 | |
| Company type | Private (1940–1964; 1984–1987) Public (1964–1984; 1987–1988) Subsidiary (1988–1992) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | Seattle, Washington, United States (1940) |
| Founder | Monte Lafayette Bean |
| Defunct | 1992 |
| Fate | Acquired by PayLess Drug |
| Headquarters | Seattle, Washington , United States |
Number of locations | 124 (1992) |
Area served | Western United States |
Key people | M. Lamont Bean (president (1959–1984)) |
| Products | Pharmacy and General Merchandise |
Number of employees | 3,500 (1992) |
| Subsidiaries | Pay 'n Save Drugs, Ernst/Malmo Nursery, Bi-Mart, Lamonts, Sportswest, Schuck's Auto Supply, Yard Birds, Von Tobel's, Price Savers Warehouse |
Pay 'n Save was a retail company founded by Monte Lafayette Bean in Seattle, Washington, in 1940. Over the years, Pay 'n Save was the leading drugstore chain in Washington and was the owner of several Washington-based retailers, including Lamonts and Ernst. A 1984 sale of the company to The Trump Group and a 1986 attempt to transform the retailer into a bargain-basement merchandiser resulted in a loss of nearly $50 million. By 1988, Pay 'n Save was sold to Thrifty Corporation, who later sold the stores to PayLess Drug, who retired the Pay 'n Save name. As a result, most of the retailer's divisions were spun off as separate companies or shuttered. As of 2023, Pay 'n Save's membership discount chain, Bi-Mart, is the sole surviving division of the company (the chain has been an employee-owned company since 2003).[1]
At the company's peak, Pay 'n Save was operating 313 stores in ten western states, Canada and Great Britain under several different names, including Pay 'n Save, Ernst, Bi-Mart, Lamonts, Sportswest, Schuck's Auto Supply, Yard Birds, Von Tobel's, and Price Savers.[2]
- ^ "Bi-Mart - Why Work for Bi-Mart?". www.bimart.com.
- ^ "Pay 'n Save Corp. battle - Shareholders to fight sale". Ellensburg Daily Record. 9/8/1984 (m/d/yy).