Butler Brothers

Butler Brothers

Company type	Private
Industry	Retail, Wholesale distribution
Founded	1877
Founder	Charles Hamblet Butler, George H. Butler, Edward Burgess Butler
Fate	Acquired by City Products Corp in 1960
Headquarters	Chicago , United States
Products	Retail stores, wholesale distribution, department stores
Parent	City Products Corp (from 1960)

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Butler Brothers originated as a Chicago-based retailer and wholesale distributor. Established in 1877 by Charles Hamblet Butler, George H. Butler, and Edward Burgess Butler, the company initially operated as a mail-order business.

History

During the 1920s, Butler Brothers expanded into retail by launching the "Scott" and "L. C. Burr" store chains. In the early 1930s, they introduced the Ben Franklin Stores, a franchise of five and dime outlets, along with Federated Stores—franchised dry goods stores often regarded as department stores—operating under various local brand names primarily in smaller communities. By 1936, the network included approximately 2,600 Ben Franklin locations and 1,400 Federated stores.

Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, Butler Brothers ranked among the nation’s leading wholesalers. Unlike many contemporary franchises that emphasize a consistent brand image to consumers, the Ben Franklin franchise primarily supported dime store proprietors by providing weekly deliveries from extensive warehouse inventories containing tens of thousands of products. Store owners could place orders on Fridays and receive shipments by Tuesday to restock shelves efficiently. This centralized shipping approach reduced freight expenses significantly and simplified inventory management for retailers.

Additionally, Butler Brothers organized periodic promotional sales events every few weeks. Participating stores could obtain customized salebills featuring their own store names and often set their own discount prices for featured merchandise. Manufacturers offered special pricing incentives to maximize sales volume during these large-scale promotions, which Butler Brothers passed on to both retailers and customers.

Scott-Burr Stores Corp.

Scott-Burr Stores Corp., a fully owned subsidiary of Butler Brothers, managed two retail chains: Scott Stores—variety outlets selling items priced between five cents and one dollar—with 116 locations at the end of 1938; and Burr Stores, consisting of 19 dry goods stores in 1938. The subsidiary reported net earnings of $182,000 in 1937 and $103,000 in 1938. By 1946, Scott-Burr Stores achieved monthly sales exceeding one million dollars.

Federated Stores

Federated Stores of America—distinct from Federated Department Stores, now integrated into Macy's—once comprised a network of approximately 1,400 independently owned and managed dry-goods outlets. These stores operated under a unified business model, merchandising products procured and stored by Butler Brothers. The enterprise commenced around c. 1931. By the mid-1960s, Butler Brothers had divested their involvement and ceased to be associated with the chain.

Early in his professional journey, Sam Walton (later renowned for founding Walmart) sought to become a franchisee within Federated Stores but ultimately opted to affiliate with Ben Franklin instead.

Own-branded department stores

Main article: Butler Brothers Department Stores

During the 1950s, Butler Brothers established four full-scale department stores throughout the Greater Los Angeles area: locations included Lakewood Center (opened 1952), Downtown Alhambra, Ontario, and Van Nuys. By 1962, the company operated seven stores on the West Coast, extending to cities such as Seattle and Butte, Montana. Throughout the 1960s, their Los Angeles purchasing office and manufacturing facility were situated at 3030 South Atlantic Boulevard in Vernon, an industrial district within Southeast Los Angeles County.

In 1957, Butler Brothers acquired the variety store chain TG&Y, which operated 127 outlets.

In February 1960, Ohio-based City Products Corp, originally founded in 1894 as an ice company, acquired Butler Brothers for $53 million plus assumed liabilities.

Gallery

• Warehouse facilities of Butler Brothers in Jersey City, New Jersey, circa 1910
  Warehouse facilities of Butler Brothers in Jersey City, New Jersey, circa 1910
• The former Butler Brothers warehouse located in Minneapolis, Minnesota
  The former Butler Brothers warehouse located in Minneapolis, Minnesota

See also

• Ben Franklin Stores
• The building formerly housing Butler Brothers, presently called Butler Square, situated in the warehouse district of Minneapolis, Minnesota
• Butler Brothers Department Stores

External links

• Ronald D. Michman and Alan J. Greco; Retailing Triumphs and Blunders: Victims of Competition in the New Age of Marketing Management ISBN 0-89930-869-4
• Sandra S. Vance and Roy V. Scott; Butler Brothers and the Rise and Decline of the Ben Franklin Stores: A Study in Franchise Retailing (1993)
• City Products