Ben Franklin (company)

{{Infobox company

| name = Ben Franklin

| logo = Ben Franklin Stores Logo.png

| type = Private

| industry =

| founded = {{start date and age|1877}}
(as Butler Brothers)
{{start date and age|1927}}
(as Ben Franklin)

| founder =

| hq_location =

| hq_location_city = Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin

| hq_location_country = U.S.

| area_served = United States

| key_people =

| products = Crafts

| brands =

| services =

| revenue =

| owner = Promotions Unlimited

}}

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.{{cite web|title=Roosevelt Capital LLC Company Profile|url=http://www.hoovers.com/company-information/cs/company-profile.Roosevelt_Capital_LLC.aea19664b49435d1.html|website=Hoover's|accessdate=3 January 2015|df=mdy-all}} They are organized using a franchise system, with individual stores owned by independent proprietors. It was perhaps the first retail franchise, starting in 1927.{{cite web|last1=Huttner|first1=Sidney F.|title=Butler Brothers, Incorporated|url=http://sdrc.lib.uiowa.edu/lucile/publishers/butler/butler.htm|publisher=University of Iowa|work=The LUCILE Project|accessdate=3 January 2015|date=22 September 2010|df=mdy-all}} They are named after Benjamin Franklin, taking a cue in their merchandise offerings from Franklin's saying, "A penny saved is a penny earned." Although Promotions Unlimited filed for bankruptcy in 2017, a number of stores continue to operate under the Ben Franklin name.

History

File:BenFranklinStore.jpg, in 2008. This location closed in 2018.]]

=Origins=

The chain originated in Boston in 1877 as Butler Brothers, a mail-order wholesaler selling general and variety-store items. At the turn of the 20th century, Butler Brothers had over 100,000 customers in the United States. As variety stores were penetrating their market, the company founded the Ben Franklin chain in 1927, which was sold in 1959. At Ben Franklin's peak, the chain had 2,500 stores nationwide.

File:Ben Franklin store East Tawas.jpg.]]

Ben Franklin Stores purchased Texas retailer Duke & Ayres in the early 1970s.{{cite web|title=Duke & Ayers Variety Store|url=http://www.deleonhistory.com/?page_id=9469|website=De Leon, Texas History|accessdate=3 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150103210348/http://www.deleonhistory.com/?page_id=9469|archive-date=3 January 2015|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}} Duke & Ayres was a chain of 5 and 10 cent stores based in Dallas, Texas, with stores that were located throughout the state from approximately 1910 to 1990.

In the 1970s, Ben Franklin operated some Ben Franklin Family Center locations, which were larger discount store variations offering merchandise not found at regular Ben Franklin stores, such as clothing.{{cite web|url=http://www.lakecountrynow.com/news/oconomowocfocus/ben-franklin-celebrates-40-years-in-business-b9986609z1-221792161.html|title=Ben Franklin celebrates 40 years in business|last=Brunclik|first=Paige|date=30 August 2013|work=Oconomowoc Focus|accessdate=3 March 2015|df=mdy-all}} Other locations in this era were branded as B&C Family Center and included supermarkets.{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WkRPAAAAYAAJ&q=%22all+franchisers+ben+franklin%22|title=Editorial|year=1972|work=CSA Supermarkets|page=E73|accessdate=16 January 2016|df=mdy-all}}

=Bankruptcy=

The chain had functioned largely as a wholesaler of variety and craft merchandise sold to its franchisees under the name Ben Franklin Retail Stores Inc. In the early 1990s, it began opening its own stores. Those stores were not successful, and their financial problems ultimately interfered with the chain's ability to deliver goods to its franchisees, 860 locally owned stores in 47 states.{{cite news|title=Ben Franklin store, a throwback to the five-and-dime, finally closes|url=http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/ben-franklin-store-a-throwback-to-the-five-and-dime/article_929768ec-f930-11e1-a9aa-0019bb30f31a.html|accessdate=28 September 2012|newspaper=St. Louis Post-Dispatch|date=8 September 2012|first=Kavita|last=Kumar|df=mdy-all}} The company went bankrupt and closed these stores in 1996–1997.

True Value owner Cotter & Co. sold its V&S Variety Store chain to Ben Franklin in 1995.{{cite news|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1995/01/13/cotter-co-cutting-back-in-fixup-plan/|title=Cotter & Co. Cutting Back In Fixup Plan|date=13 January 1995|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|access-date=3 March 2015|df=mdy-all}}

=Promotions Unlimited=

Promotions Unlimited had stepped in as a supplier for many Ben Franklin franchisees during the corporation's descent into bankruptcy. It acquired the name of the chain in 1997 as the old corporate entity was moving into Chapter 7.{{cite news|last1=Schuyler|first1=David|title=Racine's Promotions Unlimited rekindles Ben Franklin chain|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/1999/07/05/focus1.html?page=all|accessdate=2019-11-17|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150103210008/http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/1999/07/05/focus1.html?page=all|archive-date=2015-01-03|newspaper=Milwaukee Business Journal|date=14 July 2006|df=mdy-all}} It continued operating as a distributor servicing individual franchisees and advertising the products sold there through direct mail services and newspaper inserts. Promotions Unlimited provided similar advertising and promotional services for thousands of other retail stores unaffiliated with Ben Franklin Stores. Promotions Unlimited went bankrupt in 2017.{{cite news| url=https://journaltimes.com/business/local/failed-promotions-unlimited-saga-ends/article_38399315-f486-53a8-967d-cd3ebd27ad69.html| title=Failed Promotions Unlimited saga ends| first=Michael| last=Burke| date=January 18, 2018| newspaper=The Journal Times| location=Racine, Wisconsin| access-date=February 26, 2024| url-access=subscription}} Despite the bankruptcy, several stores across the United States continue to operate under the Ben Franklin name.{{cite web | url=https://www.ironmountaindailynews.com/news/local-news/2023/12/crystal-falls-favorite-ben-franklin-variety-store-has-been-going-strong-since-1929/ | title=Crystal Falls favorite: Ben Franklin variety store has been going strong since 1929 | publisher=Iron Mountain Daily News | date=December 26, 2023 | accessdate=April 16, 2024}}

Impact

Sam Walton, who later became the founder of Walmart, started in retailing operating a Ben Franklin store.
Dollar Tree traces its roots to K. R. Perry, who in 1953 opened a Ben Franklin variety store in Norfolk, Virginia.
In 1973, Michael J. Dupey converted a Ben Franklin store to start the Michaels chain in Texas.

Notes

References

Vance, Sandy S. and Roy V. Scott. "Butler Brothers and the Rise and Decline of the Ben Franklin Stores: A Study in Franchise Retailing." Essays in Economic and Business History: Selected Papers from the Economic and Business Historical Society, East Lansing: Division of Research, Graduate School of Business, Michigan State University 11 (1993), pp. 258-271
[http://mexiablackcats1959.blogspot.com/2007/02/duke-ayres.html Mexia Blackcats 1959: Duke & Ayres]