What Fleet Farm is known for
Fleet Farm is an Upper Midwest retail chain founded in 1955 in Marshfield, Wisconsin, by the Mills family as an auto-and-farm supplier. It now operates about 50 large-format stores across the Upper Midwest, selling farm, automotive, outdoor, home-improvement, sporting-goods and general-merchandise categories.
Fleet Farm began in 1955 in Marshfield, Wisconsin, founded by Stewart Mills Sr. with his sons Henry Mills II and Stewart Mills Jr. as 'Fleet Wholesale Supply,' a wholesale auto-parts distributor. Wisconsin's minimum-markup laws of the era restricted retail discounting, so the family built a bulk-pricing model aimed at farmers and vehicle-fleet operators who qualified for wholesale rates. The chain expanded across Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, North Dakota and South Dakota, growing to roughly 53 locations. In 2016, private-equity firm KKR acquired Mills Fleet Farm; two years later the 'Mills' name was dropped, leaving it simply Fleet Farm. Headquartered in Appleton, Wisconsin, the chain still sells the mix of workwear, hardware, sporting goods and farm supplies that defined its original wholesale model.
Best for — Upper Midwest farm retail
Global
Where next
- Berghaus — United Kingdom
- Oldfield Outfitters — United Kingdom
- Helly Hansen — Norway
Hand-curated for ORBIS · no paid placement