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1932
OTC was founded by Harry Watanabe who bought a gift shop in Omaha, Nebraska, and eventually expanded to 17 shops throughout the Midwest.
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1942
With World War II and the restriction of importing from Japan, Harry Watanabe was forced to sell all but the Omaha stores. He purchased a ceramics factory in Omaha and began manufacturing Kewpie dolls and small ceramic items.
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1954
By early 1952, OTC was allowed to resume importing from Japan. By that time, OTC was a major supplier to the carnival trade in the United States operating out of a 15,000 square foot facility. In 1956, OTC introduced its first-edition catalog. Initially, OTC published the catalog every two years.
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The Second 30 Years
If any word can describe the following 30 years of OTC’s history, it would be GROWTH! The 1970’s and 1980’s proved to be exciting years for OTC and the international trade market. Employee staff size grew to over 1,000 employees in 1992. |
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1977
This fast-paced decade was influenced by outstanding change and opportunities for OTC. In 1971, OTC moved into a new warehouse and headquarters in Omaha on "J" Street, providing 72,000 square feet of space. In 1977, Harry’s son, Terry Watanabe, became president of OTC as the emphasis on carnivals changed to schools, churches, retailers, and consumers. |
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1979
The first toll-free line makes ordering from Oriental Trading even easier!
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1981
With Terry Watanabe leading the way, the addition of a WATTS line, seasonal catalogs and the use of color photographs propelled OTC into a decade of tremendous growth forcing yet another move. OTC moved to a facility at 108th and "I" Streets in Omaha, with 325,000 square feet of office and warehouse space.
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1990
With the launch of a new catalog, Terry’s Village, in 1994 and the Commercial Sales Division touting such customers as Walt Disney Company and Chuck E. Cheese’s Pizza, expansion was once again a necessity. In the early 1990’s, OTC purchased a warehouse in Underwood, Iowa, with space for future growth.
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1999
In the mid-1990’s, the Ralston, Fremont, "I" Street and "F" Street facilities were added to handle continued growth. Today, OTC offers more than 20,000 items and has catalog circulation of over 100 million, fills 1.5 million square feet of office and warehouse space, and employs more than 3,000 employees.
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2002
In 2000, Brentwood Associates, a leading Los Angeles-based private equity firm entered into an agreement with OTC to help drive the company into a new phase of growth. Later that same year, Steve Frary, a former Time Warner Inc. executive succeeded Terry Watanabe as President and CEO of OTC.
OTC continues to grow in the 21st century.
Orientaltrading.com was named one of the top 100 Internet retailers by the National Retail Federation.
The company fulfilled its one millionth online order and attracted a record 1.5 million new customers.
OTC is consistently ranked in terms of sales in Catalog Age's top 100 Catalogs.
The Better Business Bureau honored OTC for Business Integrity and Service Excellence.
The Omaha Chamber of Commerce named OTC one of Omaha’s Fastest Growing Companies for three consecutive years
OTC expanded its operations by building a 600,000 sq. foot inventory storage facility in La Vista, NE.
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