See’s Candies® originated in Los Angeles, California, when Charles See arrived from Canada with his wife, Florence, and mother, Mary. They opened their first shop in 1921. From thirty shops in the late 1920s to more than two hundred independent shops today, including airport and department store kiosks, the proprietary black-and-white store design became part of the company’s trademarked style, and is still in place. In addition to their many shops in the West, there are shops in Hong Kong and Tokyo. While primarily a West Coast phenomenon, a move eastward found a See’s shop in Chicago, and See’s has commonly set up holiday kiosks for holiday shopping from Thanksgiving through Christmas, located from Florida to Maine. Starting in 2010, they began to keep some of these kiosks open through Mother’s Day. The two “candy kitchens” (i.e., factories) in which the candies and chocolates are manufactured are in San Francisco and Los Angeles, California. See’s Candies company was sold to Berkshire Hathaway in 1972. A huge online presence, as well as many charitable connections, has allowed See’s to expand greatly.
