Menards: Understanding America’s Midwest Home Improvement Giant

Most people don’t realize Menards quietly dominates the Midwest while Home Depot chases headlines. John Menard Jr. started this back in 1960, building post-frame buildings to pay for college at Wisconsin State College at Eau Claire. Today? 341 stores across 15 U.S. states pulling US$13 billion. 

The third-largest home improvement retailer is completely privately owned. J.D. Power’s 2024 survey crowned Menards #1 in customer satisfaction, beating both Home Depot and Lowe’s. Regional focus wins when done right.

What is Menards? Understanding America’s Midwest Home Improvement Giant

The company stays private—John Menard Jr. runs it as president. Paul Menard sits on the Member Board of Directors. Charlie Menard handles the Chief Operating Officer work. Family-controlled, doing business as Menards, with zero shareholders.

The trade name “Menards” (mə-NARDZ) started in 1960, 66 years ago. Incorporated in 1962 after graduating from Wisconsin State College at Eau Claire (now University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire).

Headquarters in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, United States. Industry? Retail (home improvement), though, products tell different stories.

341 stores with 4 distribution centers as of October 2024, January 2026. Spread across 15 U.S. states—Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Nebraska, Missouri, Wyoming, Kansas, Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania.

Products? Building materials, tools, hardware, garden supplies, electrical supplies, ceiling fans, light fixtures, cabinets, home appliances, doors, windows, paint, wood stain, wallpaper, plumbing supplies, toilets, carpet, vinyl, linoleum, groceries, pet food, automotive, propane.

Wait—groceries?

Revenue hit US$13 billion in 2022. Employees totaled 45,000 in 2020. Website www.menards.com handles online presence.

Menards Product Range: Beyond Traditional Home Improvement

240,000 sq ft stores mix building materials with frozen pizza. Confusing? Absolutely.

The Menard Building Division ran until 1994, producing steel siding, roofing, interior and exterior doors, decking, and treated lumber. 36 years in the pole building industry before selling.

Construction stuff: building materials, lumber, treated lumber, decking, tools, hardware, electrical supplies, plumbing supplies, garden supplies. Home finishing: ceiling fans, light fixtures, cabinets, home appliances, doors, windows.

Paint, wood stain sections compete with wallpaper. Flooring? Carpet, vinyl, linoleum everywhere.

Plumbing supplies and toilets dominate the sections. Automotive, propane near garden supplies.

Then groceries—frozen pizza, milk, eggs, canned items, and common snacks in full aisles. Pet food, office supplies, and mattresses, too.

Why Menards Sells Groceries in Home Improvement Stores

240,000 sq ft (22,000 m2) stores needed filling in 2007. Larger Menards stores needed traffic beyond weekend DIYers.

Groceries solved it. Buy building materials, grab milk, pet food, and canned items. One stop. Matters in small Midwest towns 30 miles from alternatives.

Store size justifies inventory. Climate-controlled sections, full-service features work when groceries, office supplies, and mattresses fill gaps between plumbing supplies and ceiling fans.

Shopping at Menards: Prices, Rebates, and Savings Programs

Mail-in rebates drive everything.

Weekly print ads feature rebates needing forms, envelopes, and stamps. Buy, mail paperwork, wait weeks, get store credit—not cash—forcing returns. Retention disguised as savings.

Ray Szmanda used “Save big money at Menards” on television advertisements from 1976 to 1998. The “Menards Guy” returned occasionally from 1999 until death in 2018. Kim Larsen covered during absence before Szmanda’s return in 1999.

Radio, TV ads feature banjo music (resembling bluegrass) played by Gary Shaw of Appleton, Wisconsin. That sound IS the brand.

Robert (Bob) Holtan from WAXX/WAYY Radio in Eau Claire wrote “Save Big Money” lyrics in the early 1970s. Holtan was friends with John Menard, worked as a DJ at WAXX/WAYY Radio, then. 50+ years, same jingle.

During the Christmas and holiday season, ads feature “Warm season’s greetings to you all from Menards!” Female chorus sings this, starting in 1986. “Helping You Build America’s Heartland” jingle came the same year. In 1990, back to banjo music.

Spanish commercials end with “¡Ahorrar mucho dinero en Menards!” Mixture of mariachi and banjo sounds.

Rebates work—urgency, databases, return trips. November 2025 revenues spiked.

Menards vs. Home Depot vs. Lowe’s: Key Differences

In 2021, Menards ranked 26th on Forbes’ “America’s Largest Private Companies” with US$11.8 billion in revenue. By 2022, US$13 billion, 28th on Forbes.

The National Retail Federation ranked Menards 34th on “100 Top Retailers” in 2022.

J.D. Power 2022 survey: Menards is second in customer satisfaction among home improvement retail stores. J.D. Power 2024 survey: Menards first, with the highest customer satisfaction of national home improvement retail stores.

Beat Home Depot. Beat Lowe’s. With mail rebates.

Holiday City, Ohio, and Shelby, Iowa, distribution centers: 669,000 square feet (62,200 m2) and 735,000 square feet (68,300 m2). Regional logistics advantage.

Private ownership lets John Menard Jr. make long-term bets without quarterly pressure. Competitors chase Wall Street. Menards digs deeper regionally.

The History and Growth of Menards

In 1958, John Menard Jr. began building post-frame buildings to finance college education. By the end of 1959, hired extra crews and purchased equipment to keep up with demand.

After graduating from Wisconsin State College at Eau Claire (now University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire) in 1962, Menard purchased land in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and built an office and shop. Company founded in 1960 and incorporated in 1962.

The first Menards hardware store opened in 1964. The late 1960s truss plant grew into Menard Building Division, producing steel siding, roofing, interior and exterior doors, decking, and treated lumber.

Between the 1970s and the 1980s, opened locations in Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Expanded into Nebraska in 1990, Illinois in 1991, and Indiana and Michigan in 1992.

Menards sold the Menard Building Division in 1994, marking 36 years in the pole building industry.

Founded as Menard Cashway Lumber. Early 1980s, “Cashway Lumber” became just Menards (spelled with apostrophe-s into 1980s).

Menards Expansion Timeline: From Wisconsin to 15 States

In 2000, opened its 150th store. The early and mid 2000s expanded into Ohio.

In 2007, opened third and fourth distribution centers in Holiday City, Ohio, and Shelby, Iowa: 669,000 square feet (62,200 m2) and 735,000 square feet (68,300 m2).

In 2008 expanded into Missouri. 2009 opened the first Wyoming location in Casper, followed by Gillette, then Cheyenne.

In 2011 expanded into Kansas. 2012 opened the first Kentucky location in Owensboro. Six more in Kentucky: Louisville, Paducah, Elizabethtown, Florence, Bowling Green, Richmond.

In 2020, expanded into West Virginia: Wheeling, Morgantown, Barboursville, Bridgeport. Fifth Menards planned for Parkersburg, sixth for Charleston.

The fifth manufacturing and distribution center in Ravenna, Ohio, began construction in Spring 2022 after a two-year-long delay. Supplements’ expansion into Northeast Ohio and Western Pennsylvania.

Menards announced 2022 first Pennsylvania location in Washington. Second in Uniontown is delayed.

East Madison, Wisconsin, closed, relocated to Sun Prairie in 2018. Older exterior in Ankeny, Iowa, contrasts with newer Onalaska, Wisconsin designs.

Menards Marketing and Brand Recognition

Menards publishes weekly print ads and broadcasts TV and radio ads. Usually accompanied by banjo music (resembling bluegrass) played by Gary Shaw of Appleton, Wisconsin.

Ray Szmanda was “Menards Guy” using “Save big money at Menards” on television advertisements from 1976 to 1998, occasionally 1999 until death in 2018.

Kim Larsen took over during Szmanda’s absence before his return in 1999. During the Christmas and holiday season, ads feature “Warm season’s greetings to you all from Menards!” sung by a female chorus starting in 1986.

In the same year, the “Helping You Build America’s Heartland” jingle was made. In 1990, reverted to banjo music.

Robert (Bob) Holtan from WAXX/WAYY Radio in Eau Claire wrote “Save Big Money” lyrics in the early 1970s. Friends with John Menard, DJ at WAXX/WAYY Radio, then.

Spanish commercials (music contains a mixture of mariachi and banjo sounds) end with “¡Ahorrar mucho dinero en Menards!”

Banjo music became a brand identifier across the Midwest.

Menards in Motorsports: NASCAR and IndyCar Sponsorships

John Menard got involved in IndyCar racing in the early 1980s, working with neighbor, driver Herm Johnson. Eventually owned cars, primarily focusing onthe  Indianapolis 500 using stock block Buick V6 engines.

When Buick left the sport, Menard bought engine tooling from Buick and began producing engines under the Menard V6 name.

Driver Scott Brayton won two consecutive Indy 500 poles for Menard, killed in a practice crash before the 1996 500. Tony Stewart got first Indy 500 start for Menard. In 1992, Al Unser Sr. scored the highest Indy 500 finish for the team (3rd), the highest ever 500 finish for the Buick/Menard V6 engine.

Supported several racing drivers, including Paul Menard (John Menard’s son), who won only the NASCAR Cup race in the 2011 Brickyard 400, in Menard’s sponsored Richard Childress Chevrolet.

Others: Robby Gordon, P. J. Jones, Brandon Jones, Matt Crafton, Simon Pagenaud, Ryan Blaney, Matt DiBenedetto.

Began sponsoring Team Penske in 2016. Became the title sponsor of races in the Xfinity Series, entitlement sponsor for the ARCA Racing Series.

In 2023, Menards and Matt Crafton’s sponsorship partnership surpassed STP and Richard Petty as NASCAR’s longest-tenured driver/sponsorship relationship.

NASCAR displays at store openings. Sponsoring Simon Pagenaud in IndyCar through 2019.

Menards Business Performance and Industry Rankings

In 2021, ranked 26th on Forbes’ “America’s Largest Private Companies” with an estimated revenue of US$11.8 billion. In 2022, ranked 28th on Forbes with an estimated revenue of US$13 billion.

In 2022, ranked 34th on the National Retail Federation’s “100 Top Retailers.”

In 2022, ranked second in the J.D. Power survey in customer satisfaction among home improvement retail stores. In J.D. Power’s 2024 survey, ranked first with the highest customer satisfaction of national home improvement retail stores.

Employees: 45,000 (2020). Revenue: US$13 billion (2022).

Private ownership keeps financials confidential, but rankings validate positioning against Home Depot and Lowe’s.

Controversies and Challenges Facing Menards

According to Milwaukee Magazine in 2007, Menards was cited with more regulatory violations involving air/water pollution and hazardous waste disposal than any other company in Wisconsin.

Also alleges the company is strongly anti-union, won’t hire anyone who’s worked union shop, even teen years.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Michigan’s Attorney General Dana Nessel sent a cease and desist letter citing 18 complaints from consumers regarding price gouging on products such as face masks and bleach.

“Big box stores are not immune to the Michigan Consumer Protection Act or Governor’s Executive Order,” Nessel said. “Large corporations must also play by the rules, and my office will work diligently to ensure this state’s consumers are treated fairly and not abused by businesses seeking to unlawfully jack prices up to line their pockets with profits at the expense of the public during this time of great need.”

Nessel said Menards would have 10 days to respond, or she would potentially take legal action.

During the early stages of the pandemic, the instituted policy prohibiting children under age 16 and non-service animals in stores frustrated single parents who didn’t have other childcare options. The policy for children was later relaxed.

Conclusion

Menards holds a unique position as the third-largest home improvement retailer through strategies competitors avoid. John Menard Jr. started building post-frame buildings in 1958 to finance college education at Wisconsin State College at Eau Claire (now University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire), incorporating business in 1962.

Today, 341 stores as of October 2024 and January 2026 generate US$13 billion in revenue across 15 U.S. states, primarily in the Midwest. J.D. Power 2024 survey ranking first in customer satisfaction validates the approach despite controversies. Mail-in rebates, groceries in 240,000 sq ft stores, private ownership refusing quarterly pressure—all work. Distribution centers in Holiday City, Ohio, and Shelby, Iowa (669,000 square feet and 735,000 square feet) support regional density.

Environmental violations from 2007 Milwaukee Magazine, alleged anti-union labor practices, and  COVID-19 price gouging complaints from Michigan’s Attorney General Dana Nessel continue generating criticism. NASCAR sponsorships, banjo music, and Ray Szmanda’s legacy endure. 66 years since founding in 1960 proves regional focus beats national expansion when executed correctly.