| Ben Franklin Stores |
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| five and dimes | |
| companies established in 1920 | |
| retail companies of the united states | |
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BUTLER BROTHERS They had their origin as Butler Brothers , which originated in 1877 as a mail-order wholesaler selling general and variety-store items. At the turn of the Twentieth Century , Butler Brothers had over 100,000 customers in the United States . The rise of variety stores, which were taking their market, led the company to found the Ben Franklin stores chain. It sold this chain in 1959. Wal-Mart founder, Sam Walton , made his start in retailing as an operator of a Ben Franklin store. BANKRUPTCY The chain had functioned largely as a wholesaler of variety and craft merchandise sold to its franchisees under the name Ben Franklin Retail Stores Inc. In the 1990s , however, it also opened stores of its own. Those stores were not successful and their financial problems ultimately interfered with the chain's ability to deliver goods to its franchisees. The corporation went into Bankruptcy in 1996 under Chapter 11 , which would have permitted the reorganization of the company. The next year it converted its petition into one under Chapter 7 , which calls for liquidation of the entity. The old corporate firm has since been liquidated. PROMOTIONS UNLIMITED Promotions Unlimited had stepped in as a supplier for many Ben Franklin franchisees during the corporation's descent into bankruptcy. It acquired the name of the chain in 1997 as the old corporate entity was moving into Chapter 7. It has continued operating as a distributor servicing individual franchisees and advertising the products sold there through direct mail services and newspaper inserts. The chain comprises about 209 Craft stores and 123 Variety Store s, the latter being akin to Five And Dime s. Promotions Unlimited provides similar advertising and promotional services for thousands of other retail stores unaffiliated with Ben Franklin Stores. REFERENCES
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