Menards

Menards

File:Menards logo.png
Company type	Private company
Industry	Retail (Home Improvement)
Founded	1960
Headquarters	Eau Claire, Wisconsin
Key people	John Menard, Jr. (President) Scott Collette (Chief Operating Officer) Charlie Menard (General Manager Distribution, Manufacturing and Logistics) Gaylen Heckman (Operations Manager)
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 billion (2007)(estimated)
Number of employees	45,000
Website	Menards.com

Menards is a chain of home improvement stores in the Midwestern United States.

The privately held company headquartered in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, has approximately 270 stores in 14 states: Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas, South Dakota, North Dakota, Wyoming, and Kentucky.

Industry ranking

Since Menard, Inc., is not publicly traded, it does not release sales figures. It is generally believed to be the third largest (by sales) home improvement company in the United States, behind The Home Depot and Lowe's. In 2009, Menard, Inc., was ranked 42nd on Forbes’ list of "America's Largest Private Companies." The trade publication Home Channel News estimated 2007 sales at $8 billion.

Menards store in West Lafayette, Indiana.

Store structure

File:Menards.jpg

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

Every Menards store shares a common structure. Each store is primarily divided by departments: building materials, hardware, electrical, millwork, wall coverings, plumbing and housewares, floor coverings, cabinets and appliances, and groceries. Other areas of the store include the front end (cashiers, office functions, carry outs) and the receiving crew (responsible for the lumber yard, shipments between the store and the distribution centers, and other delivery and merchandise logistics). The receiving team is also responsible for the loading and unloading of shipments, as well as taking care of all special orders and prepaid orders. In a typical store there is a store manager, two assistant managers, a department manager for each department plus one or two assistant manager for those departments, and various sales floor team members. Some departments are combined dependent upon store volume and customer traffic, or only have a single assistant manager.

Menards stores are divided into categories based on store size and product range. These categories range from P1 (prototype size 1) to P5 (prototype size 5), Hardware Plus (smaller than a P1 with fewer building materials item selections) and non-prototype (usually stores that have moved into pre-existing locations or locations where large prototype stores will not fit, such as the 2-story stores).

In 2007, the 240,000 sq ft (22,000 m²) and larger Menards stores began selling groceries. By adding a second story mezzanine for less frequently accessed items, space can be made for groceries on the main floor.

In March 2005, the company opened the first 2-story, 300,000 sq ft (28,000 m²) Menards megastore in St. Paul, Minnesota. It followed in November 2006 with another 2-story store in Hodgkins, Illinois. In March 2009, Menards opened its flagship megastore in Waukesha, Wisconsin, a suburb of Milwaukee. The Waukesha megastore is the largest Menards in the United States and has two glass elevators, two massive industrial escalators, and a snack shop.

Brands

Menards also owns and exclusively sells some of its own brands. Some of the brands found at the Menards stores are:

• Pittsburgh Paints
• Dutch Boy Paint
• Schrock Masterbrand, Medallion Elkay, and Kitchen Kompact (cabinets)
• Mastercraft (interior/exterior doors) (exclusive)
• Masterforce (Tools) (exclusive)
• Acoustic Ceiling Products
• Patriot Lighting
• Smart Electrician
• Kidde "Life Saver" line
• Quantus Lighting
• Performax
• North Tech
• Guidesman
• Shell Rock Products
• Stanley Works (tools)
• Xtreme Garage
• Tool Shop {exclusive}
• Tarkett
• FlorCraft
• Master Paws
• Backyard Creations
• Storage Shop
• Classic Decor
• Pumpkin Hollow
• Resolution
• Plumb Works
• Crestline and Peachtree, Jeld-Wen (windows)
• Turn of the Century (Ceiling Fans)
• Tru-Bolt (exclusive)
• Enchanted Garden
• Enchanted Forest
• Tuscany (Faucets)
• MTD products
• Perfect Shutters
• Ultradeck (composite decking)
• Homax Spray Textures
• Focal Point
• Sunforce Products
• GreenEBoard

Menards offers its guests thousands of products in stock and even more through different special order programs. Special orders are available both at their brick and mortar locations and at their website.

Company history

In 1959, John Menard, Jr., began building post-frame buildings to finance his college education. By 1959, Menard found it necessary to hire extra crews, and to purchase more equipment to keep up with demand. After graduating from college in 1962, Menard purchased land in Eau Claire, Wisconsin and built an office and shop. Menards was founded at this time in 1962.

When post-frame building customers often inquired about the possibility of purchasing lumber and other products, Menard opened the first Menards Cashway Lumber.

In 1969, Menard began adding manufacturing plants at the Eau Claire site. These plants included facilities for making trusses, treated lumber, boards, pre-hung doors, steel and nails. A distribution center was also added.

In 1972, Menard opened his first hardware store.

On July 15, 1980, Menards' headquarters in Eau Claire was seriously damaged by the severe weather of the Western Wisconsin Derecho.

In 1994, Menards sold the post-frame building division.

In 1998, Menards opened a second distribution center in Plano, Illinois.

In 2005, Menards created an eCommerce website called Menards Online Collections. While they still use this URL, it is no longer operated as a standalone eCommerce division. It redirects to the Menards.com website, where all eCommerce for the company is handled. This includes the ability to buy an item online and pick it up in the store, a service which was added in early 2013.

In 2007, Menards opened their third and fourth distribution centers in Holiday City, Ohio, and Shelby, Iowa. The Holiday City, Ohio, complex is 669,000 square feet (62,200 m²) and the Shelby, Iowa, complex is 735,000 square feet (68,300 m²).

Advertising

For many years, Menards' television commercials featured free-lance announcer Ray Szmanda, who became a cult figure as "the Menards Guy." In the late 1990s, a young, hands-on woman temporarily took the role in Szmanda's absence. Recent commercials, however, feature Bo Landry in his place; although, a cartoon version of "the Menards Guy" still appears in Menards' print ads and in some in-store signs. The commercials end with the well-known jingle, "Save big money at Menards." During the Christmas shopping season the jingle changes to "Warm seasons greetings to you all from Menards!" as well as Spanish language commercials ending with "Garda mucho dinero en Menards!"

Menards commercials are also accompanied with banjo music played by Gary Shaw of Wisconsin. In reference to creating the musical piece, Shaw said, "I just started playing on it and they said, 'That's perfect; that's exactly what we need.' Took me a half an hour. I got $50 for a one-time fee, and I've had to listen to that commercial every day for 20 years." Spanish commercials are accompanied with a mariachi mix of the banjo accompaniment.

Racing interests

Founder John Menard, Jr., is active in auto racing. He started Team Menard which raced at the Indy 500. Menards also sponsors drivers in many other leagues. It has had its best success come with its Team Menards Indy 500 efforts in 1994, 1995, and 1996. In 2004 it affiliated with Dale Earnhardt, Jr.. Since then, most of Earnhardt's Busch Series wins have been in Menards-liveried cars. Following Earnhardt's move to Hendrick Motorsports, the Menards logo is now mainly found on the #27 Richard Childress Racing of Paul Menard, John Jr.'s son. Menard previously drove for Dale Earnhardt, Inc., from 2004–2008 and Richard Petty Motorsports from 2009-2010 Menard Jr. also holds a stake in Robby Gordon Motorsports where he sponsors as an associate on Robby's cars and trucks.

On October 29, 2010, it was announced that Kevin Harvick, Inc., had signed a multi-year sponsorship with Menards for the 2011 and 2012 Nationwide Series seasons. Paul Menard would move to KHI for 2011 and 2012 (2012 after it merged with Richard Childress Racing), sharing the driver's seat with Harvick.

• IRL IndyCar Series
  • Ed Carpenter #20
• IRL Firestone Indy Lights Series
  • Logan Gomez #23
• NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
  • Matt Crafton #88
• NASCAR Sprint Cup
  • Robby Gordon #7 (always associate, sometimes primary)
  • Paul Menard #27 (primary)
• NASCAR Nationwide Series
  • Paul Menard, Kevin Harvick #33 (primary, along with Rheem, 2011 and 2012 seasons)
• NASCAR Wisconsin Challenge Series
  • Charlie Menard #13
• NHRA Top Fuel
  • Jack Beckman
• ARCA [Frank Kimmel} #44

Family-run business

John Menard Jr.'s brother, Larry, served as Menards’ Operations Manager for 40 years. Larry retired on March 31, 2009. Larry's son, Charlie (actually named Larry as well, born 1973), served as the COO until October 2007 when he became Manager of the Eau Claire Distribution center. John Menard, III ("J.R." Menard), is the current Corporate Treasurer.

Conflicts

Many concerns have arisen concerning the treatment of Menards’ employees, and how situations are handled by the company. Menards utilizes fines and the threat of fines against future pay for violating their policies and procedures; for example, a two hundred dollar fine is assessed to any Menards employee that is involved in an accident that damages a Menards vehicle, property, or products (for example a refrigerator that is on wheels falling off of a "joe") (a high rise that has a platform), even if the employee was found not to have been responsible or at fault for the accident. Failure to produce internal reports on time also results in fines. A typical disciplinary policy has been offering relocation, lower wage, and demotion when conflicts develop between executives and employees. This has resulted in employees quitting their employment with the company. Other concerns, surrounding Menards' seeming lack of systemic store safety practices, have surfaced. Unlike other big box home improvement operators, Menards does not employ back-up alarms in their equipment at use inside their stores, nor do they employ spotters or aisle blockers to facilitate the safety of both patrons and employees while operating lifts and other such heavy equipment used to conduct stocking activities. Employees are also required to purchase their own work tools (tool belt, tape measure, knife, tin snips, pens, pencils, and markers).

Other environmental conflicts include: - Wisconsin DNR officials have cited Menards at least 13 times since 1976 for ignoring or violating state regulations related to air and water pollution and hazardous waste.

- In 1994, Wisconsin obtained a civil judgment against Menards for the unlicensed transportation and disposal of ash produced by incinerating "CCA"-treated lumber. Wood treated with CCA contains chromium, copper, and arsenic – both chromium VI and arsenic are categorized by the US EPA as carcinogens. It is considered hazardous waste and requires proper disposal in a licensed landfill. The company was fined $160,000.

- In 1997, John Menard (Menards CEO/President/Founder) was caught using his personal pickup truck to haul plastic bags of chromium- and arsenic-laden wood ash to his home for disposal with his household trash. Menard pleaded no contest to felony and misdemeanor charges involving records violations, unlawful transportation, and improper disposal of hazardous waste. Menard and his company were fined $1.7 million for 21 violations.

- In 2003, the Minnesota attorney general charged that Menards manufactured and sold arsenic-tainted mulch in packaging labeled “ideal for playgrounds and for animal bedding.” Warning labels from the CCA-treated wood were found in the mulch. The EPA recommends that CCA-treated wood not be converted into mulch. The case is still pending (as of 2008).

- In 2005, Menards agreed to a $2 million fine after Wisconsin DNR officials found a floor drain in a company shop that they believed was used to dump paint, solvents, oil and other waste into a lagoon that fed into a tributary of the Chippewa River. The sanction broke the previous record fine of $1.7 million set by Menard in 1997.

- In 2006, the construction of a $112 million warehouse became a campaign issue in the Wisconsin governor’s race. The warehouse was to be erected by filling in a 0.6-acre (0.24 ha) bean field the DNR considers a seasonal wetland used by migrating tundra swans. Menards offered to build a wetland more than twice its size as a replacement, but was rejected by Scott Humrickhouse, a DNR regional director. Humrickhouse said that solution could be used “only when every alternative for saving the original wetland was exhausted.” The increasingly heated dispute got considerable media coverage, with a DNR warden calling Menards’ general counsel a “legal bitch” and the company threatening to move jobs out of Wisconsin. Tempers seemed to cool after Gov. Jim Doyle arranged $4.2 million in state aide to help the company expand its Eau Claire manufacturing headquarters. Menard had previously contributed $20,000 to Doyle’s campaign.

- Also in 2006: The US Environmental Protection Agency issued an administrative order against Menards for damaging a Sioux Falls, S.D., stream that ran through its property by filling in 1,350 linear feet of the stream and replacing it with a 66-inch storm sewer pipe.

Further reading

• Company history from Menard Team Member Handbook.
• Gary Shaw quote from an 10/15/06 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article by Rick Romell.
• August 9, 2006 Toledo Blade article

External links

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• Menards website
• Menard Inc. website
• Menards Real Estate
• Menards Racing
• Rebate International
• Team Menard
• Ray Szmanda's Website
• "Save Big Money At Menards