April 1994 - The KCET Store of Knowledge Opens

In April 1994, The KCET Store of Knowledge opened its first location at the Glendale Galleria, the result of a revenue-generating joint venture for the station.

The economic downturn of the early 1990s resulted in some challenging financial times for KCET. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting's Community Service Grant had gone down along with the station's income. Costs, including PBS dues were rising, and KCET ended the 1993 fiscal year with a positive balance of only $7,000 in the bank.

KCET Vice President for Marketing and Business Development Tim Conroy had looked into various options to generate revenue, which included a retail store. A KCET storefront connected to the VideoFinders home video ordering service was opened on Sunset Boulevard just outside the studios in the fall of 1992.

KCET had inquired about opening a franchise of Boston's WGBH Learningsmith retail store, but the other station eventually declined.

In the summer of 1993, KCET Board Member Leonard Strauss pushed for joint venture to open a retail enterprise. The venture comprised of KCET, Lakeshore Learning Materials, and financial partner Riordan, Lewis and Halden, each claiming an even 1/3rd of the interest. A six-member board would direct the venture (headed by Conroy and later KCET Chief Financial Officer Gary Ferrell), and KCET would only have to lend its name for branding purposes. Called The KCET Store of Knowledge, it would be a chain of local stores selling PBS and KCET-related merchandise, as well as science and educational products.

The first store was projected to open in March 1994, followed by three more later in the year, with seven more opening in 1995, with a goal of 16 stores by 1996. The plan would later go nationwide in selected cities, each using the local PBS station's name and branding in a similar fashion. The profits of the venture were to be initially re-invested in the growth of the venture.

At its peak in 2000, the KCET Store of Knowledge had six locations in major shopping malls around Southern California: Glendale Galleria, Santa Monica Place, Montclair Plaza, Fashion Island (Newport Beach), The Promenade (Woodland Hills), and The Oaks (Thousand Oaks).

Though the goal of 16 stores was never reached, the concept nevertheless expanded into other PBS markets nationwide as planned, with 92 "Store of Knowledge" locations opened across the country. By 2000, the Store of Knowledge franchises had generated up to $125 million in annual sales.

However, by the next year, facing a flooded market of several learning and knowledge-themed retail competitors, as well as an emerging online sales market, the Store of Knowledge chain did not have enough capital to sustain themselves for another year. Despite a profitable 2001 holiday sales season, the Store of Knowledge chain ceased operations in 2002.