Fisher's Big Wheel

[TheFugitive]

I could not find any particular thread dedicated to this chain.
They had a store count in the low 100's and were based in New Castle, PA.

When I worked for Ames in the late 1980's we were making a major push into Michigan.
Supposedly this was because our President at the time, Peter Hollis, had come from Big Wheel
and had data about what a profitable market this was (rural towns with little competition and
better than average per-capita income....most particularly, no Walmart in Michigan at that time)

So we ended up in face-to-face heated competition all over the state.
In towns like Imlay City the stores were directly across the street from one another.
Despite this we were actively discouraged from hiring any Big Wheel people, because
that chain was unionized.

Big Wheel pulled the plug in 1994.  Some of those Michigan locations were sold to Pamida.

[JimSawhill]

I could not find any particular thread dedicated to this chain.
They had a store count in the low 100's and were based in New Castle, PA.

When I worked for Ames in the late 1980's we were making a major push into Michigan.
Supposedly this was because our President at the time, Peter Hollis, had come from Big Wheel
and had data about what a profitable market this was (rural towns with little competition and
better than average per-capita income....most particularly, no Walmart in Michigan at that time)

So we ended up in face-to-face heated competition all over the state.
In towns like Imlay City the stores were directly across the street from one another.
Despite this we were actively discouraged from hiring any Big Wheel people, because
that chain was unionized.

Big Wheel pulled the plug in 1994.  Some of those Michigan locations were sold to Pamida.

There was a Fisher's Big Wheel in Stafford, CT. It was located  on 190. I wonder what is there now.

[d_fife]

what was Fisher's big wheel like?

[TheFugitive]

what was Fisher's big wheel like?

It was like a smaller, low-end Ames.  I would guess most of their stores were between 40,000 - 50,000 sq. ft.
The usual assortment of basics, domestics, HBA, low-end electronics, KD furniture, etc.   I am trying to think
if there were any specific differences in the product assortment, but it has been so many years now.  In appearance
and configuration they looked a lot like Ames or other big-box regional discounters at the time.  Aside from a
really strange one I recall in Lapeer, Michigan which was wedged into an odd looking old strip center at the
corner of M-24 and old M-21.

[JimSawhill]

We (ex girlfriend and I) used to shop at the Stafford Springs Big Wheel for her kids her kids thought we were going there to buy Big Wheels for them...

[TheFugitive]

Found a couple of pictures.

[Retail_247]

Fishers big wheel had stores in PA, NY ,OH,WV ,IN and surprisingly RI & CT