Ann Sacks

Ann Sacks is a Portland-based luxury tile and stone brand owned by Kohler Co. that designs, manufactures, and sources ceramic, stone, glass, porcelain, concrete, and metal tile for high-end residential and commercial interiors. The company sells primarily through its own showrooms and selected dealer partners, with a business model centered on curated collections, designer collaborations, and experiential retail that emphasizes material quality and design storytelling over transactional volume.

The company was founded in 1981 when Ann Sacks opened a bath and plumbing showroom in Portland, Oregon and began importing decorative tiles that quickly became the core offering. Within a few years, tile eclipsed the original bath focus and the firm evolved into a dedicated resource for designers and homeowners seeking premium finishes. A pivotal moment came in 1989 when Kohler Co. acquired Ann Sacks and positioned it as the company's luxury tile and stone brand within the Kohler Decorative Products Group. That acquisition provided capital support, access to a broader customer base, and cross-selling opportunities with Kohler's plumbing and fixtures portfolio.

As of October 2024, Ann Sacks operates just under 20 U.S. showrooms concentrated in gateway cities including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, and its home market of Portland. These locations are typically situated in design districts and high-profile mixed-use neighborhoods where architects, designers, and luxury residential clients cluster. The showrooms function as experiential galleries with installed vignettes, sample libraries, and in-house design support rather than traditional inventory-heavy retail spaces.

In recent years the brand has expanded its product scope through collaborations with well-known designers and artists and by integrating stone slab and custom fabrication programs in select locations. It has also aligned its assortments with Kohler's broader luxury ecosystem, including Kohler Signature Stores and other design brands, creating multi-category specification opportunities on single projects. The company pursues selective showroom growth focused on major design and construction hubs rather than broad national coverage, with recent years marked by relocations and upgrades in key markets.

Ann Sacks is not a franchise system and opens showrooms corporately, typically tying locations to long-term market commitments where luxury residential, boutique hospitality, and high-end multifamily pipelines justify a physical design presence. Its stores are compact, high-finish spaces that work well in street-level retail within design districts, urban mixed-use projects, and buildings that cluster architecture, design, and luxury home brands. For landlords and developers, Ann Sacks brings a premium, design-oriented tenant profile backed by an investment-grade parent, with showroom concepts that enhance the merchandising mix of premium design-oriented centers without the parking and turnover demands of mass retail.