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. The company is ranked #269 on Fortune magazine's 2009 listing of America's 500 largest public corporations.
History
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 when? 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 letters B and J stand for Beverly Jean, a daughter of one of the founders. The name should not be confused with Berkley & Jensen, a brand name sold in their stores.
BJ's today
BJ's Wholesale Club in Virginia
As of January 30, 2010, BJ's operated 187 BJ's clubs in fifteen states and employed approximately 23,500 team members (both full- and part-time). Its major competitors are Costco Wholesale and Sam's Club.
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). BJ's is the only one of the three major warehouse club chains to regularly accept Visa as a method of payment.
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 30, 2010, a standard Inner Circle (individual) membership at BJ's cost $45 per year. In addition, BJ's also has a special "Rewards" membership that may be purchased for an additional $45, 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. 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.
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, there were 154 clubs with optical departments.[citation needed] As of January 30, 2010 BJ's operated 104 gasoline stations at their clubs. In February 2007, BJ's closed all pharmacies in its clubs.
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.
House brands
BJ's Wholesale Club regularly markets numerous products under its own private labels — including products by Richelieu Foods.
Berkley & Jensen: BJ's own house-brand which makes many products ranging from foodstuffs and health care products to tires and recordable CDs.
Lanesboro: BJ's own line of apparel, including footwear, jackets, undergarments, sportswear, workwear, and accessories.
Rozzano: BJ's line of Italian foods, including pasta and pasta sauces, fresh cheeses, and frozen pizzas.
Wellsley Farms: BJ's upscale, private-label line of fresh foods. The line includes a full selection of dairy products, heat-and-eat meals, produce and fresh and smoked meats
Executive Choice: Office supplies and other durable goods
Distribution centers
BJ's utilizes three cross dock distribution centers along with third-party warehouse space when extra storage is needed.
Uxbridge, MA
Size: 618,000 square feet (57,400 m2)
Serving northern clubs
Owned facility
Burlington, NJ
Size: 634,000 square feet (58,900 m2)
Serving central clubs
Leased facility
Jacksonville, FL
Size: 480,000 square feet (45,000 m2)
Serving southern clubs
Owned facility
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(source:wikipedia)
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