Ben Franklin Stores
Ben Franklin Stores are a chain of
five and dime discount stores found in small towns throughout the
United States. They are organized using a
franchise system, with individual stores owned by independent proprietors. It was perhaps the first
retail franchise, starting in
1927. They are named for
Benjamin Franklin, though clearly were not founded by him.
They had their origin as
Butler Brothers, which originated in
1877 as a mail-order wholesaler selling general and variety-store items. At the turn of the
Twentieth century, Butler Brothers had over 100,000 customers in the
United States. The rise of variety stores, which were taking their market, led the company to found the Ben Franklin stores chain. It sold this chain in 1959.
Sam Walton got his start in business as the owner of a Ben Franklin Store and, as of 1962, owned and operated fifteen Ben Franklin stores, calling them
Walton Five and Dime. He proposed a business plan that would have developed Ben Franklin Stores into something much like the early
Wal-Mart stores; management rejected it. Walton then moved on to found Wal-Mart.
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
1990s, however, it also opened stores of its own. Those stores were not successful and their financial problems ultimately interfered with the chain's ability to deliver goods to its franchisees.
The corporation went into
bankruptcy in
1996 under
Chapter 11, which would have permitted the reorganization of the company. The next year it converted its petition into one under
Chapter 7, which calls for liquidation of the entity. The old corporate firm has since been liquidated.
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. It has continued operating as a distributor servicing individual franchisees and advertising the products sold there through direct mail services and newspaper inserts. The chain comprises about 209
craft stores and 123
variety stores, the latter being akin to
five and dimes. Promotions Unlimited provides similar advertising and promotional services for thousands of other retail stores unaffiliated with Ben Franklin Stores.
* Sandra S. Vance 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), pages 258-271
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Ben Franklin Stores*
Butler Brothers
