Menards

Menard Inc.
Private company
Industry Retail (Home Improvement)
Founded 1960 (1960)
Founder John Menard Jr.
Headquarters Eau Claire, Wisconsin, U.S.
Number of locations
 305
Key people
 John Menard Jr. (President)
Products Building materials, tools, hardware, garden supplies, electrical supplies, ceiling fans, light fixtures, cabinets, home appliances, doors, windows, paint, wood stain, wallpaper, plumbing supplies, carpet, vinyl, linoleum, groceries, automotive
Revenue $8.7 billion (Dec 2015)[1]
Number of employees
 45,000
Website Menards.com

Menard Inc. is a chain of home improvement centers, located primarily in the Midwestern United States.

The privately held company, headquartered in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, has 305 stores in 14 states: Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas, South Dakota, North Dakota, Wyoming, and Kentucky. It is the third largest home improvement chain in the United States, behind The Home Depot and Lowe's.[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 and built an office and shop. The company was founded in 1960[3] and incorporated in 1962.[4]

In 2007, Menards opened their 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]

Grocery section of Menard's store in Traverse City, Michigan

Store structure

Exterior of the Menards store in Ankeny, Iowa. An example of the older exterior.

In 2007, the 240,000 sq ft (22,000 m2) and larger Menards stores began selling groceries.[6] Shoppers are able to get items such as frozen pizza, milk, eggs, common snacks, and a variety of canned items. In addition, they carry items such as office supplies, pet supplies, and even mattresses.[7] This new offer has allowed customers to have a more rounded "stop-and-shop" experience while diverting some of the market share from major grocers around the country.

Advertising

Menards store in West Lafayette, Indiana

Menards publishes weekly print ads and broadcasts TV and radio ads.[8] Radio and TV ads are sometimes accompanied with banjo 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 since 1999.[10] 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 chorus.[11]

Auto racing

Lighting department of a Menards in Gillette, Wyoming

Menards has supported several racing drivers, including Paul Menard, John Menard's son;[12] Robby Gordon; P. J. Jones;[13] Brandon Jones;[14] Matt Crafton;[15] Simon Pagenaud, and Ryan Blaney.[16] Menards has begun sponsoring Team Penske as of 2016.[17] Menards has also become the title sponsor of races in the Xfinity Series[18] and ARCA Racing Series.[19]

Industry ranking

In 2016, Menard, Inc., was ranked 37th on Forbes’ list of "America's Largest Private Companies", with an estimated revenue of USD$8.7 billion.[1] In that same year, Menard was ranked 45th on the National Retail Federation's list of "100 Top Retailers".[20]

In 2018, Menards was ranked by J.D. Power as "highest in customer satisfaction among home improvement retail stores".[21]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Menard on the Forbes America's Largest Private Companies List". Forbes. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  2. ↑ "Bloomberg Billionaires Index - John Menard Jr". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2017-03-14.
  3. ↑ "About Us at Menards". Retrieved May 25, 2014.
  4. ↑ Carlyle, Erin (Dec 16, 2013). "Meet The Best Hardware Store In the Nation, And The Midwestern Billionaire Who Built It: John Menard Jr". Forbes. Retrieved May 25, 2014.
  5. ↑ "Menards is building centers in Iowa, Ohio instead of Eau Claire". La Crosse Tribune.
  6. ↑ Doris Hajewski (April 13, 2007). "Got milk at Menards?". Journal Sentinel. Retrieved 2012-01-07.
  7. ↑ "Menards for nails, tools, groceries?". Crain's Chicago Business. Retrieved 2018-07-02.
  8. ↑ "THE MARKETING 100: MENARDS: JOHN MENARD". Retrieved 2017-03-14.
  9. ↑ "Ditties for the decades". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
  10. ↑ "Seasoned Menards guy is hard to wear out". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. July 7, 2002. Archived from the original on September 4, 2002. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
  11. ↑ Kangas, Chaz (December 17, 2014). "The "Save Big Money at Menards" Jingle: A History". City Pages. Retrieved December 13, 2017.
  12. ↑ "Paul Menard - Richard Childress Racing". Richard Childress Racing. Retrieved March 14, 2017.
  13. ↑ "Sponsor Search Page". Racing Reference. Retrieved March 14, 2017.
  14. ↑ "Menards to Continue Partnership with RCR XFINITY Programs - Richard Childress Racing". Richard Childress Racing. January 22, 2016. Retrieved March 14, 2017.
  15. ↑ "Crafton, Menards extend ThorSport partnership". Retrieved March 14, 2017.
  16. ↑ "Menards doubles sponsorship deal with Penske, Pagenaud for 2017". IndyCar.com. Retrieved March 14, 2017.
  17. ↑ DiZinno, Tony. "Menards to continue IndyCar sponsorship with Team Penske". NBC Sports. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
  18. ↑ "XFINITY Series race results for Menards 250 at Michigan". FOX Sports. June 11, 2016. Retrieved March 14, 2017.
  19. ↑ "NASCAR's Matt Crafton Enters May 15 Menards 200". ARCA Racing. Retrieved March 14, 2017.
  20. ↑ schickg@nrf.com (2016-06-30). "STORES Top Retailers 2016". National Retail Federation. Retrieved 2017-03-14.
  21. ↑ "2018 Home Improvement Retailer Satisfaction Survey". J.D. Power. 2018-06-13. Retrieved 2018-08-27.


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