The company was founded in 1969. They became publicly traded on the NASDAQ exchange in 1997 under the ticker symbol PLCE. Between 2004 and 2007, the company owned and operated 335 Disney Stores through a subsidiary Hoop Holdings/Hoop Retail Stores LLC. Disney sold the chain for the cost of inventory to Children\'s Place subsidiary Hoop Holdings plus a 15-year licensing agreement. Mario Ciampi, senior vice president of store development and logistics, was named Hoop Disney Store North America president. The company agreed to pump $100 million in operation upgrades and remodeling. Under the licensing agreement, a \"royalty holiday\" period existed until October 2006 to allow revamping of the stores. The royalty thereafter was 5% of store sales while online sales get Disney a 9% to 10% royalty. Hoop Holdings was able to write off the cost ($48 million) of the equipment and property received in the purchase.