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Inside the $23 million mega-mansion that Yankee Candle built

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Standing at one of the five cooking islands in his kitchen, Mick Kittredge rattles off the outsized statistics for his newly listed home. Over 60 acres. Nearly 120,000 square feet of living and recreation space. A total of 14 fireplaces, 25 bathrooms, 16 bedrooms and four tennis courts.
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The western Massachusetts estate is so big, in fact, Kittredge has lost count of the kitchens and bars.

“Kitchens? I think there are at least six, maybe seven?”

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“Bars? Eight at least, maybe nine? I’m not exactly sure. We’ve had pub crawls just on the property.”

CNBC tours the massive $23 million estate owned by the founder of Yankee Candle

Juggler Meadow, as the estate is known, is one of the hidden giants of the mega-home world. Far from the traditional mansion habitats of Greenwich, Connecticut, the Hamptons in New York or Bel Air, California, Juggler Meadow is tucked away on a back road in Leverett, Massachusetts (population: under 2,000). It was built by Kittredge’s father, Michael Kittredge II, who made his fortune as the founder of the Yankee Candle Company. Now, the property is on the market for $23 million.

Like Juggler Meadow itself, the price is part fantasyland, part function and part unapologetic excess.

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The most expensive home sold over the past decade in the area, near Springfield, Massachusetts, was $2.35 million, according to Redfin. Juggler Meadow is listed at nearly 10 times that amount, but is also a rare combination of space, amenities and sports facilities. Rebuilding it today would cost well over $50 million, according to real estate experts.

“It’s incomparable to any other estate in the country,” said Johnny Hatem Jr. of Douglas Elliman, the property’s listing agent. “If someone asks me about the price being high, I say ‘try to build it today for $23 million’.’”

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The mystery of why anyone would build Juggler Meadow in the first place starts with Kittredge’s father, Michael Kittredge, who grew up in nearby South Hadley. When he was 16, he made a candle from crayons as a present for his mother, and a neighbor was so impressed she bought one. Kittredge began making more, and in the early 1970s founded Yankee Candle Company.

The business grew and in 1984, Kittredge bought a small three-bedroom colonial home in Leverett for $144,000. As Yankee Candle expanded, along with Kittredge’s wealth, so did the house. Wings and floors were added. A tennis court was built. More land was purchased.

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By the late 1990s, Yankee Candle had become the biggest scented candle company in the county. Kittredge sold the company for about $600 million to Forstmann Little & Co., the private equity firm.

With the flood of cash and a non-compete clause that prevented him from launching another candle company for years, Kittredge built his dream life. He bought homes in Jupiter Island, Florida and Nantucket, Massachusetts. He bought a yacht and sailed with his family around the world. He built a collection of 80 cars, many of them rare Porsches and Ferraris. And he amassed and a wine collection so large it needed two cellars.

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Most of all, he expanded his house with the aim of entertaining his growing crowd of friends and family.

“The house had eight different additions put on throughout the years,” says Mick Kittredge. “(Dad) would say ‘It would be great if we had an area to get together with friends.’ Or ‘We should have a bigger room to have a Christmas party’.”

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The main house ballooned to 25,000 square feet, with a formal dining room, great hall, lavish master suite and offices. Down a winding driveway is an outdoor pool and pool house with a kitchen and guest quarters. Two “car barns” for the car collection are as spotless as museums. Brass-plated signs throughout the property lead to a large sign that reads “The Spa,” a 55,000 square-foot playground and party space.

The Spa includes bowling alleys, a billiards room, a two-story arcade and massage rooms. An indoor tennis court can be converted into an auditorium and dance hall with a full concert stage, where the Doobie Brothers and Hall & Oats gave private concerts.

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“We’ve had parties with over 400 people in here,” Kittredge says.

The centerpiece of the Spa is an indoor water park that’s always a steamy 89 degrees, even in the cold Massachusetts winters. It has towering palm trees, rock caves and grottos with flickering mood lights, and vaulted ceilings painted with gold clouds and a cerulean sky, modeled after the Bellagio in Las Vegas. There are dining tables on a stone patio, with a kitchen nearby to prepare the “pool menu.” The men’s and women’s locker rooms have dozens of lockers, along with changing rooms and showers.

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“On any given day, we’d have 20 or 30 people in the Spa,” Mick Kittredge said.

When asked why his father built such a massive playground in western Massachusetts, rather than decamping to more popular millionaire haunts like Palm Beach or Los Angeles, Kittredge says: “Western Mass was home for him. He grew up here. He built his business here. His friends were here, his family were here.”

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In 2010, Michael Kittredge joined his son’s fast-growing candle business and together launched Kringle Candle Co., which continues to expand. “He saw what I was doing, realized how much fun it was and wanted to get back into the business,” Mick Kittredge said.

In 2012, Michael Kittredge had a stroke, which limited his movement and speech. He died in 2019 from liver failure at the age of 67.

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The Nantucket home sold for $19 million in 2019. Mick Kittredge said he’s selling Juggler Meadow because “it’s too big for one person. You try vacuuming 120,000 square feet. No really, I want to see this property used to its full potential.”

Hatem said the ideal buyer for Juggler Meadow is a family that loves entertaining and recreation as much as Kittredge. But given its size and scale, a more likely buyer is a resort company or college that could use the entire campus.

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“The opportunities are endless because you have so much space here and so many things that can keep you constantly entertained.”



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Lululemon shares jump as holiday-quarter sales surge

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A Lululemon sign is seen at a shopping mall in San Diego, California, November, 23, 2022.
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Mike Blake | Reuters

Lululemon on Tuesday reported strong holiday-quarter sales, suggesting wealthier shoppers are still purchasing yoga pants and tops despite rising prices for essential goods.
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The company also issued upbeat guidance for its new fiscal year.

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Shares of Lululemon jumped about 11% in after-hours trading following the report. Through Tuesday’s close, the stock is about flat for the year, putting the company’s market value at $40.87 billion.

Here’s what the company reported for the three-month period ended Jan. 29, compared with Wall Street expectations based on a survey of analysts by Refinitiv:

  • Earnings per share: $4.40 adjusted vs $4.26 expected
  • Revenue: $2.77 billion vs. $2.7 billion expected

Lululemon’s fourth-quarter net income fell to $119.8 million, or 94 cents per share, from $434.5 billion, or $3.36 per share, a year ago. Excluding impairment and other charges related to the acquisition of Mirror, as well as other items, per-share earnings were $4.40.

Revenue rose to $2.77 billion from $2.13 billion a year ago.

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The company expects fiscal 2023 revenue of between $9.3 billion and $9.41 billion, topping Wall Street’s expectations of $9.14 billion, according to Refinitiv estimates. The company expects full-year profit of between $11.50 and $11.72 per share, compared with Refinitiv estimates of $11.26 per share.

“Looking ahead, we remain optimistic regarding our ability to deliver sustained growth and long-term value for all our stakeholders,” said Chief Financial Officer Meghan Frank in a statement.

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The Vancouver-based athletic apparel retailer said total comparable sales for the fourth quarter increased by 27%. Also called same-store sales, the metric includes sales from stores open continuously for at least 12 months.

“We believe that it is one of the few companies in the space that has a very long pathway for growth, and it’s also a very highly visible one,” said Rick Patel, managing director at Raymond James.

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Patel said his firm, which maintains a strong buy rating on the stock, sees upside in Lululemon’s international business and its men’s business, and that the worst of the company’s inventory struggles are in the past.

In December, Lululemon said inventories at the end of its third quarter were up 85% year-over-year. The company said Tuesday that as of the end of 2022, inventories were up 50%.

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Home prices cool in January, even falling in some cities, S&P Case-Shiller says

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A “For Sale” sign outside of a home in Atlanta, Georgia, on Friday, Feb. 17, 2023.
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Home prices cooled in January, up only 3.8% nationally than they were a year earlier, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index. That is down from 5.6% in December.
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Prices have been falling for seven straight months, but the decline was a bit smaller in January. That was likely due to a brief drop in mortgage rates and a resulting jump in sales.

The 10-city composite rose 2.5% year over year, down from 4.4% in December. The 20-city composite also rose 2.5%, down from 4.6% in the previous month.

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Home prices have been cooling due to higher mortgage rates. The average rate on the popular 30-year fixed mortgage set more than a dozen record lows during the first two years of the pandemic, briefly going below 2%, but it grew sharply. Since fall, the rate has been hovering in the high 6% range, although it’s been volatile in recent weeks due to several bank failures and the resulting stress on the overall banking industry.

“Despite this, the Federal Reserve remains focused on its inflation-reduction targets, which suggest that rates may remain elevated in the near-term,” said Craig Lazzara, managing director at S&P DJI, in a release. “Mortgage financing and the prospect of economic weakness are therefore likely to remain a headwind for housing prices for at least the next several months.”

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Prices were lower year over year in San Francisco (-7.6%), Seattle (-5.1%), Portland, Oregon (-0.5%) and San Diego (-1.4%). They were flat in Phoenix.

Miami, Tampa and Atlanta again saw the hottest annual price gains of the top 20 cities. Miami prices were up 13.8%, Tampa prices up 10.5%, and Atlanta prices rose 8.4%. All 20 cities, however, reported lower prices in the year ending January 2023 versus the year ending December 2022.

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Homebuyers may be seeing more flexible sellers this spring, but there are still too few homes available for sale. Mortgage lending may also tighten in light of pressure on the banking system.

“More expensive, less available borrowing, especially with an unclear economic outlook, is likely to continue to limit buyer demand. Though home sales are expected to rebound in line with seasonal trends, this spring’s sales pace is expected to remain lower than last year, as uncertainty and high costs limit activity,” said Hannah Jones, economic data analyst for Realtor.com.

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Virgin Orbit extends unpaid pause as Brown deal collapses, ‘dynamic’ talks continue

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NEWQUAY, ENGLAND – JANUARY 09: A general view of Cosmic Girl, a Boeing 747-400 aircraft carrying the LauncherOne rocket under its left wing, as final preparations are made at Cornwall Airport Newquay on January 9, 2023 in Newquay, United Kingdom. Virgin Orbit launches its LauncherOne rocket from the spaceport in Cornwall, marking the first ever orbital launch from the UK. The mission has been named Start Me Up after the Rolling Stones hit. (Photo by Matthew Horwood/Getty Images)
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Matthew Horwood | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Virgin Orbit is again extending its unpaid pause in operations to continue pursuing a lifeline investment, CEO Dan Hart told employees in a company-wide email.
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Some of the company’s late-stage deal talks, including with private investor Matthew Brown, collapsed over the weekend, people familiar with the matter told CNBC.

Hart previously planned to update employees on the company’s operational status at an all-hands meeting at 4:30 p.m. ET on Monday afternoon, according to an email sent to employees Sunday night. At the last minute, that meeting was rescheduled “for no later than Thursday,” Hart said in the employee memo Monday.

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“Our investment discussions have been very dynamic over the past few days, they are ongoing, and not yet at a stage where we can provide a fulsome update,” Hart wrote in the email to employees, which was viewed by CNBC.

Brown told CNBC’s “Worldwide Exchange” last week he was in final discussions to invest in the company. A person familiar with the terms told CNBC the investment would have amounted to $200 million and granted Brown a controlling stake. But discussions between Virgin Orbit and the Texas-based investor stalled and broke down late last week, a person familiar told CNBC. As of Saturday those discussions had ended, the person said.

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Separately, another person said talks with a different potential buyer broke down on Sunday night.

The people asked to remain anonymous to discuss private negotiations. A representative for Virgin Orbit declined to comment.

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Hart promised Virgin Orbit’s over 750 employees “daily” updates this week. Most of the staff remain on an unpaid furlough that Hart announced on Mar. 15. Last week, a “small” team of Virgin Orbit employees returned to work in what Hart described as the “first step” in an “incremental resumption of operations,” with the intention of preparing a rocket for the company’s next launch.

Virgin Orbit’s stock closed at 54 cents a share on Monday, having fallen below $1 a share after the company’s pause in operations.

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Virgin Orbit developed a system that uses a modified 747 jet to send satellites into space by dropping a rocket from under the aircraft’s wing mid-flight. But the company’s last mission suffered a mid-flight failure, with an issue during the launch causing the rocket to not reach orbit and crash into the ocean.

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The company has been looking for new funds for several months, with majority owner Sir Richard Branson unwilling to fund the company further.

Virgin Orbit was spun out of Branson’s Virgin Galactic in 2017 and counts the billionaire as its largest stakeholder, with 75% ownership. Mubadala, the Emirati sovereign wealth fund, holds the second-largest stake in Virgin Orbit, at 18%.

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The company hired bankruptcy firms to draw up contingency plans in the event it is unable to find a buyer or investor. Branson has first priority over Virgin Orbit’s assets, as the company raised $60 million in debt from the investment arm of Virgin Group.

On the same day that Hart told employees that Virgin Orbit was pausing operations, its board of directors approved a “golden parachute” severance plan for top executives, in case they are terminated “following a change in control” of the company.

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