Fleet Farm

Fleet Farm (formerly Mills Fleet Farm) is a retail chain of 45 stores in Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, North Dakota and South Dakota. Headquartered in Appleton, Wisconsin, the company has a main distribution center in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, with a buying/support office and warehouse in Appleton, Wisconsin.

Fleet Farm
Formerly
Mills Fleet Farm (prior to 2018)
Private
IndustryRetail
Founded1955
FoundersStewart Mills Sr.
Stewart Mills Jr.
Henry Mills II
Headquarters
Appleton, Wisconsin
,
United States
Number of locations
45 (As of December 2019)
Key people
Derick Prelle (President, CEO) [1]
ProductsHunting and fishing equipment & licenses, small appliances, housewares, automotive goods, apparel, hardware, lawn and garden supplies, paint, pet supplies, sporting goods, tools, and farm supplies.
OwnerKKR
Websitewww.fleetfarm.com

The stores range in size from small hardware store formats to larger stores. They sell hunting and fishing equipment and licenses, small appliances, housewares, automotive goods, apparel, hardware, lawn and garden supplies, paint, pet supplies, sporting goods, tools, and farm supplies. Most locations also have a tire center, convenience store, and car wash.

On July 10, 2019 Fleet Farm announced that they had reached a deal with SECURA Insurance to purchase their current headquarters building; Fleet Farm would then move their headquarters to Appleton. SECURA is currently in the process of building a new building in the Appleton suburb of Fox Crossing. The move is expected to start in early 2020 once SECURA moves out and be complete by March.[2]

History

Stewart C. Mills Sr. founded Mills Companies in Brainerd, Minnesota in 1922. The family later created an oil company and opened a dealership and auto parts stores. Fleet Farm was founded in 1955 by Stewart Mills Sr. and his sons Henry Mills II and Stewart Mills Jr. The first store, named Fleet Wholesale Supply, was opened in Marshfield, Wisconsin.[3] Similarly-named Blain's Farm and Fleet was also founded in 1955 by Bert and Claude Blain, friends of the Mills family. The two families agreed to use similar names and have historically operated in different territories.[4][5] In 2016 Mills Fleet Farm was sold to the private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts for an undisclosed amount rumored to be around $1.2 billion.[3][6] As of July 2018, the "Mills" part of the name has been dropped, shortening the name to "Fleet Farm". In addition, Fleet Farm launched a new brand campaign and added the tagline “Built for Real Life.”

Store brands

Fleet Farm carries a variety of store brands in a variety of departments. These include: Road Runner - Batteries and tires, Big Max - Trailers and automotive supplies, Field and Forest - Clothing and footwear, Fleet Boutique - Women's clothing, Dura-Built - Farm supplies, Milkhouse brand - Dairy supplies, Farm Life - Animal supplements, Sprout - Animal feed, Mills Fleet Farm - Candy and nuts, Farm Toys.

Images
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References
  1. David Schuyler, "Mills Fleet Farm names new CEO", Milwaukee Business Journal, June 13, 2017.
  2. "SECURA sells its longtime Appleton building to Fleet Farm". Post-Crescent Media. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
  3. Joe Taschler, "Investment firm to acquire Mills Fleet Farm". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, January 5, 2016.
  4. "Video: Mills Fleet Farm and Blain's Farm & Fleet enter a new era," Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, June 6, 2017.
  5. Barry Adams, "No Family Feud for Farm & Fleet, Fleet Farm," Wisconsin State Journal, August 14, 2008.
  6. Neal St. Anthony, "Mills Fleet Farm to be sold to investment giant KKR", Star Tribune, January 5, 2016.
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