Payless Cashways

Payless Cashways, Inc.

Company type	Public (formerly)
Industry	Retail (building materials and home improvement)
Founded	1930
Founder	Sanford Furrow
Defunct	2001
Fate	Liquidated after bankruptcy
Headquarters	Kansas City, Missouri , United States
Area served	22 states in the United States
Products	Building materials and home improvement products
Number of employees	194 stores (before bankruptcy)

Payless Cashways, Inc. was a publicly traded company headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, specializing in the retail of building materials and home improvement products. Established in 1930 by Sanford Furrow, the firm became recognized as an early adopter of the DIY retail model during the 1980s and 1990s. Despite its initial growth, the company encountered significant financial challenges in the late 1980s and eventually ceased operations in 2001.

Distinct from contemporary home improvement retailers, Payless Cashways operated with a fully functional outdoor lumber yard. Customers would complete their purchases inside the store, then proceed to the lumber yard where an attendant would fulfill their order upon presentation of the sales ticket. Prior to its bankruptcy filing, Payless Cashways maintained a network of 194 stores spanning 22 states.

History

The origins of Payless Cashways trace back to 1930 when Sanford "Sam" Furrow, alongside his sons and business partner John Evans, acquired a defaulted lumberyard in Pocahontas, Iowa. Following this initial purchase, they acquired two additional financially distressed yards. The first location was initially known as Kiefer-Wolfe Lumber Company before being renamed Pocahontas Lumber Store. As the enterprise expanded, Furrow and Evans parted ways; Furrow and his sons adopted a "cash-and-carry" business model that allowed them to offer lower prices by avoiding credit risks associated with contractors. The brand evolved into Payless Cashways, though some new outlets operated under the Furrow's name due to trademark restrictions in states such as Texas, Oregon, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, California, and Indiana—for instance, Payless was already a grocery chain in Indiana. By 1981, Payless Cashways ranked as the fifth largest building materials retailer in the United States.

In December 1982, Payless Cashways agreed to acquire Lumberjack Stores Inc., a Sacramento-based company, for $26.3 million (~$Template:Format price adjusted for inflation). The integration faced challenges due to differing corporate cultures between the public Payless Cashways and the privately held Lumberjack Stores. In March 1984, the company finalized a $12 million stock purchase of Somerville Lumber & Supply Company from Somerville, Massachusetts. Two years later, in 1986, Payless Cashways expanded further by acquiring Knox Lumber Company based in Saint Paul, Minnesota; terms of this transaction were not publicly disclosed. Knox Lumber operated multiple stores across Minnesota and neighboring states and retained its brand identity post-acquisition.

Although Payless Cashways was taken private in 1988, it failed to generate profits during its five-year period as a private entity. That same year marked a pivotal moment when Asher Edelman led a leveraged buyout attempt targeting the company. Additionally, The Ward White Group—a British firm operating a similarly named retailer—made a takeover proposal. To counter these efforts, Payless Cashways repurchased all 33.6 million outstanding shares at $27 each, amounting to $909 million. This substantial stock buyback burdened the company with significant debt that hindered further expansion.

As competitors such as Builders Square, HomeBase, Menards, Home Depot, and Lowe's grew rapidly with their big-box formats during the late 1980s and 1990s, Payless Cashways struggled to keep pace. The company experienced fluctuating performance throughout that decade but was unable to recapture its earlier growth momentum. In July 1997, facing mounting financial pressures, Payless Cashways filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The collapse of the dot-com bubble further exacerbated their difficulties by reducing banks’ willingness to provide financing support. Ultimately, on September 10, 2001—the day before the September 11 attacks—the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Missouri ordered the liquidation of Payless Cashways’ remaining assets.

Names Used for Operations

Payless Cashways managed its stores 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

• List of defunct retailers of the United States