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BJ's Wholesale Club

Type	Public (NYSE: BJ)
Founded	1984
Headquarters	Natick, Massachusetts
Key people	Herbert Zarkin, CEO
Industry	Retail
Products	Produce, meat, seafood, fresh baked goods, dairy, flowers, clothing, books, software, home electronics, jewelry, and furniture.
Revenue	$9.01 billion (2008)
Employees	20,800[1]
Website	www.bjs.com

BJ's Wholesale Club, Inc. (NYSE: BJ) is a membership-only warehouse club chain operating on the United States East Coast, as well as in the state of Ohio.^[2] The company is also ranked #287 on Fortune magazine's 2007 listing of America's 500 largest public corporations.^[3]

History

The company was started by Zayre, a discount department store chain, in 1984, on the Medford/Malden border in Massachusetts. This was and still is the company's flagship store.

When Zayre sold their own nameplate to rival discount chain Ames, TJX Companies was formed. TJX spun off their warehouse division, consisting of BJ's and now defunct HomeClub (later known as HomeBase, then House2Home), to form Waban, Inc. Later, Waban spun off BJ's to become an independent company headquartered in Natick, Massachusetts.

The letters B and J stand for Beverly Jean, a daughter of one of the founders.^{[citation needed]} They are commonly misinterpreted to stand for Berkley & Jensen, a brand name sold in their stores.^{[citation needed]}

BJ's today

BJ's Wholesale Club in Virginia

As of April 2008, BJ's operates 178 BJ's clubs in sixteen states and employs over 28,000 Team Members (both full and part-time). Its major competitors are Costco and Sam's Club.^[4]

BJ's offers a variety of special benefits to its members. These include "member pricing", a variety of name-brand products at discount wholesale prices, acceptance of all valid manufacturers' coupons, and acceptance of many forms of payment (cash, check, ATM/debit cards, and all major credit cards). Some clubs also accept food stamps. BJ's is the only one of the three major warehouse club chains to regularly accept Visa as a method of payment.

Memberships at BJ's are required for these benefits and are available to individual consumers and businesses. BJ's memberships normally last for 12 months from the date of purchase and are required to be renewed yearly to maintain their validity. As of March 2008, a standard individual membership at BJ's costs $45 per year. In addition, BJ's also has a special "Rewards" membership that may be purchased for an additional $35, allowing 2% of all of a member's purchases to be "rewarded" and redeemed for use towards future BJ's purchases (with the exception of alcohol, tobacco, and gas). Business members may apply to purchase BJ's products for resale, and those of nonprofit organizations may apply for tax-exempt privileges (where applicable). Members with expired memberships (if they choose not to renew), as well as non-members are allowed to shop, but are assessed a 5-15% surcharge (depending on the club and the circumstances) on their total, and are not allowed to pay by check. However, if non-members keep their receipts and decide to renew their membership or open a new membership, they will be refunded the surcharge and applied towards the membership fee, within 7 days. To aid in convenience, most BJ's memberships can be renewed at the register during checkout. Note that once the membership is purchased, it is fully refundable within 90 days, a renewed membership is refundable within 30 days.^[5]

Many of BJ's clubs offer special services to members, such as gas stations, home heating oil, propane filling, an optical department, car rentals, and vacation packages. These services vary from location to location. As of 2008, there were 154 Clubs with optical departments, and 100 Clubs with gas stations. As of 2007, BJ's has decided to close all pharmacy operations in its clubs.

BJ's Wholesale Club locations frequently stock different varieties of products at different locations. All clubs carry the items listed in the coupon book that is published a bi-monthly basis. However, at certain times, it is not uncommon for a certain club not to carry a new item immediately due to its higher demand.^{[citation needed]}

As of January 2008, the company has attempted to make all clubs similar. Previously a number of clubs played background music. This has become a normal trend in almost all stores, as of February 2008.

Home brands

• Berkley & Jensen: BJ's own house-brand which makes many products ranging from foodstuffs and health care products to tires and recordable CDs.
• Lanesboro: BJ's own line of apparel, including footwear, jackets, undergarments, sportswear, workwear, and accessories.
• Rozzano: BJ's line of Italian foods, including pasta and pasta sauces, fresh cheeses, and frozen pizzas.
• Wellsley Farms: BJ's upscale, private-label line of fresh foods. The line includes a full selection of dairy products, heat-and-eat meals, produce and fresh and smoked meats
• Executive Choice: Office Supplies and other hardline goods

Distribution centers

As of 2008, three cross dock distribution centers are in operation.

• Uxbridge, MA
  • Size: 618,000 square feet (57,400 m²).
  • Serving 70 Clubs
  • Owned Facility
• Burlington, NJ
  • Size: 634,000 square feet (58,900 m²).
  • Serving 63 Clubs
  • Leased Facility
• Jacksonville, FL
  • Size: 480,000 square feet (45,000 m²).
  • Serving 45 Clubs
  • Owned Facility

See also

• Costco - Competitor
• Sam's Club - Competitor

References

1. ^ Form 10-K
2. ^ BJ's Wholesale Club - BJ's Investor
3. ^ FORTUNE 500 2007: Full List 201-300
4. ^ BJ's Wholesale Club: An Industry Success Story The Article Writer, February 14, 2008. Retrieved September 30, 2008.
5. ^ FAQ - BJ's Wholesale Club

External links

• BJ's Wholesale Club Official Website
• BJ's Wholesale Club 2006 Annual Report

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