Scotty's Builders Supply was an American

retailer Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is the sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesal ...

home improvement The concept of home improvement, home renovation or remodeling is the process of renovating, making improvements or making additions to one's home. Home improvement can consist of projects that upgrade an existing home interior (such as electr ...

and

construction Construction are processes involved in delivering buildings, infrastructure, industrial facilities, and associated activities through to the end of their life. It typically starts with planning, financing, and design that continues until the a ...

products and services. The company that at its peak operated about 150 stores, closed in 2005. The company was also known as Scotty's Hardware and Scotty's Home Builders.

History

The company has its beginnings in the 1920s

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

land boom when new residents poured into the state to build houses, hotels, and other businesses. A young Georgia farmer working in Winter Haven recognized the demand for building materials and in 1924 opened "Home Builders Supply" in Winter Haven. Evanda Hugh Sweet, a local farmer and father of James Sweet, started with one store in 1924, and in 1925, it became incorporated; from that point it grew to a total of 162 stores. Scotty's was instrumental in helping supply building materials to the early real estate booms of Florida. Scotty's, overcome by the very competitive home improvement market, closed all the stores in 2005. Private investment company Oak Point Partners acquired the remnant assets, consisting of any known and unknown assets that weren't previously administered, from the Scott Acquisition Corp., et al., Bankruptcy Estates on September 17, 2008.Order Granting Trustee's Motion for Entry of Order Authorizing Sale of Property of the Estate to Oak Point Partners
''Bankrupt Company News'', September 17, 2008

James W. Sweet

James (Jim) Sweet built Scotty's to a chain of more than 100 stores (162 at its peak) and $500 million in sales during a 40-year career there. Scotty’s employed more than 5,500 people during his tenure. He was a 15-year member of the Florida Council of 100 business development group. He was also a graduate of

Winter Haven High School Winter Haven High School is a four-year public high school located in Winter Haven, Florida, a city of 27,855 (2004 census). History The school opened in 1886 on the second floor of Boyd's Hall, currently where City Hall stands. In 1890, a fra ...

. He died on Wednesday, October 28, 2009, at age 91 in Winter Haven, Florida.1
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Name changes

*1924 through 1967 - Home Builders Supply, Inc *1968 through 1972 - Scotty's Home Builders Supply, Inc *1973 through 2005 - Scotty's, Inc.

The GIB Group

In the 1980s, the

GIB Group GIB Group (''G''rand Bazar ''I''nnovation ''B''on Marché) was a Belgian conglomerate, consisting of various retail and restaurant chains that existed until 2002. GIB Group owned GB (Grand Bazar) super/hypermarkets, Brico (home improvement/DI ...

helped Scotty's move to a new direction with a much needed influx of resources. In the 1990s, James Sweet sold all his stock and GIB became the new owners of the home improvement chain. GIB also had interest in other home improvement retailers in the US, such as

Handy Andy Home Improvement Center Handy Andy Home Improvement Centers was founded as Arrow Lumber Company by Joseph Rashkow in 1947 on the south side of Chicago. His son, Ronald Rashkow, bought out the single store operation in 1967 from his father. He converted the company to Ha ...

Delivery service

Scotty's contractor and homeowner delivery service was one its major strengths. They had many types of trucks in their fleet: # Flatbed lift # Shingle boom # Drywall # Box

Stock-car racing sponsor

In the late 1980s, Scotty's was also sponsor to Eddie King and his #16 car within th
Florida circuit

Eddie King and his Scotty's #16 car in action

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scotty's Defunct retail companies of the United States Home improvement retailers of the United States Retail companies established in 1924 Retail companies disestablished in 2005 Hardware stores of the United States 1924 establishments in Florida 2005 disestablishments in Florida