Rickel
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Private 1953-1969 Stock Corporation 1969-1994 Private 1994-1997 Originally, "Do It Yourself" Home Center Then, Home improvement |
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| Industry | Retail Home improvement |
| Founded | 1953, defunct: October, 1997 |
| Headquarters | South Plainfield, NJ |
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Key people
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Al Rickel, Mort Rickel, Bob Rickel |
| Products | Plumbing, heating, electrical supplies & hardware. |
| Parent | Supermarkets General Corporation (now Pathmark): 1969-1994; Eos Partners L.P.: 1994-1998 |
Rickel (known as Rickel Brothers in its early years, Rickel Supermarts in the 1960s, and Rickel Home Centers in later years) was a chain of home-improvement centers based in northern New Jersey. The Rickels' first store opened in 1953 and for three decades Rickel was the leading hardware, plumbing, heating and electrical retailer in its region. At its peak Rickel operated over 90 stores, but competition from Home Depot and money problems resulting from both a merger with Channel Home Centers and debt problems with its former parent led to a 1996 bankruptcy filing and eventually the closure of the entire Rickel chain in 1997.
The origins of the company date back to 1946 when brothers Al, Mort, and Bob Rickel went into business for themselves in Newark, New Jersey. The brothers formed their own heating business, continuing a family tradition.
An anecdotal story says that a few years later, the brothers purchased a warehouse full of plumbing supplies for "next to nothing". Since the Rickel brothers were in the heating business and not the plumbing business, and therefore unfamiliar with what they purchased, they sought help to figure out what to do with it. The brothers found it with Bill Ryan, a plumber from Summit, New Jersey who had a mutual friend with the three men.
After Ryan was done pricing the supplies, the brothers quickly realized that it would take years to sell the supplies to local plumbers wholesale. Instead, they came up with an idea to sell them at retail cost to the general public. They also believed that if they could convince Ryan to work for them, he could not only sell the supplies to the people but pass along his plumbing knowledge also, advising customers on how to fix their own toilets, sinks, drains, etc., and making sure they had the correct parts to perform the repair.
So, in 1953 Al, Mort, and Bob opened up the first Rickel Brothers store in Union, New Jersey, and Ryan was warmly referred to as "employee number one" for his entire 35 year stint with the Rickel store chain. Rickel was one of the first "do-it-yourself" home improvement stores, expanding beyond plumbing supplies and selling heating and electrical supplies and tools in addition. An early slogan and jingle of the Rickel chain, which lasted in some degree to its 1997 closure, was "Rickel Helps You Do it Better- Do it Better With Rickel"- a reflection of the Rickel brothers' focus which included employees who could explain to customers how to perform their own home repairs. At the time, this was a new concept and it enabled 'Rickels' (as the store came to be known locally) to develop a loyal customer base.
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Wikipedia