Wisconsin-based retailer Blain's Farm & Fleet to open store in Portage in 2018
PORTAGE, Mich. — A Wisconsin-based retailer announced Tuesday that it will open a farm and fleet store in Portage this year, and a second one in Jackson, Michigan.
Both projects will put the Blain’s Farm & Fleet retailers in existing buildings – and represents the company’s first foray into Michigan.
“We welcome the opportunity to serve the hard-working people of Michigan,” Jane Blain Gilbertson, owner and president of Blain’s Farm & Fleet, said in a written announcement released Tuesday. “Michigan feels like home to us with strong Midwest values and deeply rooted communities, and we look forward to continued expansion here.”
The company said it will be hiring from the local community and will hold job fairs this summer. Blain’s employs more than 100 people per store, and now has a workforce of about 4,100, the company said in the announcement. The two new stores will bring the company’s total retail locations to 40.
“We have a great track record of keeping store associates for long careers which is unusual in the retail world,” said Dennis Armstrong, chief human resources officer for Blain’s. “We are very proud of the strong customer-focused culture we have built and look forward to bringing it to our new neighbors in Michigan.”
The retailer is a second-generation, family-owned company that was founded in 1955, and Gilbertson, the daughter of founder Bert Blain, has championed the effort to bring Blain’s to Michigan.
Kristin Stewart, the company’s chief marketing officer, said Blain’s had received many requests for a local store from Michigan residents.
“Combine that with the recommendations we have received from the quality brands we carry in our store, and we knew this was an area where we would be welcomed,” Stewart said. The company also considered that Michigan residents are among the population base for its online business, FarmandFleet.com.
In Jackson, the space is a former K-Mart store on O’Neill Drive. The Portage store will be a 30,000-square-foot expansion of an empty space on Mall Drive behind the Crossroads Mall and next to the Celebration Theaters. The renovations will put the size of the new store at more than 109,000 square feet.
The Portage location is awaiting final approvals from the city, which are expected in the coming weeks, the company said. The renovations will include creating an automotive service center.
“Both Blackman Township and Portage officials have been great to work with,” Gilbertson said. “We continue to be very respectful of local processes and have been very pleased with the cooperation and positive discussions we have had at every level. Michigan officials could not be more professional and welcoming.”
