BJ's Wholesale Club

BJ's Wholesale Club, Inc. NYSE: BJ is a membership-only warehouse club chain operating in the East Coast of the United States, as well as in the state of Ohio.

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 Ames, a rival discount department store, TJX Companies was formed which owned BJ's. 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. As of December 2006, BJ's operates 173 BJ's warehouses in 16 states. Today, BJ's common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "BJ." The letters B and J are commonly misinterpreted to stand for Berkley and Jensen which is also a brand name sold in their stores. They actually stand for Beverley Jean, a daughter of a cofounder. BJ's competitors include Sam's Club and Costco Wholesale clubs.

BJ's Wholesale club in Virginia

BJ's Today

Today, BJ's is led by CEO Herb Zarkin and operates over 173 Clubs and employs over 19,500 Team Members (both full and part-time). 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 (including cash, check, ATM/debit cards, and all major credit cards). Some clubs also accept food stamps, although not all do. 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 August 2006, 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 $80, allowing a small percentage of all of a member's purchases to be "rewarded" and redeemed for use towards future BJ's purchases. 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 with the surcharges shown on them, and they total to at least $45, they can use that for a membership. 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.[1] 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 2006, there were 145 Clubs with optical departments, and 87 Clubs with gas stations. As of 2007, BJ's has decided to close all pharmacy operations in its clubs.

Home Brands

• Berkeley & Jensen: BJ's own house-brand which makes many products ranging from foodstuffs and healthcare products to tires and recordable Compact discs
• Lanesboro: BJ's own line of apparel, including jackets, undergarments, sportswear, workwear and accessories
• Bertozzi: BJ's line of Italian foods, including pasta and pasta sauces, fresh cheeses and frozen pizzas

See also

• Costco - Competitor
• Sam's Club - Competitor

External links

• BJ's Wholesale Club Official Website