Herff Jones

Herff Jones is an American company that manufactures and sells educational recognition and achievement products and motivational materials, and has been in continuous operation since 1920. Herff Jones maintains production facilities across the United States as well as in Canada, and has a network of over 700 independent sales representatives.

Herff Jones, LLC
TypeSubsidiary
IndustrySchool services and recognition products
FoundedJanuary 6, 1920
HeadquartersIndianapolis, Indiana
Key people
Harry J. Herff (founder)
Randall H. Jones (founder)
Steve Down (CEO)
ProductsHigh school & college class rings, graduation caps and gowns, school yearbooks, graduation frames and announcements, champion and cheer jewelry
OwnerVarsity Brands
Number of employees
4,000 employees and 700 sales representatives
ParentAtlas Holdings
WebsiteHerff Jones official site

The company and its subsidiaries have also been involved in top-level college football and professional sports, having manufactured the Heisman Trophy (via acquired company Dieges & Clust),[1] and championship rings for the Indianapolis 500,[2] the 2007 Indianapolis Colts,[3] and the San Antonio Spurs,[4] as well as the medals for the 1960 Winter Olympics at Squaw Valley,[5][6] among others.

History

Harry J. Herff and Randall H. Jones founded Herff Jones in Indianapolis, Indiana on January 6, 1920. The company manufactured insignia jewelry and class rings.[7]

1974: Herff Jones was bought by Carnation Company, itself a unit of Nestle.[8]

1979: Acquired the Collegiate Cap & Gown Company, established at 1000 N. Market St., Champaign, Ill. in 1926, specializing in formal caps, formal gowns, robes, frames, tassels, judicial robes, clergy robes, choir robes, cassocks, surplices, albs, communion robes, and choir accessories.

1980: Acquired Dieges & Clust[1]

1985: A company owned by A.J. Hackl, then president of Herff Jones bought the company from Carnation.[8]

1989: established an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP), becoming a 100% employee-owned company by 1995.[9]

2011: sold the Photography Division to Lifetouch.

In 2011, Herff Jones merged with Varsity Brands, owner of the cheerleading and school spirit company Varsity Spirit. In 2013, the company acquired uniform manufacturer BSN Sports. In 2014 the company rebranded itself under the Varsity Brands name, with Herff Jones becoming a subsidiary.[10][11]

In July 2014, the Nystrom brand was sold to Social Studies School Service, a social studies company in California. The assets of Replogle Globes, part of the Education Division, were sold to Replogle Globes Partners in September.

In 2018, Varsity Brands was acquired by Bain Capital.[12]

Data breach

In May 2021, Herff Jones was the victim of a cyber attack.[13] As part of this breach, customers' usernames, passwords, and credit card information were stolen. In response, Herff Jones shut down the misconfigured server and encouraged customers to monitor their card account statements and credit reports for instances of unauthorized activity.[14]

In December 2022, NYAG commenced on the investigation of the breach with an Assurance of Discontinuance. It stated that Herff Jones' information security program should include "risk assessment methods and risk assessment criteria must conform to an information security risk assessment method that is provided by information security bodies (e.g., NIST Special Publications 800-30, The Sedona Conference Commentary on a Reasonable Security Test AOD No. 22-081 (February 2021), ISO 27005, Duty of Care Risk Analysis Standard (“DoCRA”), or Center for Internet Security Risk Assessment Method (“CIS RAM”) Version 2.0),"[15]

References
  1. Breed, Donald (January 16, 2005). "Beating the field - Herff Jones, maker of the Heisman Trophy, thrives on class-ring sales". Providence Journal. Retrieved September 14, 2012.
  2. Smith, Jeff (May 24, 2008). "Indy 500 Race Countdown Begins With Public Drivers' Meeting". Archived from the original on September 5, 2008. Retrieved November 25, 2008.
  3. Chapell, Mike (June 13, 2007). "Colts receive Super Bowl rings in private ceremony". USA Today.
  4. "Herff Jones maker Varsity Brands explores sale: sources". Reuters. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
  5. https://olympics.com/en/olympic-games/squaw-valley-1960/medal-design
  6. "Medal, Commemorative : VE03-1960W".
  7. "About Herff Jones".
  8. "Carnation will sell its scholastic products unit". Los Angeles Times. April 29, 1985. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
  9. "Herff Jones Yearbook Division".
  10. Hirsch, Lauren (June 19, 2018). "Bain to acquire Varsity Brands, a top maker of cheerleader uniforms and school spirit items, for roughly $2.5 billion". CNBC. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
  11. "Rebranding spreads Varsity name around". Memphis Business News. American City Business Journals. June 3, 2014. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
  12. "Herff Jones Owner to be Acquired". www.insideindianabusiness.com. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
  13. Couture, Ray (May 25, 2021). "Herff Jones data breach frustrates parents". Purdue Exponent. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  14. "Important information about Herff Jones data breach | Commencement 2021 | Wake Forest University". Commencement 2021. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  15. "NYAG AOD No. 22-081 ASSURANCE OF DISCONTUANCE" (PDF). New York State Attorney General. December 15, 2022.


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