Fingerhut

Fingerhut

Company type	Public (historically)
Industry	Retail
Founded	1948
Founder	William and Manny Fingerhut
Defunct	2025
Fate	Operations wound down; ceased accepting new orders October 2, 2025
Headquarters	Eden Prairie, Minnesota , United States
Products	Catalog and internet retail goods, household goods
Parent	Bluestem Brands, Inc.

Fingerhut was a US-based catalog and internet retailer distinguished by its hire purchase model, enabling consumers to make credit payments through monthly installments.

History

Established in 1948 by William and Manny Fingerhut initially selling car seat covers, the business transitioned to mail-order catalogs by 1952 and broadened its product range to include household goods. The company went public in 1969, with the Fingerhut family divesting their interests by 1979.

In 1994, Fingerhut sponsored the #98 Ford Thunderbird in NASCAR. The company introduced its online shopping platform in 1995 and, by 1996, ranked among the top 25 credit card issuers nationwide.

Fingerhut experienced several ownership transitions: it was acquired by American Can Company in 1979, then Primerica, followed by Federated Department Stores in 1999, Petters Group Worldwide in 2002, and Bain Capital Ventures in 2004. Federated purchased Fingerhut for $1.7 billion in 1999; despite generating $1.7 billion in revenue during fiscal year 2001, the company reported a $400 million loss by 2000, prompting its sale in 2002.

The company faced controversy over alleged robocall activities.

On March 9, 2020, Bluestem Brands, Inc., Fingerhut’s parent company, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. In August 2025, operations began to wind down with layoffs announced at its Eden Prairie distribution facility and St. Cloud headquarters through WARN notices. Customers were notified that no new orders would be accepted after October 2, 2025; while the website stopped accepting purchases, it continued processing payments on existing accounts.

The shutdown of Fingerhut closely followed the closure of Eden Prairie-based home shopping retailer ShopHQ in June 2025.

Further reading

• Chandler, Susan, "Data Is Power. Just Ask Fingerhut", Business Week, June 3, 1996, p. 69.
• Jaffe, Thomas, "Thumbs up on Fingerhut?", Forbes, January 21, 1991, p. 124.
• Louis, Arthur M., "Dead-Letter Days for Fingerhut", Fortune, November 1974, pp. 184–190.
• Meyer, Herbert E., "How Fingerhut Beat the Recession", Fortune, November 17, 1980, pp. 102–104.
• Phelps, David, "Pointing a Finger at Fingerhut", Minneapolis Star Tribune, January 10, 1999, p. 1D.

External links

• Company website