The fair-trade gift shop Ten Thousand Villages plans to close 13 stores, including its locations in Center City and Media, Delaware County, by the end of March as part of a shift toward online sales.
The nonprofit chain, headquartered in Lancaster County, has about 45 company-owned stores in addition to other locations that operate under the brand's license. Ten Thousand Villages sells artisan wares, including home decor and personal accessories.
MORE: Resident physicians at Einstein vote to unionize, and those in other Philly hospitals may soon, too
The Center City store, at 1315 Walnut St., opened in 2019. The Media store, at 101 State Road, has been there at least 18 years. Ten Thousand Villages also is closing its location at Kitchen Kettle Village in Intercourse, Lancaster County.
Dan Alonzo, the chain's CEO, said the closures are intended to steer more resources toward its work with underserved communities and provide more support for its network of licensed stores. The nonprofit also plans to increase its focus on wholesaling.
Ten Thousand Villages is among the world's largest and oldest fair trade organizations. Its founder, Mennonite missionary Edna Ruth Byler, developed the idea during a 1946 trip to Puerto Rico. The poverty she witnessed inspired her to help local artisans market their crafts and form wider networks for their goods to be sold internationally at fair prices.
Byler partnered for years with the relief organization Mennonite Central Committee to expand the concept. The mission is to give partnering artisans a sustainable living and to encourage the use of recycled materials to make crafts, home decor and other products sold in stores. The nonprofit's network of artisans now includes tens of thousands of people in more than 35 countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East.
Another Ten Thousands Villages network store closed in Souderton, Montgomery County in December, and other stores in Glen Mills, Delaware County and Bryn Mawr, Montgomery County also have closed in recent years.
The other stores set to close include locations in New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Virginia, North Carolina and Texas.