Hechinger
Encyclopedia
Hechinger, mistakenly called Hechinger's by many customers was a chain of home improvement
retail stores headquartered in Landover, Maryland
outside Washington, D.C.
, and an online retailer owned by Home Decor Products
.
John Hechinger, Sr. helped pioneer the do it yourself
industry; from a single hardware store
established by his father (Sidney) in 1911, Hechinger grew to a 64-store chain by the time it acquired Virginia Beach, Virginia
-based HQ Home Quarters Warehouse in December 1987 for $66 million. In the 1980s it underwent a massive expansion of both HQ and the Hechinger Co. divisions, opening big-box store
s to better compete with rivals Home Depot and Lowe's
.
The company continued to lose money in the 1980s, however. The Hechinger family sold the company to Los Angeles
investors Leonard Green & Partners
for $507 million in July 1997, and the management launched new, smaller concept stores called Better Spaces and Wye River Hardware & Home searching for a niche. In September, Hechinger was merged with San Antonio, Texas
-based Builders Square
, formerly owned by Kmart
.
After several rounds of store closings, Hechinger Co. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
protection on June 11, 1999, but the reorganization failed. That September, Hechinger's assets were liquidated, including its 117 remaining stores.
In 2004, Home Decor Products
bought the Hechinger brand name and opened an online retailer the following year
,
which sells the same products as the former brand. On February 5, 2009, it was announced that the site would shut down and Hechinger will no longer sell tools. The site closed shortly thereafter.
Hechinger was one of the first sponsors of network television news in the early 1950s, when television was in its infancy. Their sponsorship of the 11PM newcast at TV station WTOP
in Washington, DC, was a first, according to Walter Cronkite
(an anchor of those broadcasts) in his autobiography A Reporter's Life.
Home improvement
Home improvement, home renovation or remodeling is the process of renovating or making additions to one's home.-Types of home improvement:...
retail stores headquartered in Landover, Maryland
Landover, Maryland
Landover is an unincorporated community in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, within the census-designated place of Greater Landover. The Prince Georges County Sports and Learning Complex is in Landover...
outside Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, and an online retailer owned by Home Decor Products
Home Décor Products
Home Décor Products, Inc. was a large online retailer of home improvement and furnishings, headquartered in Edison, NJ. It claimed to carry over 450,000 home products from over 800 luxury brands including TOTO, Lenox, Kohler, and Jacuzzi.-Business Portfolio:...
.
John Hechinger, Sr. helped pioneer the do it yourself
Do it yourself
Do it yourself is a term used to describe building, modifying, or repairing of something without the aid of experts or professionals...
industry; from a single hardware store
Hardware store
Hardware stores, sometimes known as DIY stores, sell household hardware including: fasteners, hand tools, power tools, keys, locks, hinges, chains, plumbing supplies, electrical supplies, cleaning products, housewares, tools, utensils, paint, and lawn and garden products directly to consumers for...
established by his father (Sidney) in 1911, Hechinger grew to a 64-store chain by the time it acquired Virginia Beach, Virginia
Virginia Beach, Virginia
Virginia Beach is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay...
-based HQ Home Quarters Warehouse in December 1987 for $66 million. In the 1980s it underwent a massive expansion of both HQ and the Hechinger Co. divisions, opening big-box store
Big-box store
A big-box store is a physically large retail establishment, usually part of a chain. The term sometimes also refers, by extension, to the company that operates the store...
s to better compete with rivals Home Depot and Lowe's
Lowe's
Lowe's Companies, Inc. is a U.S.-based chain of retail home improvement and appliance stores. Founded in 1946 in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, the chain now serves more than 14 million customers a week in its 1,710 stores in the United States and 20 in Canada. Expansion into Canada began in...
.
The company continued to lose money in the 1980s, however. The Hechinger family sold the company to Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
investors Leonard Green & Partners
Leonard Green & Partners
Leonard Green & Partners is a private equity firm specializing in leveraged buyout transactions, particularly of middle market companies. As of 2010, the firm had with approximately $9 billion in assets under management....
for $507 million in July 1997, and the management launched new, smaller concept stores called Better Spaces and Wye River Hardware & Home searching for a niche. In September, Hechinger was merged with San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
-based Builders Square
Builders Square
Builders Square was founded as a big-box home improvement retailer headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. A subsidiary of Kmart, its format was quite similar to Home Depot, Menards and Lowe's with floor space of about . Builder's Square.com, Inc. has its headquarters in Edison, New Jersey...
, formerly owned by Kmart
Kmart
Kmart, sometimes styled as "K-Mart," is a chain of discount department stores. The chain acquired Sears in 2005, forming a new corporation under the name Sears Holdings Corporation. The company was founded in 1962 and is the third largest discount store chain in the world, behind Wal-Mart and...
.
After several rounds of store closings, Hechinger Co. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
protection on June 11, 1999, but the reorganization failed. That September, Hechinger's assets were liquidated, including its 117 remaining stores.
In 2004, Home Decor Products
Home Décor Products
Home Décor Products, Inc. was a large online retailer of home improvement and furnishings, headquartered in Edison, NJ. It claimed to carry over 450,000 home products from over 800 luxury brands including TOTO, Lenox, Kohler, and Jacuzzi.-Business Portfolio:...
bought the Hechinger brand name and opened an online retailer the following year
,
which sells the same products as the former brand. On February 5, 2009, it was announced that the site would shut down and Hechinger will no longer sell tools. The site closed shortly thereafter.
Hechinger was one of the first sponsors of network television news in the early 1950s, when television was in its infancy. Their sponsorship of the 11PM newcast at TV station WTOP
WUSA (TV)
WUSA is a television station broadcasting on channel 9 in Washington, D.C.. Owned by the Gannett Company, WUSA is an affiliate of the CBS television network, and the longest-tenured affiliate of that network...
in Washington, DC, was a first, according to Walter Cronkite
Walter Cronkite
Walter Leland Cronkite, Jr. was an American broadcast journalist, best known as anchorman for the CBS Evening News for 19 years . During the heyday of CBS News in the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the most trusted man in America" after being so named in an opinion poll...
(an anchor of those broadcasts) in his autobiography A Reporter's Life.