Pay 'n Save: История американской розничной сети

American retail company

Pay 'n Save was a retail company founded by Monte Lafayette Bean in Seattle, Washington, in 1940. Over the years, Pay 'n Save was the leading drugstore chain in Washington and was the owner of several Washington based retailers, including Lamonts and Ernst. A 1984 sale of the company to The Trump Group and a 1986 attempt to transform the retailer into a bargain basement merchandiser resulted in a loss of nearly $50 million. By 1988, Pay 'n Save was sold to Thrifty Corporation, who later sold the stores to PayLess Drug, who retired the Pay 'n Save name. As a result, most of the retailer's divisions were spun off as separate companies or shuttered. As of 2023, Pay 'n Save's membership discount chain, Bi Mart, is the sole surviving division of the company (the chain has been an employee owned company since 2003). At the company's peak, Pay 'n Save was operating 313 stores in ten western states, Canada and Great Britain under several different names, including Pay 'n Save, Ernst, Bi Mart, Lamonts, Sportswest, Schuck's Auto Supply, Yard Birds, Von Tobel's, and Price Savers.

In 1940, businessman Monte Lafayette Bean arrived in Seattle, Washington, from Portland, Oregon, to take over Tradewell Stores, Inc., a chain of grocery stores. By 1947, Bean and his son, M. Lamont Bean, opened the first Pay 'n Save drug store at Fourth Avenue and Pike Street in Seattle. Pay 'n Save shuttered the Rhodes flagship store in Seattle during 1968.

In October 1982, company founder Monte Lafayette Bean died at age 83. At the time, Schuck's had 58 stores in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho.) in an effort to stave off other bids.

The company's sporting goods chain, Sportswest, was spun off in 1984 before being closed completely. After a brief period, Thrifty Corporation reopened the stores under the Big 5 Sporting Goods name. Sportswest was the first of several Pay 'n Save division to be sold over the next few years. During this time, Dayton Hudson division Mervyns was expected to acquire the company's 20 Lamonts stores and Southland Corporation, then owner of 7 Eleven, expressed interest in acquiring all 58 Schuck's Auto Supply stores. On November 1, 1985, Pay 'n Save successfully spun off Bi Mart, Lamonts, and Schuck's to form a new company, Northern Pacific Corporation. With all divisions combined, the new company had sales of about $450 million, making it one of the Northwest's largest retail operations. The sale left Pay 'n Save with 69 Ernst Home Center stores, three Yard Birds stores, and wholesaler Northwestern Drug Co.

After 19 months as a privately held company, Pay 'n Save announced plans to return as a public company in May 1986. The company also announced its new emphasis on bargain goods and plans to raise $225 million by selling convertible bonds and 10 year notes. When Zimmerman left Pic 'N' Save in August 1984, he agreed not work for a competing company for one year, but the company's interests had been attempting to determine whether Zimmerman violated the agreement. By the end of July 1986, Zimmerman and the Trumps again turned Pay 'n Save into a public company by selling $52 million (~$ in ) in stock, despite a dramatic decline in sales since they took over. The company later reported a $12.8 million loss in the first quarter ending August 2. At the time, chief executive Gerald Nathanson said Pay 'n Save management believes a new merchandising strategy and restructuring "will strengthen Pay ' n Save and improve its future performance significantly". In June 1987, Pay 'n Save revealed its "back to basics" merchandising plan. The chain planned to revert their 106 drug stores back to the familiar blue and green color scheme, complete with new signs, and better lighting.

In April 1988, Pay 'n Save was put up for sale. Thrifty also announced plans to keep the Pay 'n Save and Bi Mart names and the company's current employees. Richard Dortch, who began working with Pay 'n Save as a store clerk in 1969, was elected president of the 124 drugstore chain in January 1991. By February 1992, Pay 'n Save was once again for sale. Days prior to the February 5 announcement, the company announced a loss of $88 million after a $250 million after tax special charge. PayLess officials were not able to comment at the time. Leonard Green & Partners, a Los Angeles investment firm that specializes in management buyouts agreed to acquire Thrifty Corporation's other division, including Pay 'n Save's Bi Mart. Rite Aid sold Bi Mart to Endeavour Capital in 1997. By 2004, Endeavour Capital transferred ownership of the company to its employees through an employee stock ownership plan. Tough competition from larger stores forced the company to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July 1996 and close 33 stores. Lamonts filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January 1995 and once more in January 2000. In April 2000, California based Gottschalks purchased Lamonts' store leases for $19 million (~$ in ). The $19 million deal did not include Lamonts inventory, which was sold off. Kmart's Pace Membership Warehouse division acquired Price Savers for an undisclosed amount of cash in January 1991. Pace was eventually absorbed in Wal Mart's Sam's Club division in 1993. Schuck's Auto Supply: In 1987, Jules and Eddie Trump combined Schuck's, Kragen Auto Parts, and Checker Auto Parts to form Northern Automotive, later renamed CSK Auto. CSK Auto made a public offering of its stock in 1998 and became to first major auto parts retailer to sell products on the internet in 1999. O'Reilly converted all CSK Auto owned stores to the O'Reilly name shortly after. In 1971, the site became home to a statute of a black bird that was large enough for automobiles to drive through. Accidently burned down in 1976, the Yard Birds location added a replacement statue, and smaller works of the same, over the years. The store was the focus of a documentary, Skinny and Fatty: The Story of Yard Birds. The Chehalis store was converted to a vendor mall and storage space under the Yard Birds name, before closing permanently in 2022. Beginning in April 2024, abandoned and unclaimed inventory was removed from the building and placed in the parking lot. With some exceptions, items were given away for free to the public.