Olan Mills, Inc. was a privately owned American company founded in 1932 by Olan Mills Sr. and Mary Mills which was headquartered in Chattanooga, Tennessee. It provided portrait photography and church directories through its two main corporate divisions: Olan Mills Portrait Studios and Olan Mills Church Division.

Olan Mills Inc.
IndustryPortrait photography, Church Directories
FoundedTennessee, 1932, by Olan Mills Sr. and Mary Mills
FateAcquired by Lifetouch (2011)
Headquarters
Key people
Olan Mills II, Chairman Emeritus,
Robert L. McDowell, CEO and President
Laura Carden, Vice-President of Finance and CFO
David Butler, President of Church Directories Division
Revenueunknown
unknown
unknown
Number of employees
3,700 (2001 est.)
WebsiteLifetouch.com

Its United Kingdom division, based in Northamptonshire and with numerous studios based in Mothercare stores, stopped trading on December 26, 2008. That was in preparation for the firm being placed into administration.[1]

On November 9, 2011, Lifetouch Inc. announced that it had purchased the Olan Mills photography business, Olan Mills Church Directories and Olan Mills Portrait Studios, its corporate functions, and the production operations in Chattanooga.[2] In January 2012, Lifetouch announced the closing of two of Olan Mills's three facilities in Chattanooga with 383 job losses.[3]

References edit

  1. ^ "Photography studio ceases trading". BBC News. 2008-12-30. Retrieved 2008-12-30.
  2. ^ "Lifetouch Acquires Olan Mills". Chattanooga Times Free Press. 2011-11-09. Retrieved 2011-11-09.
  3. ^ Pare, Mike; Carey O'Neil (January 31, 2012). "Lifetouch closes Olan Mills photography facilities: 383 jobs lost". Chattanooga Times Free Press. Retrieved 2 December 2012.