BrandWikiReturn

BJ's Wholesale Club

BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc., commonly referred as BJ's, is an American regional membership-only warehouse club chain based in Marlborough, Massachusetts, operating in the eastern United States in addition to Ohio, Michigan, Louisville, Kentucky, Indiana, Tennessee, Florida, Alabama and Texas (beginning Q2 2026). Its major competitors are Costco Wholesale and Sam's Club.

History

The company was started by discount department store chain Zayre in 1984, on the Medford/Malden border in Massachusetts. The company's name was derived from the initials of Beverly Jean Weich, the daughter of Mervyn Weich, the president of the new company.[2][3] Weich announced his resignation as president in June 1987, and left on August 1.[4] He was replaced by John Levy.[5]

When Zayre Corporation sold the Zayre nameplate to rival discount chain Ames in October 1988, TJX was formed. In 1989, TJX spun off their warehouse division, consisting of BJ's and now-defunct HomeClub (later known as HomeBase, then House2Home), to form Waban, Inc. In August 1997, Waban spun off BJ's to become an independent company, BJ's Wholesale Club, Inc., headquartered in Natick, Massachusetts, while Waban renamed itself to HomeBase, Inc.[6]

In 2011, BJ's was acquired by two private equity firms, Leonard Green & Partners and CVC Capital Partners.[7] It returned to being a public company in 2018.[8]

In 2019, BJ's expanded into Michigan, with a new store in Madison Heights. A second and a third Michigan location have since opened in Taylor and Chesterfield Township, respectively. BJ's has also since opened locations in Canton and Lansing.

Today

Many of BJ's clubs offer special services to members, such as car rentals, gas stations, home heating oil, an optical department, propane filling, and vacation packages. These services vary from location to location. As of 2008, there were 154 clubs with optical departments. As of January 30, 2010 BJ's operated 104 gasoline stations at their clubs.[9] In February 2007, BJ's closed all pharmacies in its clubs.[10]

In March 2010, BJ's announced they would move their corporate headquarters from Natick to Westborough, Massachusetts in 2011.[9][11] On January 5, 2011, BJ's announced it would close five underperforming stores in the Southeast, eliminate approximately 100 headquarters jobs by the end of the month, and restructure its home office and some field operations. Its restructuring moves would result in savings of 78 to 82 cents per share for its fiscal fourth quarter.[12][13]

On December 19, 2019, BJ's named Lee Delaney as its next CEO starting February 2, 2020. Delaney had been an executive vice president and chief growth officer of the company since 2016. Then CEO Chris Baldwin became executive chairman.[14] Following Delaney's death on April 8, 2021, BJ's financial chief Bob Eddy took over as interim CEO.[15] On April 20, 2021, Bob Eddy's interim status was removed and he was given the permanent CEO position.[16]

In November 2021, BJ's announced plans for its first store in Tennessee, to be located in La Vergne, a suburb of Nashville.[17] The store opened on June 14, 2023. The company has announced plans for at least two additional stores in the Nashville market, with confirmed locations being added in Goodlettsville[18] and Mt. Juliet.[19]

Locations

As of May 2025, BJ's operates 250 BJ's clubs in 21 states and employed approximately 25,000 team members (both full- and part-time).[20] BJ's utilizes three cross-dock distribution centers along with third-party warehouse space when extra storage is needed.[9]

Finances

For the fiscal year 2023, BJ's reported earnings of $19.968 billion, with a net income of $523.741 million .[21] On May 17, 2018, BJ's filed to return to the public market.[28] The shares opened at $21.25; in its IPO, BJ's sold 37.5 million shares, raising net proceeds of $637.5 million.[29]

Brands

BJ's Wholesale Club regularly markets numerous products under its own private labels—including products by Richelieu Foods.[30] Unlike its competitors (such as Costco's Kirkland Signature line and Sam's Club's Member's Mark brand), BJ's uses multiple private label brands depending on merchandise segment. Grocery products are primarily branded as Wellsley Farms, while general merchandise (including clothing, pharmacy, and home goods) items are sold under the Berkley-Jensen name (formerly 'Berkley & Jensen').[31]

External links

References

  1. BJ's FY 2025 Annual Report (Form 10-K) U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, March 14, 2025^
  2. BJ's Wholesale Club, Inc. Club Member Team Guide July 2010^
  3. BJ's Wholesale Club, Inc. Gale Directory of Company Histories, The Gale Group, Inc., 2006, retrieved 2013-09-24^
  4. Investor Relations – BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. investors.bjs.com, retrieved 2025-12-26^
  5. BJ's Wholesale Club, Inc. Hoover's Inc., retrieved 2013-09-24^
  6. Samantha Smith. Spin off of BJ's Wholesale Club draws praise from industry analysts Boston Business Journal, 1997-08-11, retrieved 2013-09-24^
  7. BJ's Wholesale Club buyout completed The Boston Globe, September 30, 2011, retrieved December 19, 2011^
  8. Tonya Garcia, Ciara Linnane. BJ's Wholesale returns to the public market: 6 things to know about the Costco rival MarketWatch, July 2018, retrieved 2018-09-02^
  9. BJ's Form 10-K Annual Report March 25, 2010^
  10. BJ's Wholesale FAQs^
  11. Jenn Abelson. BJ's confirms '11 Westborough move The Boston Globe, March 25, 2010, retrieved March 27, 2010^
  12. Matt Egan. BJ's Sales Fall Short; Store Closings Planned FOX Business, January 5, 2011^
  13. Karen Talley and Lauren Pollock. BJ's Wholesale Closing Five Stores My Fox New York, January 5, 2011, retrieved January 12, 2011^
  14. Jeremy C. Owens. BJ's Wholesale Club names new chief executive MarketWatch, December 19, 2019, retrieved 2019-12-20^
  15. BJ's Wholesale Club CEO Lee Delaney dies unexpectedly CNBC, April 9, 2021, retrieved April 9, 2021^
  16. BJ's has a new president and ceo Boston Globe, April 20, 2021, retrieved April 20, 2021^
  17. Kaylin Jorge. BJ's submits plans to open store in Middle Tennessee, first location in the state Fox17, November 4, 2021, retrieved 2021-11-04^
  18. Erin McCullough. BJ's Wholesale Club 'another piece of the puzzle' for future Goodlettsville development, city leaders say WKRN.com, April 28, 2023, retrieved 2023-06-19^
  19. BJ's Wholesale Club Announces the Addition of Five New Club Openings for 2023, Including Expansion into its 20th State March 9, 2023, retrieved 2023-06-19^
  20. Company Background BJ's Wholesale Club, retrieved 2024-09-04^
  21. 2023 Annual Report retrieved 2024-09-04^
  22. BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings - 6 Year Stock Price History www.macrotrends.net, retrieved 2024-09-04^
  23. 2018 Annual Report and Stockholder Letter retrieved 2024-09-04^
  24. 2018 Annual Report and Stockholder Letter retrieved 2024-09-04^
  25. 2020 Annual Financial Report and Stockholder Letter retrieved 2024-09-04^
  26. 2021 Annual Financial Report and Shareholder Letter retrieved 2024-09-04^
  27. 2022 Annual Financial Report and Shareholder Letter retrieved 2024-09-04^
  28. BJ's Wholesale files to return to public market Yahoo Finance, 2018-05-17, retrieved 2024-09-04^
  29. BJ's Wholesale Club shares shine in return to public market CNBC, 2018-06-28, retrieved 2024-09-04^
  30. Lisa van der Pool. There's new appetite for peddlers of cheap eats Boston Business Journal, February 23, 2009^
  31. Jack W. Plunkett. The Almanac of American Employers 2009 Plunkett Research, 2008, retrieved January 13, 2015^