Burlington vs Hitachi: Founders, CEOs and History

Company facts

Founders

CEOs and their tenures

Timeline: Burlington and Hitachi side by side

1. 1910Hitachi

   Founding and First Induction Motor

   Namihei Odaira establishes the machinery repair shop that becomes Hitachi, and develops Japan's first 5-horsepower induction motor, establishing the foundation for the company's dominance in electrical engineering.

2. 1932Hitachi

   Expansion into Railway Technology

   Hitachi begins manufacturing electric locomotives and rail signaling systems, establishing a deep, institutionalized relationship with the Japanese national railway network that would evolve into the modern Hitachi Rail division.

3. 1959Hitachi

   Entry into Computing and Electronics

   Hitachi develops its first electronic computer, the HITAC, marking the company's strategic entry into the information technology sector and laying the groundwork for its future digital systems business.

4. 1972Burlington

   Burlington Coat Factory opens

   Monroe Milstein bought a coat outlet in a former factory building in Burlington, New Jersey, and sold brand-name coats at discount prices, the start of Burlington Coat Factory.

5. 1983Burlington

   First public offering

   Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse Corporation went public for the first time, funding expansion from a regional discounter into a national chain with year-round apparel, shoes, baby and home departments.

6. 1989Burlington

   Cohoes Specialty Stores acquired

   Burlington bought the Cohoes Specialty Stores off-price chain from upstate New York, including a 50 percent stake in the Cohoes Commons building; a few stores still traded as Cohoes Fashions decades later.

7. 2006Burlington

   Bain Capital takes Burlington private

   Bain Capital acquired Burlington Coat Factory for about $2.06 billion, ending 34 years of Milstein family control. Long-time executive Mark Nesci became chief executive.

8. 2008Burlington

   Tom Kingsbury named CEO

   Former Kohl's executive Thomas Kingsbury became president and CEO in December 2008, succeeding Mark Nesci, and began overhauling buying, inventory management and the supply chain.

9. 2013Burlington

   Return to the stock market

   Burlington Stores priced its IPO on October 2, 2013, selling 13.3 million shares at $17 each for about $226 million, and listed under the ticker BURL.

10. 2016Hitachi

    Toshiaki Higashihara becomes CEO

    Toshiaki Higashihara became CEO of Hitachi in 2016. Shifted Hitachi from a sprawling conglomerate toward infrastructure and digital businesses.

11. 2019Burlington

    Michael O'Sullivan becomes CEO

    Former Ross Stores president and COO Michael O'Sullivan succeeded Tom Kingsbury as CEO around September 16, 2019, and later launched the Burlington 2.0 plan of leaner inventories and smaller stores.

12. 2020Burlington

    Online sales end and stores close for the pandemic

    On March 5, 2020, Burlington said it would shut its e-commerce business. Days later pandemic lockdowns closed its stores, and fiscal 2020 revenue fell to $5.76 billion with a $216.5 million net loss.

13. 2020Hitachi

    Acquisition of ABB's Power Grids Business

    Hitachi executes the $11 billion acquisition of ABB's Power Grids business, renaming it Hitachi Energy and instantly establishing the company as the global leader in HVDC transmission and grid infrastructure.

14. 2021Hitachi

    Acquisition of GlobalLogic

    The company acquires the global digital engineering firm GlobalLogic for $9.6 billion, instantly establishing Hitachi as a top-tier provider of advanced software and product design services for the automotive and telecommunications sectors.

15. 2022Hitachi

    Hitachi Construction Machinery Stake Sale

    Hitachi sold a controlling stake in Hitachi Construction Machinery to Itochu and Japan Industrial Partners, part of its exit from cyclical listed subsidiaries.

16. 2023Burlington

    Bed Bath & Beyond leases

    Burlington won 44 Bed Bath & Beyond leases for $12 million at the June 2023 bankruptcy auction, the largest share of the 109 sold, and later reported 62 former Bed Bath & Beyond leases in total.

17. 2024Hitachi

    Acquired Thales Ground Transportation Systems

    Hitachi acquired Thales Ground Transportation Systems. Hitachi Rail completed its ~$1.88 billion (EUR 1.66 billion) acquisition of Thales's Ground Transportation Systems business, its rail signalling division, expanding Hitachi Rail to 51 countries and shiftin…

18. 2025Burlington

    Joann leases

    After Joann's second bankruptcy, Burlington agreed in April 2025 to take over 45 Joann store leases, many of which became part of its fiscal 2026 opening program.

19. 2025Hitachi

    Toshiaki Tokunaga Becomes CEO

    Toshiaki Tokunaga became President and CEO on April 1, 2025, succeeding Keiji Kojima, who became Executive Chairman.

20. 2026Burlington

    Record fiscal 2025 results

    Burlington reported fiscal 2025 total revenue of $11.57 billion and net income of $610.2 million, and ended the year on January 31, 2026, with 1,212 stores.

21. 2026Burlington

    Tariff refunds put into prices

    In the second quarter of fiscal 2026, sales rose 11 percent to $2.998 billion. Burlington received $55 million in tariff refunds and said it would reinvest them in lower prices; the store count reached 1,287.

22. 2026Burlington

    Headquarters move to Philadelphia announced

    On September 3, 2026, Burlington said it will invest $370 million to move its headquarters from Burlington Township, New Jersey, to Schuylkill Yards in Philadelphia, in phases from late 2028 or early 2029.

23. 2026Hitachi

    Record Results and Home Appliance Sale

    Hitachi reported record FY2025 profit in April 2026 and agreed to sell 80.1% of its home appliance business to Nojima for about $737 million (¥110 billion).

Acquisitions

Questions about Burlington vs Hitachi