Variety Wholesalers history

His father called him home in 1942 to take the place of a manager who had entered the military, but the younger Pope wanted to enlist in the service.

They had no interest in running them, however, and sold out to John Pope and his two brothers in 1949.

Although Paul Rose passed away in 1955, Thomas Rose, Paul’s brother, continued operation of the company.

Next, Pope bought 54 McCrory/United Stores in 1978, followed two years later by the acquisition of 188 Value Mart Stores, mostly located in Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi.

In 1981 Variety added the 145 Super Dollar Stores, which relied on advertised sales to bring in customers.

After acquiring 55 P.H. Rose's variety stores in 1984, Variety was operating close to 400 stores under the Pope's, Value Mart, Super Dollar, and P.H. Rose's names.

After 1985 brought a 10 percent drop in sales for Variety, he decided to try out the new formula on 15 failing stores that he would have to close if they did not turn around soon.

In 1989 Variety acquired 106 stores from Allied Department Stores/Savannah Wholesale Co. from Michigan General Corp., a company that had recently emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

By 1990 the chain totaled 260 stores, but more than half were in markets occupied by giant competitors Kmart and Wal-Mart.

Eventually, the company declared bankruptcy in 1993.

By 1995 Variety owned about 550 stores, although that number fluctuated as Pope continued to show no hesitancy in shutting down struggling units.

However, Art and John Pope, a brother team who owned Variety Wholesalers, Inc., bought the Rose’s company in 1997.

Pope would, however, outlive his eldest son, John, Jr., who died of a heart attack at the age of 53 in March 2004.

His announced goal was to reach $2 billion in sales by 2007, at which point he would be 83 years old.