Company history
During the 1950s and 1960s, Gold Bond and sister company, Top Value Stamps, helped revolutionize the way retail goods were marketed. Trading stamps proved to be right for the times and swept the nation in a wave of dramatic growth.
In the 1960s, when the trading stamp market reached its peak, the Gold Bond Stamp Company expanded into the hospitality industry with the acquisition of the Radisson Hotel in downtown Minneapolis. In the 1970s, the company acquired dozens of additional businesses, including T.G.I. Friday's® and Ask Mr. Foster, a leading travel agency. To reflect its diversification, Gold Bond changed its name to Carlson Companies in 1973. In 2006, to demonstrate that we are one company serving a variety of needs, we became known as Carlson.
In 2008 – 2009, we evolved our business portfolio to focus on hospitality and travel. This focus deepened in 2012 when we decided to go to market and do business with our Brussels-based partner, The Rezidor Hotel Group, and create the Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group.
Carlson is a global leader in the hospitality and travel space thanks to the strengths of our brands: Radisson Blu, Radisson®, Park Plaza®, Park Inn by Radisson, Country Inns & Suites By CarlsonSM, Hotel Missoni, T.G.I. Friday’s® and Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT).
