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Who is Bi-Mart? |
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Bi-Mart stores are membership stores, which means that our customers must “join”
Bi-Mart or be a guest of a member before shopping with us. Bi-Mart currently
has a membership of over 1 million families. Bi-Mart has locations throughout the Northwest
and currently employs approximately 3,000 people. Each store is approximately 30,000 square feet and deals
mainly in hard goods in the following departments: photo, housewares, sporting goods, automotive, hardware,
health & beauty, toys, clothing/shoes, beer/food/wine, and a full service pharmacy. |
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Bi-Mart takes a “deep discount” approach to merchandising brand
name goods, basing the profits on volume sales rather than high markup. Bi-Mart continues to
offer a wide selection of top quality merchandise at low everyday prices with a high level of
member satisfaction. Bi-Mart prides itself on having the highest standards of customer
satisfaction in the industry. |
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Why membership? |
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Bi-Mart was founded by a group of individuals who
felt that the average customer - the working person - deserved a better value for their hard
earned dollars. At that time (1955), the Fair Trade laws stated that merchandise had to be sold
at or above the manufacturer’s suggested retail price. |
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How could we obey the law and still give customers a value? A
membership concept proved to be the answer. By becoming members of Bi-Mart, our
customers could purchase merchandise at a discounted price. |
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The Fair Trade laws no longer dictate pricing, so why continue with
the membership concept? Bi-Mart has remained a membership store mostly out of tradition, but
also because it gives the customer several advantages. |
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How did Bi-Mart get where it is today? |
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The first Bi-Mart store opened in Yakima, Washington. Originally,
open only a few hours a week, business continued to grow and necessitated moving into a larger
building. Several moves later, the store moved to its present location on 5th Avenue in Yakima. |
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In 1962, Bi-Mart opened its second store at 18th & Chambers in
Eugene, Oregon and shortly thereafter moved the corporate headquarters and distribution center to
Eugene as well. |
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In 1976, Pay’n Save Corporation purchased
the 13 store chain and over the next twelve years added 25 new stores. In May, 1994 after a series
of ownership changes, during which Bi-Mart maintained its own corporate culture and consistent
profitability, Bi-Mart became a wholly owned subsidiary of T.P.I. (Thrifty-PayLess Inc.). |
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The Rite Aid Corporation purchased Thrifty-PayLess, Inc. in 1996. The
Bi-Mart executive group developed a plan to purchase Bi-Mart from Rite Aid and make Bi-Mart an
independent retail corporation again. In February 1997, the Bi-Mart executive group, together with
Endeavour Capital of Portland, Oregon completed the deal. Once again, Bi-Mart became a Northwest
owned and operated retailer. |
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In March of 2004, Bi-Mart became 100% employee owned and operated through an Employee Stock
Ownership Plan (ESOP). |
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Plans for the Future |
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Headquartered in Eugene, Oregon, and operating successfully for over 50 years, Bi-Mart
has expanded to over 60 stores in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho with plans to continue aggressive expansion
throughout the greater Northwest. |
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Our current members will continue to be served by the Bi-Mart store
in their local community and will enjoy the lower prices that result from an increased buying power
as more Bi-Mart stores open. |
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Bi-Mart looks forward to meeting and serving the members of the
communities we join as new retailers. Bi-Mart is searching for energetic people to help us grow
and expand throughout the Northwest. If you are looking for a full-time job, part-time job,
want to earn money while attending school, supplement your family’s income, or are
interested in a career in retail management or pharmacy management, Bi-Mart has a place on
its team for you! Explore the opportunities available at Bi-Mart. |
