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Lumberjack Building Materials

From Alfawiki
Payless Cashways, Inc.
Company typePublic company (formerly)
IndustryBuilding materials retail
Founded1930
FounderSanford "Sam" Furrow
Defunct2001
FateLiquidation following bankruptcy
Headquarters
Kansas City, Missouri
,
United States
Area served
United States (22 states)
ProductsBuilding materials, lumber

Template:Use mdy dates

Payless Cashways, Inc. was a publicly traded building materials retailer headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, United States. Operating primarily throughout the 1980s and 1990s, it was recognized as one of the pioneering national chains to adopt the DIY retail model. The company encountered significant financial challenges in the late 1980s.

Unlike contemporary home improvement stores, Payless Cashways featured a fully operational outdoor lumber yard. Customers would make their purchases inside the store, then drive to the lumber yard to present their purchase ticket to an attendant for material pickup. Before its bankruptcy filing, Payless Cashways managed 194 outlets across 22 states.[1]

History

In 1930, Sanford "Sam" Furrow established his enterprise by acquiring a defaulted lumberyard in Pocahontas, Iowa, alongside his sons and business partner John Evans. Subsequently, he purchased two additional lumberyards facing similar financial difficulties. 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 ownership. Furrow and his sons embraced a "cash-and-carry" approach, enabling them to offer lower prices by avoiding credit risks typically associated with contractor purchases. The company eventually took on the name Payless Cashways, though new stores were branded as Furrow's in certain states such as Texas, Oregon, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, California, and Indiana due to trademark conflicts (for instance, Payless was already a grocery chain in Indiana). By 1981, Payless Cashways ranked as the fifth-largest firm within its sector.

In December 1982, Payless Cashways agreed to acquire Lumberjack Stores Inc., based in Sacramento, California, for $26.3 million (~$Template:Format price adjusted for inflation).[2][3] The following year, it purchased Somerville Lumber & Supply Company located in Somerville, Massachusetts for $12 million in stock.[4][5] In 1986, Payless Cashways further expanded by acquiring Knox Lumber Company of Saint Paul, Minnesota; financial details were not disclosed.[6][7]

Although taken private in 1988, Payless Cashways did not generate profits during its five years as a private company.Cite error: The opening <ref> tag is malformed or has a bad name

That same year marked a significant turning point when Payless Cashways became the subject of a leveraged buyout attempt led by Asher Edelman and Sutherland Lumber.[8] Additionally, The Ward White Group—a British corporation operating a similarly named retailer—made a takeover bid.[9][10] In response to these acquisition efforts, Payless Cashways repurchased all 33.6 million outstanding shares at $27 each for a total of $909 million.[11] This substantial stock buyback burdened the company with heavy debt that curtailed further expansion.[12] Consequently, Payless Cashways was unable to keep pace with emerging big-box home improvement retailers such as Builders Square, HomeBase, and later competitors like Menards, Home Depot, and Lowe's.[13] Throughout the 1990s, the company experienced inconsistent performance with intermittent gains and setbacks but failed to regain its earlier growth momentum. Ultimately, Payless Cashways filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in July 1997.[1] The collapse of the Dot-com bubble further diminished financial support from banks crucial for continued operations. On September 10, 2001—the 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 locations under multiple brand names, typically assigning a single banner 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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