Blain's Farm & Fleet

Last updated

Blain Supply, Inc.
Blain's Farm & Fleet
Company type
Industry Retail
Founded1955
Founder
  • William Claude (W.C.) Blain
  • Norman Albert "Bert" (N.B.) Blain
Headquarters Janesville, Wisconsin, United States
Number of locations
45 stores (2024)
ProductsClothing, footwear, housewares, lawn & garden, farm equipment, automotive, sporting goods, hunting fishing, toys
RevenueIncrease2.svgUS$ 512 million (2022)
Number of employees
1,000 (2022)
Website FarmAndFleet.com

Blain Supply, Inc., doing business as Blain's Farm & Fleet, is a regional, family-owned chain of 45 farm supply retail stores in four states (Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa and Michigan) of the Upper Midwest region of the United States. Blain's Farm & Fleet was an early adopter of "buy online, pick up at the store" in which all stores provide a drive-thru pick-up experience so online orders can be retrieved without consumers having to leave the car. [1]

Contents

History

Blain's Farm & Fleet location in Verona, Wisconsin Blain's Farm ^ Fleet Verona - panoramio.jpg
Blain's Farm & Fleet location in Verona, Wisconsin
Interior of a recently opened Blain's location in Traverse City, Michigan Blains Traverse City.jpg
Interior of a recently opened Blain's location in Traverse City, Michigan

The company was founded in Janesville, Wisconsin, in 1955 by brothers W. C. "Claude" Blain and N. A. "Bert" Blain. [2] Similarly-named Mills Fleet Farm was also founded in 1955 by Blain family friends. The two families agreed to use similar names and have historically operated in different territories. [3] [4] Each Blain's retail store is part of Farm and Fleet Stores which operate in four divisions by region, while the distribution is handled by a separate entity, Blain Supply. [5] The business is a family-owned, privately held corporation run by President and CEO Jane Blain Gilbertson since her brother, Robert Blain, retired in 2014. Robert had been President since 1993, taking over after the death of Bert Blain. [2] [6] The chain has one distribution center in Janesville. In January 2018, the company announced it would be expanding into Michigan with 5 stores located in Portage, Jackson, Traverse City, Holland and Walker. [7]

Products

The stores sell tires, agricultural supplies and equipment, hunting and fishing equipment and licenses, kitchen appliances, housewares, automotive goods, men's & women's clothing, household hardware, lawn and garden supplies, outdoor power tools, pumps and generators, paint, pet supplies, candy, sporting goods, tools and toys.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jewel-Osco</span> American supermarket chain

Jewel-Osco is a regional supermarket chain in the Chicago metropolitan area, headquartered in Itasca, a western suburb. In 2007, the company had 188 stores across northern, central, and western Illinois; eastern Iowa; and portions of northwest Indiana. Jewel-Osco has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Boise-based Albertsons since 1999. The company originally started as a door-to-door coffee delivery service before it expanded into delivering non-perishable groceries and later into grocery stores, and supermarkets. Prior to its 1984 acquisition by American Stores, Jewel evolved into a large multi-state holding company that operated several supermarket chains and other non-food retail chain stores located from coast to coast and had operated under several different brand names.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Janesville, Wisconsin</span> City in Wisconsin, United States

Janesville is a city in and the county seat of Rock County, Wisconsin, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 65,615, making it the tenth-most populous city in Wisconsin. It is a principal municipality of the Janesville–Beloit metropolitan statistical area, which consists of all of Rock County and is included in the greater Madison–Janesville–Beloit combined statistical area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tractor Supply Company</span> American retail chain

Tractor Supply Company, founded in 1938, is an American chain store that sells home improvement, agriculture, lawn and garden maintenance, livestock, equine and pet care equipment and supplies. It caters to farmers, ranchers, pet owners, and landowners. As of 2024, the company had 2,250 stores. It is based in Brentwood, Tennessee. It is publicly traded on the Nasdaq under the symbol TSCO and is a Fortune 500 company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kohl's</span> American department store chain

Kohl's is an American department store retail chain, operated by Kohl's Corporation. It currently has 1,165 locations, operating stores in every U.S. state except Hawaii. The company was founded by Polish immigrant Maxwell Kohl, who opened a corner grocery store in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1927. It went on to become a successful chain in the local area, and in 1962 the company branched out by opening its first department store. British American Tobacco Company took a controlling interest in the company in 1972 while still managed by the Kohl Family, and in 1979, the corporation was sold to BATUS Inc. A group of investors purchased the company in 1986 from British American Tobacco and took it public in 1992.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hardware store</span> Store that sells household hardware for home improvement

Hardware stores, sometimes known as DIY stores, sell household hardware for home improvement including: fasteners, building materials, hand tools, power tools, keys, locks, hinges, chains, plumbing supplies, electrical supplies, cleaning products, housewares, tools, utensils, paint, and lawn and garden products directly to consumers for use at home or for business. Many hardware stores have specialty departments unique to its region or its owner's interests. These departments include hunting and fishing supplies, plants and nursery products, marine and boating supplies, pet food and supplies, farm and ranch supplies including animal feed, swimming pool chemicals, homebrewing supplies and canning supplies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Menards</span> American home improvement chain in the Midwestern United States

Menard, Inc., doing business as Menards, is an American big-box home improvement retail chain headquartered in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. It is the third-largest home improvement retailer in the United States, with 351 stores in 15 U.S. states, primarily in the Midwest. The chain is privately owned by founder John Menard Jr.

SuperValu, Inc., was an American wholesaler and retailer of grocery products. The company, formerly headquartered in the Minneapolis suburb of Eden Prairie, Minnesota, had been in business since 1926. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of United Natural Foods (UNFI).

H. C. Prange Co., sometimes shortened to Prange's, was an American department store chain begun by H. C. Prange in 1887 in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. At its peak, it operated stores in the states of Wisconsin, Illinois, and Michigan. It also operated discount stores under the Prange Way name in the former two states, although this division was sold off in the 1990s. Prange's was dissolved and most of the stores converted to the rival Younkers chain after sale in 1992.

Von Maur, Inc. is an American department store chain based in Davenport, Iowa. Founded in 1872, the chain operates over 36 locations across the United States, primarily in the Midwest.

CSK Auto, Inc. was a specialty retailer of automotive parts and accessories in the western United States. CSK Auto became a publicly traded company in March 1998, headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, and grew through a combination of acquisitions and organic growth. It was acquired in 2008 by O'Reilly Automotive.

Bonton Holdings Inc. operating as Bonton was an American department store chain and group founded in 1898. It operated in Western New York, Pennsylvania, and throughout the Midwestern United States. The former York, Pennsylvania-based company BonTon filed for bankruptcy in February 2018 and sold the name to CSC Generation, which sold it to BrandX.com in 2021, operating an e-commerce site under the brand name. Along with Bergner's, Boston Store, Carson's, Elder-Beerman, Herberger's, and Younkers, the names of most of the defunct retail group's department store chains are owned by BrandX.

Roundy's Supermarkets is an American supermarket operator. It owns and operates stores under the names of Pick 'n Save, Metro Market, and Mariano's Fresh Market. The chain is a subsidiary of Kroger. Roundy's operates 149 supermarkets and 107 pharmacies throughout the states of Wisconsin and Illinois. Based on fiscal year 2012 sales, Roundy's was the 37th largest grocery store chain and the 89th largest retailer in the United States. As of December 2015, Roundy's became a subsidiary of Kroger of Cincinnati, Ohio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fleet Farm</span> American general merchandise retail chain

Fleet Farm is an American retail chain of 53 stores in Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, North Dakota and South Dakota. Headquartered in Appleton, Wisconsin, the company has a main distribution center in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, with a buying/support office and warehouse in Appleton.

Norbys Farm Fleet is a retail chain of farm supply stores. The stores sell hunting and fishing equipment, appliances, housewares, automotive goods, apparel, hardware, lawn and garden supplies, paint, pet supplies, sporting goods, and tools and a mix of products lines in animal health, livestock feed, workwear, fashion clothing, candy & snacks, and toys.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kwik Trip</span> Midwestern convenience store and gas station chain

Kwik Trip is a chain of convenience stores founded in 1965 that has locations throughout Wisconsin, Minnesota, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan under the name Kwik Trip, and in Illinois, Iowa, and South Dakota under the name Kwik Star, although the Dixon, Illinois, location operates as Kwik Trip. The company also operates stores under the name Tobacco Outlet Plus, Tobacco Outlet Plus Grocery, Hearty Platter, Kwik Spirits, and Stop-N-Go. Kwik Trip, Inc. is a privately held company headquartered in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gamble-Skogmo</span> American retail company

Gamble-Skogmo Inc. was a conglomerate of retail chains and other businesses that was headquartered in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. Business operated or franchised by Gamble-Skogmo included Gambles hardware and auto supply stores, Woman's World and Mode O'Day clothing stores, J.M. McDonald department stores, Leath Furniture stores, Tempo and Buckeye Mart Discount Stores, Howard's Brandiscount Department Stores, Rasco Variety Stores, Sarco Outlet Stores, Toy World, Rasco-Tempo, Red Owl Grocery, Snyder Drug and the Aldens mail-order company. In Canada, retail operations consisted of Macleods Hardware, based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and Stedmans Department Stores, based in Toronto, Ontario. Gamble-Skogmo carried a line of home appliances, including radios, televisions, refrigerators, and freezers, under the Coronado brand name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kohl's Food Stores</span> Grocery store chain

Kohl’s Food Stores was a Milwaukee-area grocery store chain and subsidiary of The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company. Kohl’s Food Stores distribution center was located in Waukesha, while its management offices were located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theisen's</span> Regional retail chain of the United States

Theisen's is a regional retail chain of 21 stores in Iowa and 3 stores in Wisconsin. The company headquarters are in Dubuque, Iowa. Theisen's stores sell hunting and fishing equipment, appliances, houseware, automotive goods, apparel, household hardware, lawn and garden supplies, paint, pet supplies, sporting goods, farm and ranch supplies, livestock feed, and tools.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Co-op Food</span> British brand of consumer co-operative supermarkets

Co-op is a UK supermarket chain and the brand used for the food retail business of The Co-operative Group, one of the world’s largest consumer co-operatives. As the UK’s fifth largest food retailer, Co-op operates nearly 2,400 food stores. It also supplies products to over 6,000 other stores, including those run by independent co-operative societies, through its wholesale business, Nisa Retail Limited.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kerala State Civil Supplies Corporation</span>

The Kerala State Civil Supplies Corporation Limited, abbreviated as and known better by its brand name Supplyco, is a Government of Kerala-owned company headquartered at Kochi, India. It acts as the execution arm of the Department of Food and Civil Supplies of the Government of Kerala. Founded in 1974, the company serves the purpose of governmental intervention in the retail market to control prices of essential commodities.

References

  1. Walker, Janelle (September 14, 2016). "Elgin Area Chamber of Commerce's luncheon". The Chicago Tribune.
  2. 1 2 Murphy, Jean (May 22, 2018). "Modern day general store found in suburbs". Daily Herald . Arlington Heights, Illinois.
  3. "Video: Mills Fleet Farm and Blain's Farm & Fleet enter a new era". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel . June 6, 2017.
  4. Adams, Barry (August 14, 2008). "No Family Feud for Farm & Fleet, Fleet Farm". Wisconsin State Journal .
  5. "Company info" . Retrieved November 11, 2017.
  6. Gores, Paul (May 13, 2014). "Blain's Farm and Fleet executive retiring". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
  7. "Blain's Farm & Fleet announces third Michigan location". The Gazette. Janesville, Wisconsin. January 22, 2018.