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Winmark history
Winmark company history timeline
Morris sold her Play It Again Sports franchise rights to Olson and Dahlberg in 1988.
Despite limited capital, the business grew in 18 months to 19 franchise operations in six states, taking 1989 revenues to more than $800,000, which included sales at the two stores Morris owned then plus the franchise and royalty fees.
In 1990, Dahlberg and Olson bought the franchising operation of Play It Again Sports for more than $1 million plus five years of royalty payments.
By the end of 1991, 134 Play It Again Sports franchise stores were open in 41 states and Canada.
The Minneapolis Star Tribune for March 8, 1992, Dick Youngblood wrote, "Her instincts were bull's-eye accurate.
In November 1992, Dahlberg and Olson purchased franchising and royalty rights from Once Upon A Child, Inc., a Columbus, Ohio-based, 22-store chain selling children's clothing, furniture, and toys.
Also in 1993, the company purchased assets of Hi Tech Consignments, a musical instrument and audio equipment retailer (renamed Music Go Round) and Computer Renaissance, Inc., a retailer of close-out and used computers.
The company raised about $16.7 million from the IPO. Revenues for 1993 increased 89 percent over the previous year to $51.8 million.
Beran, George, "Retail Renegade," St Paul Pioneer Press, January 16, 1994.
Jossi, Frank, "Inside Small Business," CityBusiness , August 19, 1994,p.
During 1994, the company began individualizing concept support and leadership.
In 1998, a new franchise concept, ReTool, was launched.
A former partner in Winthrop Leasing, Morgan had sold his company and retired in 1999.
In March 2000, John Morgan took over as CEO from Jeff Dahlberg.
Among the changes instituted by Morgan to revive the company was to close down the ailing Disc Go Round and Computer Renaissance franchises in 2000.
As Morgan told John Hoogesteger in CityBusiness for December 7, 2001, "People don't normally sell old tools.
In 2001, Grow Biz was renamed to Winmark Corporation.
In the first quarter of 2005, Winmark posted a net income of nearly $700,000.
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Winmark competitors
| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Eagle Outfitters | 1977 | $5.3B | 37,000 | 1,240 |
| Nordstrom | 1901 | $15.0B | 74,000 | 789 |
| The Home Depot | 1978 | $159.5B | 500,001 | 21,111 |
| Shoe Carnival | 1978 | $1.2B | 2,300 | 679 |
| Tillys | 1982 | $569.5M | 1,400 | 332 |
| Vudu | 2004 | - | 180 | - |
| Staples | 1986 | $18.2B | 75,000 | 1,420 |
| Foot Locker | 1974 | $8.0B | 32,175 | 934 |
| Berkshire Hathaway | 1839 | $371.4B | 360,000 | 310 |
| Kohl's | 1962 | $16.2B | 110,000 | 1,196 |
Winmark history FAQs
Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of Winmark, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about Winmark. The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their past or current employments at Winmark. 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 Winmark. The data presented on this page does not represent the view of Winmark and its employees or that of Zippia.
Winmark may also be known as or be related to Play It Again Sports Franchise Corporation (1988–1993) Grow Biz International Inc. (1993–2001) Winmark Corporation (2001–present), WINMARK CORP, Winmark, Winmark Corp. and Winmark Corporation.