History of Pleasant Company and American Girl Catalogues

We encourage you to read, “How An Idea Sparked a Multi-Million Dollar Company,” to learn more about the history of American Girl and its founder, Pleasant T. Rowland.

Information from this article was published online by Company Histories and Reference for Business. Visit company-histories.com and referenceforbusiness.com to read the entire article and explore other articles.

In the Fall of 1986, Pleasant Rowland sent out the first Pleasant Company catalogue (pictured). Rowland worked with a small team to put together the lavish catalogue and mailed it to around 500,000 upscale consumers through a list she purchased. In addition to purchasing a list, Rowland also placed a few advertisements in select magazines such as the New Yorker and Smithsonian.  

The catalogue featured the first three characters of the American Girls Collection: Kirsten, Samantha and Molly.

By Christmas 1986, Rowland and Pleasant Company sold around $1.7 million worth of products through its mail-order catalogue. By the company’s second year, sales had reached around $7.6 million through its mail-order catalogue. Rowland’s mailing list, which had started with 500,000 names, had grown to eight million over the first three years. 

By 1991 sales for Pleasant Company had grown to $77 million based only on a mail-order catalogue and word of mouth. Over the next five years, sales for Pleasant Company grew approximately $50 million each year just from her mail-order catalogue. 

In 1998, Pleasant Company changed the name of its catalogue and its e-commerce and over-the-phone services to American Girl. By 2004, Pleasant Company officially changed its name to American Girl. 

For over 35 years, American Girl has continued to send its iconic catalogue to households all over the country. And we invite you to stroll back in time and relive your childhood memories as you visit our new exhibit, Childhood Nostalgia: A Collection of Pleasant Company and American Girl Catalogues.