Remembering Harry
I will always remember Harry Lloyd as a savior for our family. When Dave started working for Harry we had the first financial stabilty in our married life. We got married very young and struggled financially. Dave was bringing home $160.00 every 2 weeks. There were times when we had to stretch $80.00 to last 2 weeks for food, gas, car expenses and payment, rent, utilities, clothes and spending money. It was me, Dave and Marty and we struggled for years while Dave was working for The Mattingly's/Matco Company. When Marty was born in 1970 we had no money and he was on the installment plan to the Doctor and Hospital for 2 years.We started out in Bonneville Mo where we purchased a 12 x 50 mobile home, we were transferred 7 times in 7 years. We finally landed in Blue Springs Mo. where Dave saw the the ad for a Purchasing Manager at The House of Lloyd Company in the Kansas City Star. Dave went and interviewed for the job and after the interview he said "I would give my right arm for that job!" Dave had not graduated from college so he had told Harry in the interview that he felt this was his down fall applying for this job. Harry said the experienced Dave got while working as a Retail Manager for Mattingly's/Matco made up for not having a college degree. So in 1978 our lifes changed with the entrance of Harry J. Lloyd as a person and his company House of Lloyd. Harry paid his employee's well and treated them well. We had enough money to finally live without worrying where our next dime was coming from and when! We got to wine and dine with the Lloyd's and travel on company trips to places I never dreamed I would visit! Dave worked for House of Lloyd from 1978 to 1993 and still makes a living in the same business he learned from Harry.
Harry Lloyd, a one-time fireworks salesman, started House of Lloyd in 1952, selling small gift items out of an 850-square-foot chicken coop. The company, occupied two facilities in Grandview totaling more than 2 million square feet (the size of 47 football fields) sold toys, holiday trinkets, kitchen accessories and other items via direct mail, home sales parties and Santa Surplus seasonal discount stores. Over the next three decades, as the largest employer in Grandview Mo. His number of employees had grew from two to over two thousand. Dave was Purchasing Manager and one of Harry's right arm employee's.
House of Lloyd’s 1995 sales were $220 million, making it the top selling party plan in the nation.
Harry Lloyd passed away in January 1997 after a five-year battle with cancer. His daughter, Demi Lloyd, became CEO in October 1996, and after her father's death continued the tradition of service and excellence that he began when she was a child. (A Message from Harry) As part of the stipulations of the Harry J. Lloyd Trust, the company had to be sold within five years of Mr. Lloyd's death.
In November of 1999, House of Lloyd was sold to Kier Group Holdings, led by Joel Kier. After some poor restructuring and lower sales in 'party plan' across the board in 2001, the company suffered losses. On January 8, 2002, Kier Group Holdings abruptly closed the company.
In May 2002, the Home Interiors company purchased the assets, inventory and rights to the names "House of Lloyd" and "Christmas Around the World."
House of Lloyd’s 1995 sales were $220 million, making it the top selling party plan in the nation.
Harry Lloyd passed away in January 1997 after a five-year battle with cancer. His daughter, Demi Lloyd, became CEO in October 1996, and after her father's death continued the tradition of service and excellence that he began when she was a child. (A Message from Harry) As part of the stipulations of the Harry J. Lloyd Trust, the company had to be sold within five years of Mr. Lloyd's death.
In November of 1999, House of Lloyd was sold to Kier Group Holdings, led by Joel Kier. After some poor restructuring and lower sales in 'party plan' across the board in 2001, the company suffered losses. On January 8, 2002, Kier Group Holdings abruptly closed the company.
In May 2002, the Home Interiors company purchased the assets, inventory and rights to the names "House of Lloyd" and "Christmas Around the World."
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