imported>Sophisticatedevening: Reverted edits by 69.80.2.240 (talk) (AV)

2025-02-28T17:27:18Z

Reverted edits by 69.80.2.240 (talk) (AV)

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{{Short description|Defunct American home improvement retailer}}
{{Refimprove|date=July 2010}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Builders Square
| logo = Builders Square Store Logo.webp
| logo_caption = Builders Square Logo 1984-1999
| former_name = {{unbulleted list|Home Centers of America|Home Pro Warehouse}}
| type = Originally, [[home improvement]] [[retailer]]<br>Second version, [[online retailer]]
| foundation = {{start date and age|1970}} (original)<br>{{start date and age|2006}} (as [[online retailer]])
| location = Original company in [[San Antonio, Texas]]<br>Second version in [[Edison, New Jersey]]
| defunct = {{end date and age|1999}} (original)<br>{{end date and age|2009}} (second version)
| fate = [[Liquidation]]
| industry = [[Retail]]
| products = Home Improvement, Home and Garden
| successor = HomeClick
| homepage = {{url|https://web.archive.org/web/20080220003210/http://www.builderssquare.com}} (2008 archive)
}}
'''Builders Square''' was a [[Big-box store|big-box]] [[home improvement]] [[retailer]] headquartered in [[San Antonio, Texas]].<ref>''Ward's Business Directory of U.S. Private and Public Companies, 1995: Alphabetic listing, A-F'', Volume 1. [[Gale Research Inc.]], 1995. [https://books.google.com/books?id=tQVwqBUvr2MC&q=%22Builders+Square%22+%22San+Antonio%22+Datapoint 684]. Retrieved on July 21, 2010. "Builders Square Inc. 9725 Datapoint Dr. San Antonio, TX 78229." {{ISBN|0-8103-8830-8}}, {{ISBN|978-0-8103-8830-7}}.</ref> A subsidiary of [[Kmart (United States)|Kmart]], its format was quite similar to [[The Home Depot]], [[Menards]], and [[Lowe's]] with floor space of about {{convert|100000|sqft|m2}},<ref>{{cite news | title = Builders Square Closes 3 Stores | date = September 11, 1991 | newspaper = Sun Sentinel | location = Fort Lauderdale, Florida | url = http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1991-09-11/business/9102040925_1_five-stores-builders-square-three-stores | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140102195930/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1991-09-11/business/9102040925_1_five-stores-builders-square-three-stores | url-status = dead | archive-date = January 2, 2014 | access-date = March 26, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | title = Builders Square in Moore Plaza to close | date = June 12, 1999 | newspaper = Corpus Christi Caller-Times | location = Corpus Christi, Texas | url = http://www.caller2.com/1999/june/12/today/business/1822.html | access-date = March 26, 2012 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061102033329/http://www.caller2.com/1999/june/12/today/business/1822.html | archive-date = November 2, 2006 }}</ref> and inventories in excess of 35,000 different items.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/18668532/winners_of_glidden_square_dealathon/|title=National grand prize winner named|last=|date=4 December 1990|work=The Gettysburg Times|access-date=26 March 2018|location=Gettysburg, Pennsylvania|page=10B|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> In 1997, a [[Los Angeles]] leveraged buyout specialist acquired Builders Square and merged it with [[Hechinger]] but the new combined company failed to thrive and all remaining stores ceased business operations by the end of 1999.<ref>{{cite news | title = Hechinger to close by year's end | date = September 10, 1999 | newspaper = Baltimore Sun | location = Baltimore, Maryland | url = https://www.baltimoresun.com/1999/09/10/hechinger-to-close-by-years-end-remaining-117-stores-to-sell-off-contents-12000-jobs-to-be-lost-buried-by-competition-home-improvement-chain-tried-chap-11-failed-to-gain-ground/ | access-date = March 26, 2012}}</ref>

[[Home Decor Products]] revived the Builders Square brand name in the mid-2000s as builderssquare.com, a [[price comparison service|comparison shopping website]] for home and garden products. It was headquartered in [[Edison, New Jersey]]. The website was abandoned in 2009.<ref>"[http://www.builderssquare.com//Customer/Legal.aspx] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100722101558/http://www.builderssquare.com/|date=July 22, 2010}} Builders Square Terms of Use" Retrieved on July 21, 2010. "Builder’s Square.com, Inc. Attn: General Counsel 47 Brunswick Avenue Edison, NJ 08817"</ref>

==History==

===Beginnings===
The company was founded in February 1970 as Home Centers of America by Frank Denny, an executive who had recently been president of the home center subsidiary of [[W. R. Grace and Company]].<ref>{{cite web | title = Frank Denny | url = http://www.idealgrowth.com/company/fdenny.htm | access-date = March 26, 2012 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140527214758/http://www.idealgrowth.com/company/fdenny.htm | archive-date = May 27, 2014 }}</ref> Somewhat unusually for the time, Home Centers of America was funded from the beginning as a [[Public company|public stock company]].<ref>{{citation | title = SEC News Digest | issue = 83–64 | pages = 4 | publisher = U.S Securities and Exchange Commission | date = April 4, 1983 | url = https://www.sec.gov/news/digest/1983/dig040483.pdf | access-date = March 26, 2012}}</ref> The company opened its first store in San Antonio soon after and eventually operated nine stores, all in Texas, and all operating as Home Pro Warehouse. Home Centers of America was sold to [[Kmart (United States)|Kmart]] in July 1984 for $88.2 million (~${{Format price|{{Inflation|index=US-GDP|value=88200000|start_year=1984}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}) ([[United States dollar|USD]]). The company and all stores were renamed Builders Square after acquisition, with Denny continuing as Builders Square company president for several years and overseeing company expansion.

During the 1980s, Builders Square was a player in the fast-growing do-it-yourself consumer market, which included competitors National Lumber, Home Depot, HomeClub, Builders Emporium, Ole's, Angels, and others.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/18670053/national_lumber_completes_expansion/|title=National Lumber completes expansion|last=Stanton|first=Russ|date=3 October 1985|work=The San Bernardino County Sun|access-date=26 March 2018|department=Business|location=San Bernardino, California|page=G-1}}</ref>

By 1997, the chain operated 162 stores in Alabama, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Texas, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Puerto Rico. However, despite a $700 million investment by its parent company, high-profile sponsorships that included the [[Alamo Bowl]], and celebrity spokespeople such as [[Al Michaels]], [[Darrell Waltrip]] and [[Tim Allen]], the chain was not able to maintain profitability.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Builders Square|url=https://frontend/topic/Builders_Square|access-date=2022-02-23|website=frontend|language=en}}{{Dead link|date=October 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

===Hechinger and bankruptcy===
{{Portal|New Jersey|Texas|Companies}}
In 1997, Kmart and [[Leonard Green & Partners]] agreed to merge [[Hechinger]] and Builders Square as the third-largest home improvement retail chain in the United States.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/18670846/builders_square_combination_with/|title=Hechinger Merger: No effect seen here|last=|date=18 July 1997|work=The Capital|access-date=26 March 2018|agency=Associated Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland|page=B-1}}</ref> Store closures were underway in early 1999; for example, in February the company announced the closure of 16 stores in the [[Chicago metropolitan area|Chicago area]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/18669509/home_depot_planning_to_set_up_in_vernon/|title=Home Depot may set up shop in Vernon Hills|last=Spencer|first=Mark|date=18 August 1999|work=The Daily Herald|access-date=26 March 2018|department=Lake County|location=Arlington Heights, Illinois|page=4 (section 1)|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Hechinger filed for [[Chapter 11, Title 11, United States Code|Chapter 11]] [[bankruptcy]] reorganization in June 1999. The reorganization effort resulted in closure of a large number of stores and the sale of others to [[The Home Depot]]. All remaining Builders Square stores were converted to the [[Home Quarters]] brand.<ref>{{cite news | title = Hechinger Files Revamping Plan That Calls for Closing 89 Stores | date = June 12, 1999 | newspaper = New York Times | location = New York | url = https://www.nytimes.com/1999/06/12/business/hechinger-files-revamping-plan-that-calls-for-closing-89-stores.html | access-date = March 26, 2012}}</ref> However, the reorganization plan was not successful and Hechinger filed for [[Chapter 7, Title 11, United States Code|Chapter 7]] liquidation in September 1999. The six locations in Puerto Rico were bought out by Empresas Masso (Masso Enterprises), a local chain of home improvement stores, which in turn sold the stores to The Home Depot in 2000.

===Return===
Builders Square re-emerged in 2006 as an online shopping comparison site focused exclusively on the home and garden market after the parent company, [[Home Decor Products]], purchased rights to the Builders Square name. Home Decor Products filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy in April 2009 and ceased operations, but former executives purchased all assets as a new virtual company, HomeClick LLC. They dropped the Builders Square brand and the now-dead builderssquare.com website.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Year in Bankruptcy: 2009 {{!}} Insights|url=https://www.jonesday.com/en/insights/2010/02/the-year-in-bankruptcy-2009|access-date=2022-02-23|website=www.jonesday.com|language=en}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Sears Holdings}}
[[Category:Online retailers of the United States]]
[[Category:Retail companies established in 1970]]
[[Category:Retail companies disestablished in 1999]]
[[Category:Retail companies established in 2006]]
[[Category:Internet properties established in 2006]]
[[Category:Retail companies disestablished in 2009]]
[[Category:Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1999]]
[[Category:Companies that filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 1999]]
[[Category:Companies that filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2009]]
[[Category:Companies that have filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy]]
[[Category:Defunct retail companies of the United States]]
[[Category:Re-established companies]]
[[Category:Companies based in San Antonio]]
[[Category:Companies based in Middlesex County, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Edison, New Jersey]]
[[Category:1970 establishments in Texas]]
[[Category:Home improvement retailers of the United States]]
[[Category:Kmart]]

Builders Square - Revision history

imported>Sophisticatedevening: Reverted edits by 69.80.2.240 (talk) (AV)