Throwback Thursday: Building up at Busy Beaver

A reporter from National Home Center News, the forerunner of HBSDealer, attended the grand opening ceremonies of the new Busy Beaver DIY Warehouse in Boardman, Ohio.

The year was 1985.

And while home-center competition was heating up in Cleveland and Columbus with market share showdowns among Mr. HOW, Hechinger and B&B’s DIY Home Warehouse, the Busy Beaver store was the first such retailer to hit the greater Youngstown market.

The 60,000 sq. ft. facility measured about 50% larger than the 11-store chain’s typical store.

Here’s another interesting fact uncovered by our reporter: “Determined to reduce the man-hours needed to change prices, the company has labeled merchandise only with stock keeping unit numbers.”

President Charles Bender – who rose to chairman of the company -- and Tom Werward, merchandising VP, graciously posed for a photo, during what must have been a busy day.

Today, Pittsburgh-based Busy Beaver Building Centers operates 16 locations in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

In August 2015, the retailer became a member of True Value Company.

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