Talk:Fishers Big Wheel

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I can't seem to find the date of foundation for this chain, nor any other facts dating earlier than the late 1980s. Any help would be appreciated. Ten Pound Hammer • (Broken clamshells•Otter chirps) 02:11, 28 November 2007 (UTC)

I am a former Fishers Big Wheel employee, and this is what I remember: Fishers began as a dry goods store founded by the Fisher family in 1914. Sometime later (1950's?) they either bought or merged with the Big Wheel chain (from West Virginia?) to form Fisher's Big Wheel. The format changed to larger 20,000+ square foot stores, similar to that of Kresges or the early KMarts. In 1982 they bought several Tempo/Buckeye discount department stores located primarily in Michigan and Ohio when Wickes Lumber filed bankrupcy. (Wickes Lumber had bought Gamble-Skogmo a few years earlier.) At their peak, Fisher's Big Wheel had 108 stores. In 1991, Fisher's Big Wheel had 83 stores spread from Connecticut to New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, and Michigan. Sales volume was approximately $500,000,000, but profitability was low to negative. They suffered from dated layouts, worn appearances, old style fixtures, and low quality merchandise. President Robert Flum initiated changes, such as adding convenience groceries, in 1992/93, but the sales continued to decline in the face of competitive pressure from WalMart. President Flum stepped down when the company filed for Chapter 11 protection in 1993. There were 55 stores left. The founder remained active in the business until his death (1970's?), when the son-in-law, Marshall Hess, took over control. The Hess family remained the primary stockholders until the end.Shoesandcanoes (talk) 03:53, 9 October 2008 (UTC)