

There aren’t enough words to describe why The Container Store is such a great place to work – but we sure tried!  We continued our celebration of the announcement that The Container Store was once again on FORTUNE Magazine’s list of “100 Best Companies to Work For” in a recent marketing department meeting.  We went around the room and each described why we feel The Container Store is such a great place to work — and talk about inspiring!  Just when you thought you knew your colleagues of 2, 5, 10, 15 years, you learned something more about how The Container Store has touched their heart. The catch — everyone had to say something different, which is amazing when you consider that there were more than 30 people in the room. See for yourself what everyone had to say!

• There are no boundaries to what you can experience in your career
• We have true compassion for each other
• The positive energy is incredible and you can’t help but feed off of it
• We celebrate our successes!
• The opportunities in this company are limited only by your imagination
• We help each other to be right not wrong
• Being surrounded by great, talented people inspires me every day
• We support each other personally and professionally
• I love the level of responsibility and challenges we’re given every day — it’s up to me to make it better
• We have fun every day!
• Happiness is having a great job and amazing colleagues to work with.
• The longevity of people who work here — 10, 20, 25, 30 years — says a lot
• We care — it’s so fun to come to work with people who care about the future of our company, the quality of their work, and making sure things are done right
• We always make sure people feel welcome and a part of the TCS family
• We push each other in the right way
• Everyone feels like a valued member of the team — we’re kept in the loop on everything that’s going on regardless of our role in the final decision
• We have a bright, beautiful and fun work environment and the people — great, smart, strong people!
• We are encouraged to think outside of the box
• It’s about teamwork — you really feel like you’re part of a team every single day
• We have a relaxed atmosphere whether you’re in our stores or in the home office
• The people make it such a great place to work. We hold each other and our own teams accountable to our 1=3 Foundation Principle
• Our teams work so well together — the communication is very fluid while we’re juggling multiple projects
• Every day is rewarding — opinions matter and anyone can contribute
• We’re always encouraged to come up with great ideas
• Everyone has a passionate loyalty — to each other, our brand, and our vendors — to be better every day.  It’s about creating that “squeal” when a customer hears you work for The Container Store or we try something new or work through a challenge
• I know that everyone at our company cares about me as a person and as an employee
• We’re not just a corporation but a community and a family where you know people care about you
• We always have each others’ backs — no matter what
• We’re able to really connect with our phone and online customers because we’re not scripted. We have the freedom to connect with them on a personal level.
• There’s tremendous empowerment and we all feel ownership
• It’s the closest thing you can do next to owning your own business
• We’re transparent — it’s ok to say “I don’t know” because someone will help you find the answer.

— Kip, Chairman and CEO

Each and every person at this company lives our Foundation Principles through our interaction with our customers and each of our employees.  We work so hard to develop our vendor relationships and offer the greatest products to our customers.  All of this drives my great pride to be a part of this incredible organization.

—  Natalie, Vice President of Accounting, 14 years

We know that at The Container Store, we can make a difference – and have fun doing it! We’ve encouraged all of our employees in our Stores, Office and Distribution Center to wear red today to support the American Heart Association and their fight against heart disease! We also have signage in all of our stores to further communicate this message to our customers.

We had so much to celebrate last Thursday when more than 500 employees from our Home Office and Distribution Center along with more than 100 of our beloved vendors came together to celebrate the announcement that The Container Store was #22 on FORTUNE Magazine’s list of “100 Best Companies to Work For”. The celebration started with 13 banners representing our 13 years on the employer-of-choice list being unfurled one after the other culminating with the 2012 banner! There was a champagne toast and employees enjoyed delicious treats that included a popcorn bar with gourmet toppings and whoopee pies.

In the spirit of keeping our recent Staff Meeting alive, the theme of this year’s FORTUNE “100 Best” celebration was “Connection, Communication and Community” with games and activities centered around our “yummy” culture, our Foundation Principles^TMand our products. Activities included two community art projects — a puzzle project where employees personalized puzzle pieces with colored markers, stickers, stencils and gems and then added their decorated piece to form a puzzle with a surprise message. And the second was an art project for local Dallas nonprofit Dwell with Dignity where employees made colorful woven squares that together created a beautiful piece of modern art to go in the new home of a family struggling with homelessness and poverty. Every employee was also encouraged to write a fun fact about themselves on a sticker and wear it to the party. This was such a great opportunity to connect with each other — so many fun conversations were started and we learned so many things about our colleagues that we didn’t know!

Other activities included employees connecting hundreds of AMAC Boxes to create a colorful AMAC sculpture, a 3-Legged Balloon Pop, Musical Dairy Crates, and The Container Store Pictionary. Employees also took time to connect with each other at “The History Bar” where they enjoyed a special “Fortune Teller” drink created to honor this very special day and relaxed in The Connection Corner lounge where they played “Connect Four” and kicked back in comfy chairs.

Jennifer, a Home Office employee who got to experience her first FORTUNE celebration said, “I absolutely loved it! I thought it was so much fun — there was so much to do and I was able to connect with so many people. Seeing the banners unfurl one after the other commemorating our FORTUNE honor for the past 13 years was just amazing — this is what Air of Excitement is all about!!”

See more photos.

In my years of experience in retail, I have never felt as connected to a team as I do here.  Communication truly is leadership. We all know what is expected of us. We have all trained extensively to be the best we can be at our jobs. We help each other, coach each other, and support each other in all that we do. I am confident that this is why our customers feel such a great Air of Excitement when they enter our stores…we are all excited to be here, and to share it with them!!  Who knew storage and organization could be so exciting?

— Lisa, Store Manager – Training, South Coast Store, 5 months

In our effort to connect and create an even greater sense of community, the Import and Transportation Department put their heads together and came up with a great, fun idea.  Our Customer Solutions Department (CSD) is such a huge part of our company but they are so busy on the phones with customers that we rarely get the opportunity to meet and know them.  So we met with Chris Rohlf, the CSD Manager, and she provided us with some amazing information about all the things that CSD works on – in addition to the sales on the phone.  We were already smitten just with their sales on most days but after seeing this long list we launched a goal to show our appreciation and love to the CSD team and find a way to get to know them even better.

So, we hand decorated more than 50 gift bags using words that we felt best described our culture and workplace, and put all kinds of different things in the bags for them to enjoy.  For instance, play-doh because you need to have fun, life savers since the next few months are their busiest, they may need one, a packet of energy drink mix for that extra burst of energy, along with pretzels, candy and almonds.  We made a button for each CSD employee to wear that said “Way to Goal CSD!” and also made magnets for everyone adorned with our President’s, Melissa Reiff, 15 heartfelt characteristics of a GREAT leader!  To top it off, each of us made a couple of dozen cookies each.

So, we began with a little song that was written by our own Paige Hankins and then continued with telling them how much we appreciate and adore them and would love the opportunity to get to know them.  So, we went around the room, beginning with me and said how long we have been with the company and something that they might not know about.  For example – I have been with The Container Store eight years and I have two granddaughters and two golden retrievers. It was so much fun and a lot of laughter was heard!

We had so much fun preparing all of this for them and in exchange we are making connections with our TCS family.

— Debbie Taylor, Important Assistant, 8 years

See more photos

Although we have a very goal-oriented culture, we never feel rushed or forced to finish our quota by certain time limit.  Not to mention, I feel safe even though I work in a warehouse.  We have great safety training rules in place so that everyone can work safely and still have fun.  I cannot express enough how much I enjoy every second of my workday.  I wake up every morning now, eager to get to work because there will always be something new and exciting waiting for me there.

— Kelly, Fulfillment Department, 3 months

We did It AGAIN In 2012!  We’re on FORTUNE Magazine’s list of “100 Best Companies to Work For” and this year, we are #22!!  It’s such a celebration and one of our proudest accomplishments to be a retailer recognized on this list for 13 years where 2/3 of our score is determined by an employee survey.

“I can’t imagine another honor that means more to us as an employer than one where our employees applaud our approach to creating a thriving, rewarding and fun workplace,” said Kip, our Chairman and CEO.

Not only has this honor shined a spotlight on our company and on our brand, but it has had an extraordinary impact on our ability to attract greater than great people to work retail – now that’s something we’re extremely proud of!  FORTUNE also recognized us for never resorting to layoffs in our 33-year history, despite recent challenging economic times, the high percentage of women (66%) and minority employees (28%) in the company and attentiveness to our employees’ well-being.

Since we opened in 1978, we have run our business in a conscious way by always putting our employees first and we know that is the key to our company’s success.  We are so proud of our employee-first culture and we’re committed to making our company an even better place to work by continually searching for new ways to offer  even more breathless communication, training, benefits, empowerment and fun.  We strongly believe that if you take care of your employees better than anybody else, they will take care of your customers better than anybody else!

Every year, we’re always so humbled to be on the FORTUNE list with so many companies we admire. But wherever we land on the list, we know in our hearts that The Container Store is the best company to work for in America, with the best employees.

We’ll be celebrating this incredible honor today with our 5,000 employees across the country in our stores, Home Office and Distribution Center – with more than 100 vendors joining us here at our headquarters. Congratulations to all of the companies on the list – and especially to our amazing employees!  It’s everything you do, every single day to take care of our customers and each other that makes The Container Store such a special place to work and shop!

I am always asked by friends and family who are getting familiar with The Container Store, “How can we have a successful company selling boxes with nothing in them?”  They ask me what makes it such a great place to work and shop.  Why does a company that only has 53 stores get so much notoriety?

Well, I truly think our brand is fueled by the power of our wake and not by how many stores we have.  It is really something pretty simple that is just a part of everyone who works here.  It was summed up at our recent Staff Meeting and provided for us some clarity for everyone.  Our purpose each and every day is to improve the people’s lives we interact with, each day.  Whether it’s coworkers, customers, vendors etc., if we are truly giving of ourselves to improve their lives, then we are fulfilling our purpose.

We do this by being a great coworker; we don’t create work for anyone else.  We share our expertise with one another so that collectively we are more successful in our jobs.  We are equipped to improve our customers’ lives by helping them get organized.  When they are organized, they have more time and they get to spend that time doing what is truly important to them.   So while those boxes we sell may be empty – the people who sell them are full of heart and soul and a purpose to make even Oprah over-the-top excited.  And boy, am I so proud to be a part of that!

—  John, Regional Director,  18 years

Think we’re just about fabulous closets? Think again.

Yes, The Container Store has been getting our customers organized for more than 30 years, but since 1978, we’ve also been running our business by putting purpose before profits. Back then, we just called it the way we do business. Kind of Golden Rule-ish – that’s the way we lived and worked. Today, we’re proud to be one of the pioneering companies in a movement called Conscious Capitalism. We’re a group of like-minded companies of all sizes working together to change the face of business in America and around the world.

Businesses that practice Conscious Capitalism stand for more than just making money, but rather have leaders who walk the talk through developing and nurturing a conscious culture. And we all have a firm belief that properly balancing the needs of all of a business’ stakeholders – its employees, customers, vendors, community and shareholders – is the right thing to do. As our Chairman and CEO, Kip Tindell, says, “It’s not a zero-sum game – someone doesn’t have to lose in business for others to win. Operating this way is the most sustainable form of business, the most enjoyable and profit is the natural outcome.”

For The Container Store, it starts with putting our employees first. By doing this, our customers are delighted by their shopping experience, our vendors are true partners in our business, our stores are active in their local communities and our shareholders benefit from a healthy bottom line. We do this by following our seven Foundation Principles™ – simple business philosophies that guide everything we do.

Intrigued? We sure hope so. We invite you to spend some time on our blog, learning more about us and once you do, make a comment and tell us what you think for a chance to win a $100 Gift Card so that you can experience all that our company stands for.

As the original storage and organization store, we believe that being organized promotes a sharp mind.  And brain health is a topic that we know continues to resonate with our customers and employees alike. For the fifth year in a row, we are proud to sponsor the Center for BrainHealth’s annual Lecture Series.  The Center for BrainHealth, part of the University of Texas at Dallas, was created to promote and advance brain health fitness. Top scientists at the Center are conducting life-improving studies on all brain conditions, diseases, and disorders incorporating the latest technologies and breakthrough discoveries to shine fresh light on unsolved mysteries of the mind. The goal: to maximize the amazing potential of our most vital organ – the brain.

Beginning February 7^th, the Center will host a four-part series called, “An Organized Life. A Sharp Mind,” sponsored by The Container Store. These lectures give our customers a chance to learn about cutting-edge transformative brain research directly from the world’s leading neuroscientists!  To find out more about the Center for BrainHealth and the lecture series, visit centerforbrainhealth.org.

Dr. Sandi Chapman, the founder of the Center for BrainHealth, joined our President, Melissa Reiff for fascinating (and fun) conversation about the brain at our recent Staff Meeting. Watch and make a comment about what you’re doing to keep your brain healthy for a chance to win a $100 Gift Card to The Container Store.