| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retailing (Warehouse club) |
| Founded | 1984[1] |
| Headquarters | Westborough, Massachusetts, United States |
| Number of locations | 187 (FY 2009)[1] |
| Area served | East Coast of the United States[1] and Ohio[1] |
| Key people | Herbert Zarkin, Chairman[1] Laura J. Sen, CEO[1] |
| Products | Merchandise |
| Revenue | US$10.9B (FY 2011)[2] |
| Operating income | US$208M (FY 2011)[2] |
| Net income | US$95.0M (FY 2011)[2] |
| Total assets | US$2.32B (FY 2011)[3] |
| Total equity | US$1.14B (FY 2011)[3] |
| Owner(s) | Leonard Green & Partners and CVC Capital Partners |
| Employees | 23,500 (FY 2009) [1] |
| Website | BJs.com |
BJ's Wholesale Club, Inc., commonly referred to simply as BJ's, is a membership-only warehouse club chain operating on the United States East Coast, as well as in the state of Ohio.[1] The company is ranked #232 on Fortune magazine's 2010 listing of America's 500 largest public corporations.[4][5]
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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 company’s first chief executive officer was Kurt Hughes. His wife, Crystal Wistler, was the inspiration for the company name.[6] The name should not be confused with Berkley & Jensen, a brand name sold in their stores.[7]
In 2011, BJ's was acquired by two private equity firms, Leonard Green & Partners and CVC Capital Partners.[8]
As of January 30, 2010[update], BJ's operated 187 BJ's clubs in fifteen states and employed approximately 23,500 team members (both full- and part-time).[1] Its major competitors are Costco Wholesale and Walmart's version of a warehouse club concept, Sam's Club.[1][9]
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, all major credit cards, and EBT SNAP benefits).[10] BJ's is the only one of the three major warehouse club chains to regularly accept Visa as a method of payment.[11]
Memberships at BJ's are required for these benefits and are available to individual consumers and businesses. BJ's memberships normally last for twelve months from the date of purchase and are required to be renewed yearly to maintain their validity. As of January 3, 2011[update], a standard Inner Circle (individual) membership at BJ's cost $50 per year. [12] In addition, BJ's also has a special "Rewards" membership that may be purchased for an additional $40,[1][13] allowing 2% of most 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 non-profit 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 seven days.[14] To aid in convenience, most BJ's memberships can be renewed at the register during checkout. BJ's Wholesale Club has a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee on their memberships, and therefore a membership can be refunded at any time during that membership period without any 90- or 30-day stipulation.[15]
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[update], there were 154 clubs with optical departments. As of January 30, 2010[update] BJ's operated 104 gasoline stations at their clubs.[1] In February 2007, BJ's closed all pharmacies in its clubs.[14]
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 on 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.
In March 2010, BJ's announced that they will move their corporate headquarters from Natick to Westborough, Massachusetts in 2011.[1][16]
On January 5, 2011, BJ's announced it would close five underperforming stores in the Southeast and eliminate about 100 headquarters jobs by the end of the month and restructure its home office and some field operations. Its restructuring moves would result in 78 to 82 cents per share for its fiscal fourth quarter.[17][18]
BJ's Wholesale Club regularly markets numerous products under its own private labels — including products by Richelieu Foods.[19]
BJ's utilizes three cross dock distribution centers along with third-party warehouse space when extra storage is needed.[1]
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