Hobby Lobby

Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc.

A Hobby Lobby location in Stow, Ohio
Type	Private
Industry	Retail
Founded	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S. (August 1972 (1972-08))
Number of locations	600 stores (2015)
Key people	David Green (CEO) Steve Green (President) Jon Cargill (CFO)
Products	Arts and crafts supplies
Revenue	US$ 4 billion (2015)[1]
Number of employees	28,000 (2015)[1]
Website	www.hobbylobby.com

Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. is a private for-profit, closely held corporation,^[2] and an American chain of retail arts and crafts stores based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, formerly called Hobby Lobby Creative Centers. The stores are managed by direct corporate hires.^[3]

History

David Green opened the first Hobby Lobby store, in a 300-square-foot (28 m²) space in northwest Oklahoma City, in 1972.^[4] Retail sales were $3,200 from August to the end of the year.^[5] He moved to a larger 1,000 square foot space in January 1973. Green left his supervisor position with variety store TG&Y to open a second Hobby Lobby in Oklahoma City in 1975, and a store opened in Tulsa, Oklahoma the next year.^[4] It grew to seven stores by mid 1982,^[5] and the first store outside Oklahoma opened in 1984.^[4]

By the start of 1989, the chain had about 15 stores. By late 1992, it had grown to 50 locations in seven states,^[6] and its growth continued to accelerate. Its 100th store opened in August 1995,^[7] and its 200th in August 1999.^[8] By March 2002, that number had grown to 281 stores in 24 states,^[9] and 310 by October 2003.^[4]

As of April 2015, the chain has 600 stores nationwide with the headquarters building in a 3,400,000-square-foot (320,000 m²) manufacturing, distribution, and office complex.^[10]

Opposition to Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

David Green took a public stance against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, citing its inclusion of a provision mandating that companies provide access to the morning-after pill, which some consider an abortifacient.^[11]

In September 2012, Hobby Lobby filed a lawsuit against the United States over new regulations requiring health insurance provided by employers to cover emergency contraceptives, stating: "(T)he Green family's religious beliefs forbid them from participating in, providing access to, paying for, training others to engage in, or otherwise supporting abortion-causing drugs and devices".^[12][13] Hobby Lobby argued that the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act serve to protect their religious beliefs, and accordingly bars the application of the contraceptive mandate to them.^[14] The U.S. Supreme Court rejected the company's application for an injunction, prompting the firm to sue the federal government.^[15][16] On July 19, 2013, US District Judge Joe Heaton granted the company a temporary exemption from the contraceptive-providing mandate.^[17]

In contrast, on January 28, 2014, the Center for Inquiry filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court^[18] arguing that were the court to grant Hobby Lobby an exclusion which permitted the company to exclude any specific healthcare service from its provision to employees on the basis of the owners' religious beliefs, the firm would violate the Establishment Clause, also part of the First Amendment. The Establishment Clause states: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion".

Oral arguments in the case, then known as Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby, were heard on March 25, 2014.^[19]

Supreme Court decision

On June 30, 2014, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that Hobby Lobby and other "closely held" stock corporations can choose to be exempt from the law based on religious preferences, based on the Religious Freedom Restoration Act but not on the First Amendment.^[20][21]

Non-stocking of items relating to Jewish holidays

In September 2013, a shopper reported being told by a store employee, in Marlboro, New Jersey, Hobby Lobby did not carry merchandise celebrating Jewish holidays. While the store carried Christmas items, they did not carry items related to bar mitzvah, Hanukkah, or Passover. The store employee told the shopper these items were not sold due to the owner's Christian values.^[22][23] In response, Hobby Lobby apologized for the employee's comments, stating that it has carried Jewish holiday items in the past and would do so in test areas beginning in November 2013.^[24]

Illegal importation of cultural property

In December 2010, Hobby Lobby purchased $1.6 million worth of Iraqi artifacts from dealers in the United Arab Emirates, presumably to be included in the Museum of the Bible—a Washington, D.C. museum being backed by David Green. The company went on with the purchase despite concerns from lawyers over the uncertain origin of the artifacts, and the possibility that they could have been looted. The shipments included tablets inscribed with cuneiform writing, which were misrepresented on declarations as being ceramic and clay tile samples, and contained false designations of origin stating that the objects were from Turkey and Israel. The company became subject to investigation by the U.S. government for these actions.^{[25][26][27][28][29]}

According to a Justice Department press release, "In October 2010, an expert on cultural property law retained by Hobby Lobby warned the company that the acquisition of cultural property likely from Iraq, including cuneiform tablets and cylinder seals, carries a risk that such objects may have been looted from archaeological sites in Iraq. The expert also advised Hobby Lobby to review its collection of antiquities for any objects of Iraqi origin and to verify that their country of origin was properly declared at the time of importation into the United States. The expert warned Hobby Lobby that an improper declaration of country of origin for cultural property could lead to seizure and forfeiture of the artifacts by CBP." ^[30]

On July 5, 2017, Hobby Lobby consented to a settlement requiring forfeiture of the artifacts and payment of a fine of $3 million.^[28][31] Israeli police have arrested five antiquities dealers, in connection with the illegal importation of ancient artifacts by Hobby Lobby. ^[28][32]

Business practices

Hobby Lobby stores and facilities are open for business every day with the exception of Sunday^[33] due to Green's religious beliefs. He wanted his employees to have more time to spend for worship, rest, and family, even at the expense of profits.^[34]

Rather than using a barcode system, the company uses manual pricing for product ordering and accounting. The website states they "continue to look at and review the option of scanning at the registers but do not feel it is right for [them] at this time".^[34]

References

External links

• Official website
• Voices of Oklahoma interview with David Green. First person interview conducted on October 6, 2009, with David Green, founder of Hobby Lobby.