[Reached by phone, Renee laughed and said No. John Menard Jr. Gloves, candy, coffee. They wanted $25,000 from me for my non-complete clause. Bropst spent $4,000 in legal fees, eventually getting the After 27 years, I expected more.. On Forbeslist of the worlds billionaires, he ranks 155th. It changes every day. John Menards first, second and third true loves are Menards Inc. Everything including his family comes after that, says Kight. But the corporate culture just beat you down and made you feel youre replaceable, and that you had no other options, says Bropst. Menard also owns an engine shop in the United Kingdom that produced engines for Team Menard and Robby Gordon Motorsports and was the owner of Team Menard which won the 1997 and 1999 Indy Racing League championships. Compensation for Menards other corporate officers, revealed in the companys 1998 tax case, showed a massive drop from the CEOs salary: operations manager Larry Menard at a $45,000 base salary and $180,000 bonus; Johns son, Christopher, then still with the company as corporate secretary and Eau Clare distribution center manager, at $172,815; Marvin Prochaska, head of real estate, at $121,307, and chief financial officer and treasurer Earl Rasmussen with $55,702. Bropst was assigned to the Lombard, Ill., store. This time, Milwaukee Mile communications vice president Jim Tretow had seen John Menard Jr hoot and holler when his son won. Lowes entered the market in 1999. Sissam had expected John Menard to be a sophisticated businessman in a wool suit. Edward Archibald served Menards for 27 years, including 15 years as its top merchandizing and marketing executive. Sources say Renee has rarely let Menard see his grandchildren by her. Many Menards units have the ambience of, If John Menard was in a given city, hed do his own, often in a crude, but unintentional, disguise. Indeed, he refused to hire former Home Depot or Lowes employees for fear the person might be a spy. In 2003, Menards sued Home Depot, alleging it ripped off his companys flyers and posted them in its stores. The third-largest home improvement retail business in the nation is owned by this hardware magnate. Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images. Things went more smoothly on the race track. But this sort of compassion was rare, his associates say. Mary Van de Kamp Nohl is a senior editor at Milwaukee Magazine. When it comes to decisions about how far to expand, John had a wisdom that these people dont., But it may not matter who becomes the next CEO. A ton of staffing problems. Menard was at the racetrack, and comforted Lee Brayton, Scotts father. Current Address: BGDX Old Town Hall Rd, Eau Claire, WI. Jim Doyle arranged $4.2 million in state aide to help the company expand its Eau Claire manufacturing headquarters. There were reasons the stores Menard acquired had closed. If not, could you forward this site to this person. Its a big gamble, industry observers say, but it might also assure the companys survival. That meant a $15,000 cut in his $40,000 salary, but Helget still agreed. They were clean cut so they could be sold or made into treated tree rings.. Hes probably done things people dont see, McCoy speculates. Given the overlap between home improvement customers and racing fans, it was a natural fit, and Menard ended the 1980s with more than 45 stores in five states. The states richest man may well be one of its least known. All three have trust funds filled with Menards stock. This website uses cookies to improve your experience. Reflects change since 5 pm ET of prior trading day. The donation will be used for a new emergency services department and to help Mayo Clinic educate and train health professionals. Archibald and three other former Menards executives (two of whom asked for anonymity) offer a portrait of a boss whose great wealth hasnt necessarily brought him happiness. The company has had environmental problems in other states, too. Careers He wanted to escape it, Watson adds. He and others, Firestone, the Speedway, Dale Earnhardt Sr., Roger Penske, they contributed a lot of money for a scholarship for [Scotts 2-year-old daughter] Carly, Lee Brayton says. The Helgets filed a wrongful firing claim against Menards; their attorney Edwin Sissam took the Menard brothers depositions. It was clear Mr. Menard is very, very secure in himself. The National Home Center News,a New York-based trade publication, quoted vendors describing Menard as tenacious, frightening, entrepreneurial and paranoid all in the same breath.. case dismissed. In Lombard, there were a lot of problems. John strong-armed me to a point where I probably should have said no, Petree says now, explaining he was soon at the financial breaking point., More crushing for Petree, in midseason, John took his millions and his son and joined forces with Dale Earnhardt Inc., the racing team run by Earnhardts widow. John Menard had built his regional empire of home improvement stores one two-by-four at a time until it had more than $6.6 billion in annual sales and 37,000 employees. With military-like discipline, a managers absences are tightly Retail War But pushed by Home Depot, by the mid 1990s, Menards policy had changed to If we sell it, you take it back, says Bropst. His team was as much about marketing his Menards stores as it was about racing., One casualty of Menards tough negotiating was driver Andy Petree. 1. John strong-armed me to a point where I probably should have said no, Petree says now, explaining he was soon at the financial breaking point., More crushing for Petree, in midseason, John took his millions and his son and joined forces with Dale Earnhardt Inc., the racing team run by Earnhardts widow. A 1963 graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Menard opened his first hardware store in 1972. They wanted $25,000 from me for my non-complete clause. Bropst spent $4,000 in legal fees, eventually getting the Menard, who already had his own business making agricultural buildings, turned down a job at IBM when he graduated college in 1963. ADVERTISEMENT. And as a shopper, Im not very happy when the peanuts I buy are stale. Managers have to make do with very lean staffing. Most companies with an employee with a disabled daughter would want to be behind the family But John Menard had this attitude, Who the hell is telling me how to run my company?. John Menard has made it clear his 33-year-old nephew Charlie Menard, Larrys son, will be his successor. Managers are prohibited from building a home, even if they purchase the construction materials elsewhere. What is the age of John Menard? He paid himself $20.6 million in 1998, three times more than the Lowes CEO and seven times more than Home Depots. We didnt have any money. Rumors circulated that Lowes would acquire Menards, but instead, it moved into Chicago in 1999 and Milwaukee in 2005. In December 2000, the company named a new CEO, Robert Nardelli, who had no retail experience. Log In. John Meinard Apolinar II. And its brought him extraordinary success, but has it brought contentment? Formerly he owned IndyCar racing team. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. Racing spread the stores name all the more. Subscribe to our Newsletter, Restaurant Listings He refused the transfer and filed an age discrimination complaint, but lost. I still love John like a brother, Archibald swears, but he couldnt stomach his treatment. And two long-running girlfriends, Darla [the hairstylist] and Debbie, an attorney., In late 2006, John Menard Jr broke up with his fiance, Debbie, just two weeks after firing her sister, the companys general counsel of 10 years, Dawn Sands. When the Helgets could find no home that met their needs, they decided to build from scratch. They have also lived in Bark River, MI. Menard had previously contributed $20,000 to Doyles campaign. Adds Archibald, Hes been a failure when it comes to his family, when it comes to relationships. Menards Inc. had become an S-Corporation, where profits are passed on to owners and taxed at their personal tax rate, and John Menard owned 88.7 percent of the company. Whatever he does, he does it because he can.. Given the overlap between home improvement customers and racing fans, it was a natural fit, and Menard ended the 1980s with more than 45 stores in five states. In 2003, the Minnesota attorney general charged that Menards manufactured and sold arsenic-tainted mulch in packaging labeled ideal for playgrounds and for animal bedding. Warning labels from the CCA-treated wood were found in the mulch. In 1972, he started his first hardware store, and currently, it has over 262 offspring. Menard often goes through the mail of his top executives and tirelessly reads through customer complaints, former insiders say, looking for problems or hints that an employee gave something away at his expense. If you wanted shelf space at Menards, you were pushed to buy a racing sponsorship. Picking up some building knowledge in the summer of 1958, John worked days on his first pole buildings and nights at a local movie theater while contracting other buildings to keep his crew working. Menard has developed a reputation for keeping a tight grip on his business, requiring even top executives to punch a time clock every morning. Select the best result to find their address, phone number, relatives, and public records. Many concerns have arisen concerning the treatment of Menards' employees, and how situations are handled by the company. Others hit the road in Menards fleet of cars to do inspections. John opened Menards Cashway Lumber to serve them, and upon graduation from college in 1963, turned down a job with IBM to build his own company. It doesnt want to take business from them. It runs neck-and-neck with Home Depot in Chicago (each has around 30 stores) and dominates Minneapolis-St. Paul with 19 stores. That meant a $15,000 cut in his $40,000 salary, but Helget still agreed. John Menard Jr, Ander, the retail consultant, says that Menards Inc. has succeeded through strong leadership by a benevolent dictator. But after the dictators gone, does the culture survive? Ander asks. This rule came from Menards concern that his trade secrets might be revealed. Menard's net worth is $14.2 billion, making him the 145th richest person on the list. When I was promoted to assistant general store manager, the first thing I had to do was go to a one-and-one-half-day seminar in Eau Claire about fighting unions, says Baumann. Historically, the companies Home Depot and Lowes had put out of business were the size of Menards. The up-gunned, tracked MT-LBs are further evidence of the Kremlins worsening equipment crisis as it struggles to make good its losses in Ukraine. Happiness isnt as easily controlled. John Menard Jr, John would say, Why make a rule if youre not going to enforce it? Archibald recalls, adding sometimes, you have to cut throats. Eau Claires city fathers would love to have The Menard Center, a civic and convention hub funded by the entrepreneur, but as Menards cousin Watson says, I dont see why John needs another building with his name on it; hes already got over 200., Menard is frugal at home, too. Thats it.. The Menard brothers are notorious for dressing down employees. controlled, and suggestions to a superior are not welcome. He lives down the block from his brother, Larry, in the 1972 ranch he shared with his second wife, Paula Christine, and their three kids, J.R. (John R. Menard III), Paul C. and Molly C., until the couple divorced in 1993. If they couldnt beat a price, John Menard Jr would order his managers to buy up a competitors entire supply of that product. Hed also protected it from big-league interlopers Home Depot and Lowes, and between 1996 and 2007, his personal net worth grew from $775 million to $5.2 billion, according to Forbes magazine. Retail War Within a few years, he says, the youngest will be eligible to start receiving money from their trust funds, but paid out in 10 annual installments instead of one lump sum. It was particularly good, given that more than half of Menards managers hadnt graduated from college, Larry Menard testified. If a person had ever worked in a union shop, you couldnt hire them. Bropst was forced to fire two promising management trainees because theyd been baggers at a unionized grocery store while in high school. John R. Menard Jr. passed up a job at IBM when he graduated from the University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire in 1963. Like Wal-Mart, John Menard Jr built a retail empire on having the cheapest price. Things went more smoothly on the race track. And with his employers legal team involved, Menards suits stopped. Today Menards is the nation's third-largest home improvement chain after Home Depot and Lowe's. Its a big gamble, industry observers say, but it might also assure the companys survival. She is seeking damages for legal work she provided for several years. I still love John like a brother, Archibald swears, but he couldnt stomach his treatment. He lives down the block from his brother, Larry, in the 1972 ranch he shared with his second wife, Paula Christine, and their three kids, J.R. (John R. Menard III), Paul C. and Molly C., until the couple divorced in 1993. Trusts named after Menard and his family members held the remaining shares. The warehouse was to be erected by filling in a .6-acre bean field the DNR considers a seasonal wetland used by migrating tundra swans. Moreover, theyd have to pay their own attorneys fees and half the cost of the arbitrator, even if Menards was found at fault. The manager spent a small fortune on plane fare commuting back and forth. John Menard Jr. Menard is also the former owner of INDYCAR racing team. Theres an independent streak that runs through the family and owning your own business has always been a big deal, says his cousin Frank Watson. DNR officials have cited Menards at least 13 times since 1976 for ignoring or violating state regulations related to air and water pollution and hazardous waste. Home Depots return policy is the stuff of legend. Company audits soon began finding problems with how he operated his store. He said we could find a house in another town, but all our friends and family are here. The company notified Helget that if he ever showed up on its property again, hed be arrested for trespassing. Hed also protected it from big-league interlopers Home Depot and Lowes, and between 1996 and 2007, his personal net worth grew from $775 million to $5.2 billion, according to Forbes magazine. John Menard considered Chicago the heart of his territory, and he was determined to dominate in that market. Menard, the Eau Clare farm boy, had done it himself. In his world, everything is measured by your bank account, says a former high-level corporate exec who asked for anonymity. case dismissed. He was absolutely a pioneer at leveraging shelf space to get sponsors for his Indy team, says Eric Wright, research and development vice president for Joyce Julius and Associates, the most prominent sponsorship reporting service in racing. He worked days on his fledgling business, nights at a local movie theater. Early in 1958, as a means to finance his education, John Menard, the founder of the company, decided to make his dream a reality. Analysts say the company still has leadership issues, an antiquated inventory control system and stores that look tired and disorganized. Menards hired secret shoppers to evaluate service, a typical retail tactic, but it also had an extensive crew of merchandising and operations people who flew out of Eau Claire on six company airplanes seven days a week. Expanded into 11 midwestern states by undercutting competition penny by penny. The tank plus-up, which Ukrainian ambassador to the United Kingdom Vadym Prystaiko announced on Saturday, should come as no surprise. His hair color could be red, golden brown or shoe-polish black, says a former insider, explaining that one of Menards ex-girlfriends owns a salon. They comparison shop constantly, says Bauman. Paul, the race car driver, now 26, moved to North Carolina to get out of his fathers shadow, says Archibald. The most infamous casualty of this policy was Eldon Helget, a lumber yard manager for Menards Burnsville, Minn., store. One year, we had truckloads of poinsettias and another year Bumpy Diapers, says Ivan DenOuden, a former department manager in Mason City, Iowa. And Home Depot is having problems. They offered me another new store in Wilmer, Minn., and said take it or leave it, he recalls. The new dictate required that managers pay a $200 deductible if a delivery driver they hired was in a traffic accident. The owner of Menard's one of the biggest home improvement centers in the Midwest has been active in motor sports having founded Team Menard's. Paul Menard is scheduled to drive for Theresa Earnhardt moving up full time to Cup from the Busch Series. Thats well ahead of Herbert Kohler, Wisconsins second-richest man, whose estimated family wealth is $4.5 billion. Its equipped with a big screen TV, and in the basement, a model railroad setup that looks like something you see in the movies, says Dominic Giuffre, who once tried to buy the Milwaukee Mile with John Menard. Home Depot, not Menards, is the Official Home Improvement Warehouse of NASCAR. In 2005, Home Depot with former Menards driver Tony Stewart captured NASCARs top prize, the Nextel Cup championship, then Lowes won the crown in 2006. Herbert Kohler Jr. and family, executive chairman of Kohler Company, $9.8 billion. John Menard earned his college degree in business, but he once told a top Menards officer that his minor in psychology was far more important, because how you treat people was the key to his success. When John goes, Archibald predicts, Menards is going to go up for sale and the kids will split up the proceeds. If the new owner takes Menards concept nationwide, he adds, they will eat Home Depots and Lowes lunch.. The Helgets were elated until they discovered Eldons contract with Menards barred him from working for a competitor for a year. All Rights Reserved. To this day, Larry said, that booklet is basically our rule book.. Bayern Munich is keeping pace with Borussia Dortmund at the top of the table ahead of the season-defining clash against Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday. None of Menards children want to take over their fathers business. And as a shopper, Im not very happy when the peanuts I buy are stale. And its brought him extraordinary success, but has it brought contentment? Menard had managers check competitors prices and count cars in their competitors lots over their lunch breaks. Thats how business works.. John Menard earned his college degree in business, but he once told a top Menards officer that his minor in psychology was far more important, because how you treat people was the key to his success. Below we countdown to John Menard, Jr. upcoming birthday. Johns absolutely driven to maximize everything, says Steve Kight, former managing director of Menards British racing engine company, Menard Engineering Ltd. Menard quickly grew Cashway, adding a truss plant, operations for treating lumber, producing countertops, pre-hung doors, boards, steel and nails. Anyone can drive it, Archibald says, until it crashes. Home Depot entered another Menards stronghold, Milwaukee, in 1998. Menard is not known as a philanthropist. Even those who know him well describe him in contradictory terms, as both hero and villain; the very model of a successful American entrepreneur; both brilliant and charming, yet also a foul-mouthed micromanager and a perfectionist who can be cruelly demanding with employees. By making some of the products he sold, he kept prices low. Menards negotiating ability is so renowned, says former Indianapolis 500 champion driver Eddie Cheever, that if Menard ever spent an hour lecturing on the topic, Cheever would be there. Still, Lowes and Home Depot saw total same-store sales slump in 2006, while Menards enjoyed record profits. Perhaps not-so-coincidentally, by 2006, Home Depot had annual sales of $81.5 billion and more than 2,000 stores in the U.S., Mexico, Canada and Puerto Rico. When he gets happy, I think he struggles with that. The sanction broke the previous record fine of $1.7 million set by Menard in 1997. Does the company?. The new dictate required that managers pay a $200 deductible if a delivery driver they hired was in a traffic accident. He developed a habit of dousing himself with cologne, says one insider. Does the company?. Calendar, John Menard. John Menard Jr always paid attention to the littlest details, says a 1963 employee who stayed with Menards for more than 30 years. Can you separate the Menard concept from John Menard? Crime. A 2002 tax filing showed Menard owned 100 percent of the companys voting stock and 56 percent of its nonvoting stock. Arsenic and Old Waste (WKOW 27 News, November 5, 2008). A distant third, Menards 2005 sales revenue was an estimated $6.5 billion from 211 stores, according to industry analyst Dunn and Bradstreet. During the Civil War (1861-65) he served as a clerk in the U.S. Department of . If you wanted shelf space at Menards, you were pushed to buy a racing sponsorship. On numerous occasions, former managers say, Menard hired private investigators to take photos when an employee added a deck or addition, then had internal examiners cross-reference the materials in the photos with items the employee had purchased, looking for products that had been stolen.