Special Report Club Channel

Although we have entered a new year, increasing grocery prices continue the employee-owned club channel grocer, the first location opened in 1955 in Yakima, WA with Jack Phelan as CEO

By 1970, the company had eight locations and five years later was sold to Pay’n Save. The company ued to also facilitated through Endeavour. Since being employee-owned, Bi-Mart has continued to open several locations throughout the US.

Today, Bi-Mart has 81 locations and has remained focused on its buy-onlinepickup-in-store (BOPIS) program it recently rolled out across all locations. It has only been a year that the company has been able to sell its products online, and to expand that shopping option, the company began implementing BOPIS technologies.

“One of the top suggestions we were hearing from customers was ‘the abil- pers can save on each shopping trip. Bi-Mart the 90s in cluding its ed in 1995, and later became an employee-owned grocer with roots deriving from a goal to offer shoppers affordable grocery and household items. In an effort to offer the most to their consumers, founder Jack Phelan opted for a membership shopping program so shoppers can purchase items at a discounted price.

Before officially becoming Bi-Mart our, an American holding company, in 1992.

At the time, Bi-Mart was owned by Thrifty Corporation, but after the sale of Thrifty-Payless to Rite Aid Corporation, Bi-Mart was proposed with the exclusive right to purchase the company from Rite Aid, which Endeavour helped assist with negotiating and managing in the late 1990s.

Bi-Mart then sold the company to its employees in 2004, which was part of an employee stock ownership plan an interview with RIS News, a news source for business intelligence and technology. “Once the pandemic started in 2020, we prioritized our e-commerce and order management efforts to accommodate our customers’ needs, including introducing BOPIS. It took about nine months to implement Kibo’s e-commerce platform and order management system and roll out our BOPIS program.”

BJ’s Wholesale r Cont'd on Pg 6 by owner Mervyn Weich’s daughter, Beverly Jean Weich. BJ’s became the official name of the company during a series of changes throughout the company. BJ’s partook in various consolidations, revamps, sales and derivatives until 2011 when the company was acquired by Leonard Green & Partners and later returned to public market in 2018.

BJ’s Wholesale consists of 235 clubs, 163 gas stations, 6.5 million members and more than $16 billion in annual sales. The company started as a discount department store called Zayre in 1984.

Today, members are offered discounts on household items and various services such as tires, optical, travel and rental, home improvement and insurance services. The company not only offers up to 25 percent off of groceries, but it also provides consumers with ample deals and discounts outside of the grocery store.

BJ’s Wholesale recently opened a new location in Midlothian, VA, which offered a limited-time founding member offer for locals. The location became the company’s 235th store.

Costco

With 847 warehouses, Costco has become a leading club channel grocer worldwide. The company has 583 locations in 46 states and Puerto Rico, which is 24 more stores than it had last year. Costco carries high-quality, brandname items that are sold at a discounted price to members. According to the company, the warehouses are intended to assist small and medium-sized businesses in lowering their purchasing costs for resale alongside individuals buying for their households at a discounted price.

Costco’s roots can be traced back to the 70s, around the time Price Club was