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Contractor Supply

From Alfawiki
Payless Cashways, Inc.
Company typePublic
IndustryRetail (building materials)
Founded1930
FounderSanford "Sam" Furrow
Defunct2001
FateLiquidation after bankruptcy
Headquarters
Kansas City
,
United States
Area served
United States (22 states)
ProductsBuilding materials

Template:Use mdy dates

Payless Cashways, Inc. was a publicly traded retailer specializing in building materials, headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, United States. The firm operated mainly throughout the 1980s and 1990s and is recognized as one of the pioneering national chains to adopt the DIY retail concept. During the late 1980s, the company encountered significant financial challenges.

Unlike contemporary home improvement retailers, Payless Cashways featured a fully operational outdoor lumber yard, where customers paid inside the store before driving their vehicles into the lumber yard to present their order tickets to an attendant for material loading. Before its bankruptcy filing, Payless Cashways maintained 194 outlets spread over 22 states.[1]

History

The company was established in 1930 by Sanford "Sam" Furrow, who acquired a financially troubled lumberyard in Pocahontas, Iowa, along with his sons and business associate John Evans. Subsequently, Furrow purchased two additional lumberyards also facing loan defaults. The initial location operated under the name Kiefer-Wolfe Lumber Company before being renamed Pocahontas Lumber Store. As the business expanded, Furrow and Evans divided their interests, with Sam Furrow and his sons focusing on a "cash-and-carry" model that allowed them to offer more competitive pricing by eliminating credit risks associated with contractors. The brand eventually adopted the Payless Cashways name; however, due to trademark conflicts in states such as Texas, Oregon, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, California, and Indiana (where Payless was already used by a grocery chain), new stores opened under the Furrow's name in those regions. By 1981, Payless Cashways ranked as the fifth-largest entity within its industry.

In December 1982, Payless Cashways acquired Lumberjack Stores Inc., a Sacramento-based company, for $26.3 million (~$Template:Format price in Template:Inflation/year).[2][3] The following year saw the purchase of Somerville Lumber & Supply Company from Somerville, Massachusetts for $12 million in stock.[4][5] In 1986, Payless Cashways expanded further by acquiring Knox Lumber Company based in Saint Paul, Minnesota; financial details were not disclosed.[6][7]

The company transitioned to private ownership in 1988 but failed to generate profits during its five-year period as a private enterprise.Cite error: The opening <ref> tag is malformed or has a bad name

In 1988, Payless Cashways encountered its first major corporate challenge when targeted by a leveraged buyout led by Asher Edelman alongside Sutherland Lumber.[8] That same year, The Ward White Group—a British firm operating a similarly named retailer—made a takeover proposal.[9][10] To counter these acquisition attempts, Payless Cashways repurchased 33.6 million shares at $27 each, totaling $909 million.[11] This substantial stock buyback burdened the company with heavy debt that hindered further expansion.[12] Consequently, Payless Cashways fell behind emerging big-box home improvement centers such as Builders Square and HomeBase and later competitors like Menards, Home Depot, and Lowe's.[13] Throughout the 1990s, the company experienced intermittent successes but faced ongoing setbacks and failed to regain its initial growth momentum. In July 1997, Payless Cashways filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.[1] The collapse of the dot-com bubble further strained their financial situation as banks became reluctant to provide additional support. Ultimately, on September 10, 2001—just one day prior to the September 11 attacks—the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Missouri ordered the company's liquidation.[12]

Names Used for Operations

Payless Cashways managed its retail outlets under multiple brand names, typically assigning a single brand to each specific region. These included:

  • Payless Cashways
  • Furrow
  • Lumberjack
  • Hugh M. Woods
  • Knox Lumber
  • Somerville Lumber
  • Contractor Supply
  • PCI Builders Resource
  • PCIBuildStreet.com

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named nyt072297
  2. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named wsj-1982dec14
  3. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named sb-1984sep18
  4. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named wsj-1984mar12
  5. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named wsj-1984apr04
  6. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named mst-1986aug21
  7. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named mst-1986oct28
  8. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named nyt052488
  9. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named nyt070988
  10. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named nyt071288
  11. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named nyt070188
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named abj091011
  13. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named cnnmm
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