Conn's
Encyclopedia
Conn's Inc. is an electronics and appliance store chain headquartered in Beaumont
, Texas
, United States
. The chain has stores in Texas, Louisiana
, and Oklahoma
. Within Texas Conn's has stores in Greater Houston
, the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex
, Greater San Antonio
, Greater Corpus Christi, Southeast Texas
, and South Texas
.
In 1937, Conn's began selling refrigerators and soon added gas ranges to its inventory. By 1940, Mr. Conn had purchased a store building and moved the company to 268 Pearl Street in Beaumont. The company's second store opened in 1959 on Eleventh Street in Beaumont.
C.W. Conn, Jr. joined the company in 1953 after serving in the Korean Conflict. He recognized that customers needed dependable, quality service and founded Conn's retail service repair and maintenance subsidiary company, Appliance Parts and Service, in 1962. In 1964 he cofounded Conn Credit Corporation, a retail credit financing services company, to provide retail credit financing services to Conn's customers.
Mr. Conn, Jr. was named president and chief operating officer in 1966 and served in those capacities until 1976. The Year 1966 found the company with four stores and a total sales volume of $4 million. Lake Charles, Louisiana was the site of Conn's first out-of-state store opened in 1969. A second out-of-state store was opened in Louisiana that same year, making it a landmark year. In 1975, Conn's opened stores in Port Arthur, Orange and Baytown, Texas, as well as one in Lafayette, Louisiana. A second location in Lafayette and new stores in New Iberia and Opelousas, Louisiana soon followed. Mr. Conn, Sr. passed away in 1975 and Mr. Conn, Jr. became Chairman of the Board.
Mr. Conn, Sr. and Mr. Conn, Jr. were dedicated to their customers and to the idea that consumers should receive value for the dollars they spent on the products they offered in their stores. Their dedication was so strong that they often directed their employees to seek out dissatisfied customers and find what the company could do to replace their disappointment with satisfaction.
Under Mr. Conn, Jr.'s direction, Conn's first location in Houston was opened in 1983, with many others to follow in subsequent years. In 1993, Conn's experienced its first $100 million sales volume year and opened its first San Antonio, Texas location. Thomas Frank, Sr. became Chairman of the Board of Conn's in 1994. Under Mr. Frank's leadership, the company continued its growth trend and established itself as a major player in the retail sales industry as total sales volume grew to more than $200 million in 1997. In July, 1998, the company reorganized and brought in a new financial partner, The Stephens Group, Inc. Conn's market reach was broadened in 1999, when it opened its first store in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and again in 2001, 2002 and 2003 when it opened its first stores in Austin, Corpus Christi, and in the Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex, respectively.
The company now offers a full-range of products and services in nine markets in Texas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma with 23 stores in the Houston area, 17 in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, eight in San Antonio, three in Austin, five in Southeast Texas, one in Corpus Christi, four in South Texas, six in Louisiana and three in Oklahoma. Conn’s has 70 locations.
By the 2000s the chain, historically based in Beaumont, expanded.
In 2009, the Texas Attorney General
filed a lawsuit against the company, saying that the company falsely advertised, failed to honor warranties, mislead customers about products, and committed other violations against the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act.
Beaumont, Texas
Beaumont is a city in and county seat of Jefferson County, Texas, United States, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's population was 118,296 at the 2010 census. With Port Arthur and Orange, it forms the Golden Triangle, a major industrial area on the...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The chain has stores in Texas, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, and Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
. Within Texas Conn's has stores in Greater Houston
Greater Houston
Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown is a 10-county metropolitan area defined by the Office of Management and Budget. It is located along the Gulf Coast region in the U.S. state of Texas...
, the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex
Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex
The Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington Metropolitan Statistical Area, a title designated by the U.S. Census as of 2003, encompasses 12 counties within the U.S. state of Texas. The area is divided into two metropolitan divisions: Dallas–Plano–Irving and Fort Worth–Arlington. Residents of the area...
, Greater San Antonio
Greater San Antonio
Greater San Antonio is a 8-county metropolitan area defined by the Office of Management and Budget. It is located in the South Central region of Texas. The MSA of Greater San Antonio is colloquially referred to as the "San Antonio-New Braunfels" metropolitan area as of the 2010 census.The official...
, Greater Corpus Christi, Southeast Texas
Southeast Texas
Southeast Texas is a subregion of East Texas located in the southeast corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The subregion is geographically centered around the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown and Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan areas...
, and South Texas
South Texas
South Texas is a region of the U.S. state of Texas that lies roughly south of and including San Antonio. The southern and western boundary is the Rio Grande River, and to the east it is the Gulf of Mexico. The population of this region is about 3.7 million. The southern portion of this region is...
.
History
In 1890, Edward Eastham founded Eastham Plumbing and Heating Company in Beaumont, TX. First National Bank of Beaumont took over the company and renamed it Plumbing and Heating, Inc. in 1931. Plumbing and Heating, Inc. hired Carol Washington Conn, Sr. in 1933. He purchased the company one year later and changed the name to Conn Plumbing and Heating Company.In 1937, Conn's began selling refrigerators and soon added gas ranges to its inventory. By 1940, Mr. Conn had purchased a store building and moved the company to 268 Pearl Street in Beaumont. The company's second store opened in 1959 on Eleventh Street in Beaumont.
C.W. Conn, Jr. joined the company in 1953 after serving in the Korean Conflict. He recognized that customers needed dependable, quality service and founded Conn's retail service repair and maintenance subsidiary company, Appliance Parts and Service, in 1962. In 1964 he cofounded Conn Credit Corporation, a retail credit financing services company, to provide retail credit financing services to Conn's customers.
Mr. Conn, Jr. was named president and chief operating officer in 1966 and served in those capacities until 1976. The Year 1966 found the company with four stores and a total sales volume of $4 million. Lake Charles, Louisiana was the site of Conn's first out-of-state store opened in 1969. A second out-of-state store was opened in Louisiana that same year, making it a landmark year. In 1975, Conn's opened stores in Port Arthur, Orange and Baytown, Texas, as well as one in Lafayette, Louisiana. A second location in Lafayette and new stores in New Iberia and Opelousas, Louisiana soon followed. Mr. Conn, Sr. passed away in 1975 and Mr. Conn, Jr. became Chairman of the Board.
Mr. Conn, Sr. and Mr. Conn, Jr. were dedicated to their customers and to the idea that consumers should receive value for the dollars they spent on the products they offered in their stores. Their dedication was so strong that they often directed their employees to seek out dissatisfied customers and find what the company could do to replace their disappointment with satisfaction.
Under Mr. Conn, Jr.'s direction, Conn's first location in Houston was opened in 1983, with many others to follow in subsequent years. In 1993, Conn's experienced its first $100 million sales volume year and opened its first San Antonio, Texas location. Thomas Frank, Sr. became Chairman of the Board of Conn's in 1994. Under Mr. Frank's leadership, the company continued its growth trend and established itself as a major player in the retail sales industry as total sales volume grew to more than $200 million in 1997. In July, 1998, the company reorganized and brought in a new financial partner, The Stephens Group, Inc. Conn's market reach was broadened in 1999, when it opened its first store in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and again in 2001, 2002 and 2003 when it opened its first stores in Austin, Corpus Christi, and in the Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex, respectively.
The company now offers a full-range of products and services in nine markets in Texas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma with 23 stores in the Houston area, 17 in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, eight in San Antonio, three in Austin, five in Southeast Texas, one in Corpus Christi, four in South Texas, six in Louisiana and three in Oklahoma. Conn’s has 70 locations.
By the 2000s the chain, historically based in Beaumont, expanded.
In 2009, the Texas Attorney General
Texas Attorney General
The Texas Attorney General is the chief legal officer of the State of Texas.The department has offices at the William P. Clements State Office Building at 300 West 15th Street in Austin.-History:...
filed a lawsuit against the company, saying that the company falsely advertised, failed to honor warranties, mislead customers about products, and committed other violations against the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act.