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Menards history
Menards company history timeline
In 1960, John registered the Menard Cashway Lumber Company and, after graduation, devoted all his time to working in it.
He incorporated his business in 1962, the year after North Carolina-based Lowe's went public.
By the time he graduated in 1963 (with majors in math and business and a minor in psychology), he was making as much as IBM offered him to join up, so he passed on a job to build his own business.
In 1979, along with two friends, Menard bought a $65,000 racer which Herm Johnson drove in the Indianapolis 500.
By 1986, Menards ranked 15th among the top home improvement chains, with estimated sales from the 34 outlets approaching the half billion mark.
1991: Company enters Chicago market as part of expansion drive.
By the fall of 1993, 12 Menards stores served suburban Chicago and were in direct competition with the 28-unit, Illinois-based Handy Andy, as well as Builders Square and HomeBase.
The regional chain ended 1993 with a total of 88 stores and $1.7 billion in revenues.
In 1994, Menard qualified two out of the three cars he sponsored for the Indy 500 and placed 8th and 20th. 'He'll need to do a lot better than that to succeed in Chicago,' wrote Frank Wolfe for Forbes magazine in June 1994.
In 1994, the company’s construction division was sold, and the business-focused solely on home improvement stores.
By the end of 1995, Menard operated 115 outlets and produced $2.7 billion in sales.
North Carolina-based Lowe's Companies Inc. operated 402 stores and reported 1996 sales of $8.6 billion.
Menard had cut prices ten percent during a 1998 price war with Home Depot.
1999: Company enters into direct competition with the two largest home improvement chains in several key markets.
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Menards competitors
| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ace Hardware | 1924 | $5.1B | 7,577 | 2,572 |
| Rural King | 1960 | $1.0B | 6,400 | 957 |
| The Home Depot | 1978 | $159.5B | 500,001 | 26,013 |
| Lowe's Companies | 1946 | $83.7B | 300,000 | 7,988 |
| Barnes & Noble | 1886 | $1.6B | 15,557 | 878 |
| Jetro Cash & Carry Enterprises Inc. | 1976 | $150.0M | 1,000 | 473 |
| Hobby Lobby | 1972 | $5.0B | 43,000 | 874 |
| Michaels Stores | 1973 | $5.3B | 45,000 | 2,521 |
| Sheetz | 1952 | $7.2B | 19,700 | 560 |
| Academy Sports + Outdoors | 1938 | $5.9B | 17,000 | 678 |
Menards history FAQs
Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of Menards, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about Menards. The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their past or current employments at Menards. The data on this page is also based on data sources collected from public and open data sources on the Internet and other locations, as well as proprietary data we licensed from other companies. Sources of data may include, but are not limited to, the BLS, company filings, estimates based on those filings, H1B filings, and other public and private datasets. While we have made attempts to ensure that the information displayed are correct, Zippia is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of this information. None of the information on this page has been provided or approved by Menards. The data presented on this page does not represent the view of Menards and its employees or that of Zippia.
Menards may also be known as or be related to Menard Inc, Menard Inc., Menard, Inc. and Menards.