Chain of home improvement stores in the Midwestern United States
Menards |
| Type | Private company |
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| Industry | Retail (home improvement) |
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| Founded | 1960; 62 years ago (1960) |
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| Founder | John Menard Jr. |
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| Headquarters | Eau Claire, Wisconsin, US |
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Number of locations | 335 Stores And 12 Distribution Centers (As of February 2021) |
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Key people | John Menard Jr. (President) |
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| Products | Building materials, tools, hardware, garden supplies, electrical supplies, ceiling fans, light fixtures, cabinets, home appliances, doors, windows, paint, wood stain, wallpaper, plumbing supplies, toilets, carpet, vinyl, linoleum, groceries, automotive, propane |
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| Revenue |  US$ 10.7 billion (2020)[1] |
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| Owner | Menard, Inc. |
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Number of employees | 45,000 (2021) |
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| Website | www.menards.com  |
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Menards is an American home improvement retail company headquartered in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Menards is owned by founder John Menard Jr. through his privately held company, Menard, Inc.
The company has 335 stores in 15 states: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
Menards is the third-largest home improvement chain in the United States, behind Lowe's and The Home Depot.[1]
Company history
In 1959, John Menard Jr. began building post-frame buildings to finance his college education. By the end of 1959, he found it necessary to hire extra crews, and to purchase more equipment to keep up with demand.[2] After graduating from the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire in 1962, Menard purchased land in Eau Claire, Wisconsin and built an office and shop. The company was founded in 1960 [3] and incorporated in 1962.[4]
Menards was founded as Menard Cashway Lumber. In the mid-1980s, the "Cashway Lumber" name was dropped and the business became simply known to this day as Menards.
In 2007, Menards opened its third and fourth distribution centers in Holiday City, Ohio, and Shelby, Iowa, which are 669,000 square feet (62,200 m2) and 735,000 square feet (68,300 m2), respectively.[5]
States with Menards stores
An example of the older exterior of the Menards store in
Ankeny, Iowa
Groceries
In 2007, the 240,000 sq ft (22,000 m2) and larger Menards stores began selling groceries.[6] At such locations, shoppers are able to purchase items such as frozen pizza, milk, eggs, common snacks, and a variety of canned items. In addition, these Menards locations carry items such as office supplies, pet supplies, and mattresses.[7]
Advertising
Menards publishes weekly print ads and broadcasts TV and radio ads.[8] Radio and TV ads are usually accompanied by banjo music (resembling that of bluegrass music) played by Gary Shaw of Wisconsin.[9] Ray Szmanda was the "Menards Guy" who used the slogan "Save big money at Menards" regularly on television advertisements from 1976 to 1998, and occasionally from 1999 until his death in 2018.[10] Before his return in 1999, Kim Larsen took over his position in his absence. During the Christmas and holiday season, radio and television ads typically feature an alternate jingle "Warm season's greetings to you all from Menards!" sung by a female chorus beginning in 1986. The same year, the "Helping You Build America’s Heartland" jingle was made.[11]
Spanish language commercials (whose music contains a mixture of mariachi and banjo sounds) end with "¡Ganar mucho dinero en Menards!"[citation needed]
Auto racing
John Menard got involved in Indycar racing in the early 1980s working with his neighbor, driver Herm Johnson. Menard eventually owned cars, primarily focusing on the Indianapolis 500 often using stock block Buick V6 engines. When Buick left the sport, Menard bought the engine tooling from Buick and began producing the engines under the Menard V6 name. Driver Scott Brayton won two consecutive Indy 500 poles for Menard, but was killed in a practice crash before the 1996 500. Tony Stewart got his first Indy 500 starts for Menard, and in 1992 Al Unser Sr. scored the highest Indy 500 finish for the team (3rd) and the highest ever 500 finish for the Buick/Menard V6 engine.
Menards has supported several racing drivers, including Paul Menard (John Menard's son) who won his only NASCAR Cup race in the 2011 Brickyard 400 in a Menards sponsored Richard Childress Chevrolet. ;[12] Robby Gordon; P. J. Jones;[13] Brandon Jones;[14] Matt Crafton;[15] Simon Pagenaud, Ryan Blaney and Matt DiBenedetto.[16] Menards began sponsoring Team Penske in 2016.[17] Menards has also become the title sponsor of races in the Xfinity Series [18] and as the entitlement sponsor for the[19] ARCA Racing Series.[20]
Industry ranking
In 2016, Menard, Inc., was ranked 37th on Forbes’ list of "America's Largest Private Companies", with an estimated revenue of US$8.7 billion.[1] In that same year, Menard was ranked 45th on the National Retail Federation's list of "100 Top Retailers".[21]
In 2018, Menards was ranked by J.D. Power as "highest in customer satisfaction among home improvement retail stores".[22]
Controversies
According to Milwaukee Magazine in 2007, Menards was cited with more regulatory violations involving air/water pollution and hazardous waste disposal than any other company in Wisconsin. It also alleges that the company is strongly anti-union, to the point that it will not hire anyone who has ever worked in a union shop, even if they did so while in their teen years.[23]
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Michigan's Attorney General Dana Nessel sent Menards a cease and desist letter citing 18 complaints from consumers in regards to price gouging on products such as face masks and bleach. "Big box stores are not immune to the Michigan Consumer Protection Act or the Governor's Executive Order", Nessel said. "Large corporations must also play by the rules, and my office will work diligently to ensure this state's consumers are treated fairly and not abused by businesses seeking to unlawfully jack prices up to line their pockets with profits at the expense of the public during this time of great need." Nessel said that Menards would have 10 days to respond to the letter, or she would potentially take legal action.[24][25]
During the pandemic, Menards instituted a policy that prohibited children under age 16 and non-service animals in stores, to the frustration of single parents who do not have other childcare options.[26] The policy for children was later relaxed.[27]
