Butler Brothers was a retailer and wholesale supplier based in Chicago. It was founded in 1877 as a

mail-order Mail order is the buying of goods or services by mail delivery. The buyer places an order for the desired products with the merchant through some remote methods such as: * Sending an order form in the mail * Placing an order by telephone call ...

company by Charles Hamblet Butler, George H. Butler and

Edward Burgess Butler Edward Burgess Butler (December 16, 1853 – February 20, 1928) was an American businessman who founded Butler Brothers department stores. He served as the first president of the Pasadena Society of Artists. Biography He was born on December 16 ...

History

In the 1920s, Butler Brothers moved into retailing with a chain of "Scott" and "L. C. Burr" stores. In the early 1930s, they developed the

Ben Franklin Stores Ben Franklin is a chain of five and dime and arts and crafts stores found primarily in small towns throughout the United States, last owned by Promotions Unlimited of Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin. They are organized using a franchise system, with ...

, franchised

five and dime A variety store (also five and dime (historic), pound shop, or dollar store) is a retail store that sells general merchandise, such as apparel, auto parts, dry goods, toys, hardware, furniture, and a selection of groceries. It usually sells th ...

stores, and Federated Stores, which were franchised dry goods stores (many termed department stores) that operated under their own local names. Most were in small towns. By 1936, there were 2,600 Ben Franklin stores and 1,400 Federated stores. In the 1940s and 1950s, Butler Brothers was one of the largest wholesalers in the country. Unlike many modern franchises, which seek to present a uniform identity to consumers, the Ben Franklin franchise largely benefitted dime store owners by making weekly shipments from their warehouses, where tens of thousands of items were kept in inventory. Not only could a store owner order merchandise on Friday and receive it on Tuesday to replenish empty shelves, but by consolidating shipments, saved a considerable amount on freight, and found it easier to manage his inventory. Butler Brothers also organized special sale events every few weeks. Stores could order salebills with their own names on them, and in many cases, with sale prices they chose for the merchandise. Manufacturers would offer special prices to get the extra sales inherent by being included in such large promotions, which Butler Brothers would pass along to stores and consumers.

Scott-Burr Stores Corp.

Scott-Burr Stores Corp. was a wholly owned subsidiary of Butler Brothers and owned and operated two chains: Scott Stores, 5 cent to one dollar stores, with 116 units at the end of 1938, and Burr Stores, with 19 locations in 1938, dry goods stores. Net profit in 1937 was $182,000 and in 1938 it was $103,000. In 1946 Scott-Burr sales had reached over a million dollars per month.

Federated Stores

Federated Stores of America (not to be confused with

Federated Department Stores Macy's, Inc. (previously Federated Department Stores, Inc.) is an American holding company of department stores. Upon its establishment in 1929, Federated held ownership of the regional department store chains Abraham & Straus, Lazarus (departm ...

, now part of

Macy's Macy's is an American department store chain founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. The first store was located in Manhattan on Sixth Avenue between 13th and 14th Streets, south of the present-day flagship store at Herald Square on West 34 ...

), was at its peak, a chain of about 1400 independently-owned and operated dry-goods stores based on a common operating model and selling goods purchased and warehoused by Butler Brothers. It started operations beginning . Butler Brothers sold their interest and were "off the map" by mid-1960s.

Sam Walton Samuel Moore Walton (March 29, 1918 – April 5, 1992) was an American business magnate best known for Co-founding the retailers Walmart and Sam's Club, which he started in Rogers, Arkansas, and Midwest City, Oklahoma, in 1962 and 1983 res ...

(of

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...

fame) at the very beginning of his career has tried to become a franchisee of Federated Stores (he ended up switching to Ben Franklin instead).

Own-branded department stores

In the 1950s, the company built 4 complete department stores in

Greater Los Angeles Greater Los Angeles is the most populous metropolitan area in the U.S. state of California, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino County and Riverside County in the eas ...

Lakewood Center Lakewood Center is a super-regional shopping mall in Lakewood, California. Lakewood Center opened in 1952 and was enclosed in 1978. The interior mall is anchored by Costco, Forever 21, JCPenney, Macy's, a Round One Entertainment center, and T ...

(1952), Downtown

Alhambra The Alhambra (, ; ) is a palace and fortress complex located in Granada, Spain. It is one of the most famous monuments of Islamic architecture and one of the best-preserved palaces of the historic Muslim world, Islamic world. Additionally, the ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, and

Van Nuys Van Nuys ( ) is a neighborhood in the central San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Home to Van Nuys Airport and the Valley Municipal Building, it is the most populous neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley. History In 1 ...

. In 1962 there were a total of 7 west coast stores including Seattle and Butte, Montana. In the 1960s the Los Angeles buying office and plant was at 3030 South Atlantic Boulevard in Vernon, an industrial suburb of

Southeast Los Angeles County The Gateway Cities region, or Southeast Los Angeles County, is an urbanized region located in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, between the City of Los Angeles proper, Orange County, and the Pacific Ocean. The cluster of cities has b ...

. In 1957 Butler Bros. bought

TG&Y TG&Y was a five and dime, or chain of variety stores and larger discount stores in the United States. At its peak, there were more than 900 stores in 29 states. Starting out during the Great Depression in rural areas and eventually moving into cit ...

variety stores with 127 locations. In February 1960, the company was bought out by

City Products Corp A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

of Ohio, a company which had been in existence since 1894 as an ice company, for $53 million plus assumption of Butler Brothers liabilities.

Gallery

Butler Brothers warehouses in Jersey City, New Jersey.jpg, Butler Brothers warehouses in Jersey City, New Jersey, c.1910 Butler Square 02.jpg, Former Butler Bros. warehouse in Minneapolis, Minnesota

References

External links

* Ronald D. Michman, and Alan J. Greco; ''Retailing Triumphs and Blunders: Victims of Competition in the New Age of Marketing Management'' * Sandra S. Vance and Roy V. Scott; ''Butler Brothers and the Rise and Decline of the Ben Franklin Stores: A Study in Franchise Retailing'' (1993)
City Products
{{authority control * Companies based in Oregon Defunct companies based in Chicago Defunct companies based in Minnesota Economy of Minneapolis Newberg, Oregon Defunct department stores based in Southeast Los Angeles County, California