Bi-Mart

Bi-Mart is an employee-owned chain of retailers located in the U.S. states of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. A typical Bi-Mart houses merchandise including electronics and small appliances, housewares, hardware and power tools, sporting and hunting supplies, apparel, canned and packaged food, personal care products, a drugstore and pharmacy. An average Bi-Mart is approximately 31,000 square feet, a fraction of the typical 107,000 square feet WalMart that offers similar product diversity but greater depth. The company was founded in 1955 and is headquartered in Eugene, Oregon. As of early 2011, there are 75 store locations. Bi-Mart's first store opened in Yakima, Washington in 1955 and did not open a second store until 1962. In 1976, Bi-Mart was bought by Pay 'n Save which itself was acquired by Thrifty Corporation in 1984. It was subsequently merged into the former Kmart subsidiary PayLess Drug, and finally purchased by Rite Aid in 1996. In 1997, Bi-Mart's management and Endeavour Capital bought the company; they sold it to employees March 1, 2004, for $94 million, which included $12.5 million contributed from the 401 plan.