Channel Home Centers

Channel Home Centers

Company type	Private
Industry	Retail, Home improvement
Founded	1948 in Newark, New Jersey, United States
Founder	Louis L. Slater
Defunct	1994
Fate	Acquired and merged into Rickel
Headquarters	Whippany, New Jersey , United States
Area served	Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic United States
Products	Home improvement goods

Channel Home Centers—initially known as Channel Lumber Company and commonly referred to as Channel—was a retail chain specializing in home improvement, headquartered in Whippany, New Jersey.

History

According to a 1975 profile in the New York Times, the company's origins trace back to a lumber enterprise established in Newark in 1922 by Russian Jewish immigrants Abraham Levy and Morris Charin (1887–1963). However, some accounts, including a 1990 publication, suggest the founding year as 1908. The first retail store under the Channel name was launched in Newark in 1948 by Louis L. Slater (1913–1987), who was Levy’s son-in-law.

Expansion

By 1963, Channel Lumber operated seven stores exclusively within New Jersey. The chain expanded to 24 outlets by late 1975, with 22 located in New Jersey. In 1977, W. R. Grace and Company purchased the business from the Slater family for $19 million. Two years later, in 1979, Channel had grown to more than 70 locations spanning New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, and Massachusetts.

A significant development occurred in 1986 when Channel's leadership orchestrated a leveraged buyout that resulted in acquiring 202 retail sites across 20 states. This acquisition included W.R. Grace’s home center brands in the Southeast such as "Handy City" and Handy Dan.

Bankruptcy

By 1990, Channel operated 89 stores across nine states but sought protection under Chapter 11 bankruptcy early the following year. The restructuring plan involved shutting down 34 of its 86 outlets, primarily targeting locations within the Baltimore-Washington and New England regions. Channel successfully exited bankruptcy proceedings by March 1992.

In 1994, a private equity firm acquired both Channel and its competitor Rickel, consolidating their operations under the Rickel name. At that time, Channel maintained 60 stores with sales surpassing $300 million during 1993. Of these locations, fifty-nine were rebranded as Rickel; however, the store in Totowa, New Jersey retained its original branding due to an existing Rickel store nearby.