Lectura 03 Rand McNally
Rand McNally Maps Out a Trip into a Digital Future
In 1856, William Rand and Andrew McNally founded a small printing shop in Chicago which they called Rand McNally. The company did not begin printing maps until 1916, but it has been the leader in maps ever since, credited with creating the mapping conventions for our current numbered highway system. In 1924, Rand McNally published its first Rand McNally Road Atlas.
The various versions of this atlas have sold 150 million copies in the years since, making it the all-time best selling map product from any publisher. Today Rand McNally has 1,200 employees, mostly at its Skokie, Illinois headquarters.
Through the following decades the company continued to develop and maintain its position as the most well-known and respected publisher of geographic and travel information. As recently as
1999 it sold 46 million maps, which accounted for more than half of all printed maps sold in the
United States. Of course Rand McNally also produces many other products such as globes, a wide-range of geographic educational materials, travel-planning software, and products for trucking fleet route planning and optimization. Its products are currently sold through over 46,000 outlets, including 29 of its own retail stores.
As the digital economy developed at the beginning of the 1990s, Rand McNally's strength still resided in its printing technology, and like so many other companies at the time, its management did not understand the full impact of the new Internet and other computer-related developments.
The company did respond to changing business conditions by producing travel and address location software it then sold on CD-ROMs. It also established a modest Web site in 1994 in order to support its customer' use of its CDs. However, the Internet soon offered many other opportunities, and Rand McNally failed to maintain its leadership and pioneering spirit. The company had become conservative.
AEA Investors purchased Rand McNally in
In 1856, William Rand and Andrew McNally founded a small printing shop in Chicago which they called Rand McNally. The company did not begin printing maps until 1916, but it has been the leader in maps ever since, credited with creating the mapping conventions for our current numbered highway system. In 1924, Rand McNally published its first Rand McNally Road Atlas.
The various versions of this atlas have sold 150 million copies in the years since, making it the all-time best selling map product from any publisher. Today Rand McNally has 1,200 employees, mostly at its Skokie, Illinois headquarters.
Through the following decades the company continued to develop and maintain its position as the most well-known and respected publisher of geographic and travel information. As recently as
1999 it sold 46 million maps, which accounted for more than half of all printed maps sold in the
United States. Of course Rand McNally also produces many other products such as globes, a wide-range of geographic educational materials, travel-planning software, and products for trucking fleet route planning and optimization. Its products are currently sold through over 46,000 outlets, including 29 of its own retail stores.
As the digital economy developed at the beginning of the 1990s, Rand McNally's strength still resided in its printing technology, and like so many other companies at the time, its management did not understand the full impact of the new Internet and other computer-related developments.
The company did respond to changing business conditions by producing travel and address location software it then sold on CD-ROMs. It also established a modest Web site in 1994 in order to support its customer' use of its CDs. However, the Internet soon offered many other opportunities, and Rand McNally failed to maintain its leadership and pioneering spirit. The company had become conservative.
AEA Investors purchased Rand McNally in