Jump to content

Bi-Mart

From Alfawiki


Bi-Mart
Company typePrivate
IndustryRetail
FoundedTemplate:Sda, Yakima, Washington, U.S.
HeadquartersEugene, Oregon
Number of locations
80 Bi-Mart outlets, 5 Cascade Farm and Outdoor locations
Key people
Marty Smith (CEO)
Richard Truett (president & co-CEO)
Chris Peddicord (vice president)
Don Lerber
(Director of Advertising)
ProductsApparel, footwear, housewares, sporting goods, automotive supplies, hardware, toys, electronics, groceries, beer, seasonal merchandise
RevenueIncrease Template:US$ (2021)
Number of employees
Increase 3,200 (2021)
Websitewww.bimart.com

Bi-Mart is a members-only retail chain operating as an employee-owned corporation in the western U.S. states of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho.[1] Membership is a one-time fee of $5 and remains valid indefinitely.

Merchandise at a typical Bi-Mart includes small appliances and electronics, housewares, hardware and power tools, sporting goods, automotive products, clothing, canned and packaged foods, personal care items, and until the end of 2021, many stores also featured pharmacies. The average store size is approximately 31,000 square feet (2,900 m2).[2]

History

File:Bi-Mart store.jpg
A standard Bi-Mart location in Ontario, Oregon

Established in 1955 with headquarters in Eugene, Oregon, BI-Mart began its operations from a garage in Yakima, Washington. Initially, membership was priced at $2. The first dedicated store was launched in Eugene in 1962 followed by a second outlet there in 1967. By the year 1970, the chain had expanded to eight stores. In 1975, Bi-Mart became part of Pay 'n Save.[3]

In 1988, Pay 'n Save and Bi-Mart were acquired by Thrifty Corporation, which operated 37 BI-Mart stores at that time.[4] Following this acquisition, Thrifty merged with PayLess Drug after acquiring it from Kmart in 1993.[5][6] In 1996, Rite Aid purchased Thrifty PayLess for $1.3 billion but had no plans to retain the BI-Mart chain of 44 stores.[7]

The following year in 1997, management at Bi-Mart partnered with Portland-based venture capital firm Endeavour Capital to acquire the company from Rite Aid.[8][9] On March 1, 2004, ownership was transferred to employees via an Employee Stock Ownership Plan for $94 million including $12.5 million sourced from the company's 401(k) plan.[10][11] At this point, the chain operated 64 outlets across Oregon, Washington, and Montana.[9]

In October 2003, Bi-Mart announced plans to expand further eastward with eight new stores proposed; the initial location was set for Havre, Montana, although this site closed shortly thereafter.[12][13] The company entered Idaho's market in 2006 with a store opening in Weiser, followed by another in Emmett in 2009.[14] By May 2014, Bi-Mart celebrated its milestone opening of the 75th store.[15] Between 2017 and 2020 additional outlets were launched in Idaho cities including Kuna, Caldwell, Star, and Rathdrum.[16][17]

Pharmacy shutdowns

In 2019, Bi-Mart revealed plans to discontinue pharmacy services at its locations in East Wenatchee, Washington, Vancouver, Washington, and Scappoose, Oregon. Later that year, in November, the company also declared it would close pharmacies at 13 additional stores within the Portland metropolitan area. Despite these pharmacy closures, the retail outlets themselves continued operations.

On September 30, 2021, Bi-Mart announced the closure of most remaining in-store pharmacies across 56 locations. Prescription records were to be transferred to nearby Walgreens stores. In regions lacking a nearby Walgreens, Walgreens assumed control and operated the existing pharmacy departments inside those Bi-Mart stores. Pharmacies that remained open under Walgreens management include those in Monmouth, Eugene (18th Ave), Stayton, Klamath Falls (53rd St), La Pine, Prineville, and Weiser, Idaho.

Cascade Farm and Outdoor

Bi-Mart launched its first Cascade Farm and Outdoor store in Walla Walla, Washington in 2014. The company indicated intentions to explore vacant properties in various locations for future expansion. Since then, additional Cascade Farm and Outdoor outlets have opened in Coos Bay, Oregon, Keizer, Oregon, and Springfield, Oregon. Unlike Bi-Mart’s standard stores, Cascade Farm and Outdoor locations do not require customers to have a membership for shopping.

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  2. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  3. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  4. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  5. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  6. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  7. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  8. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  10. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  11. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  12. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  13. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  14. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  15. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  16. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  17. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).

External links

File:Commons-logo.svg
Wikimedia Commons has media related to [[commons:Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 506: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).|Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 506: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).]].

Template:ORCompanies

Retrieved from "https://www.alfawiki.org/index.php?title=Bi-Mart&oldid=31795"