Fleet Farm (formerly Mills Fleet Farm) is an American retail chain of 48 stores in

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minnesota to the east, So ...

and

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux Native American tribes, who comprise a large porti ...

. Headquartered in

Appleton, Wisconsin Appleton ( mez, Ahkōnemeh) is a city in Outagamie, Calumet, and Winnebago counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. One of the Fox Cities, it is situated on the Fox River, southwest of Green Bay and north of Milwaukee. Appleton is the c ...

, the company has a main distribution center in

Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin Chippewa Falls is a city located on the Chippewa River in Chippewa County in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 14,778 in the 2021 census. Incorporated as a city in 1869, it is the county seat of Chippewa Cou ...

, with a buying/support office and warehouse in Appleton. The stores range in size from small hardware store formats to larger stores. They sell hunting and fishing equipment and licenses, small appliances, household goods, automotive goods, clothing and footwear, toys, food, hardware, lawn and garden supplies, paint, pet supplies, sporting goods, tools, and farm supplies. Most locations also have an auto service center, gas mart, and car wash. On July 10, 2019, Fleet Farm announced that it had reached a deal with SECURA Insurance to purchase their current headquarters building in Appleton. Fleet Farm moved its headquarters to the former SECURA Insurance building in 2020.

History

Stewart C. Mills Sr. founded Mills Companies in Brainerd, Minnesota in 1922. The family later created an oil company and opened a dealership and auto parts stores. Fleet Farm was founded in 1955 by Stewart Mills Sr. and his sons Henry Mills II and Stewart Mills Jr. The first store, named Fleet Wholesale Supply, was opened in

Marshfield, Wisconsin Marshfield is a city in northwest Wood and southwest Marathon counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is located at the intersection of U.S. Highway 10, Highway 13 and Highway 97. The largest city in Wood County, its population was 18,929 at t ...

.Joe Taschler
"Investment firm to acquire Mills Fleet Farm"
''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'', January 5, 2016. Similarly named

Blain's Farm and Fleet Blain Supply, Inc., doing business as Blain's Farm & Fleet, is a regional chain of 44 retail stores in Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa and Michigan. The stores sell tires, agricultural supplies and equipment, hunting and fishing equipment and lic ...

was also founded in 1955 by Bert and Claude Blain, friends of the Mills family. The two families agreed to use similar names and have historically operated in different territories."Video: Mills Fleet Farm and Blain's Farm & Fleet enter a new era,"
'' Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'', June 6, 2017.Barry Adams
"No Family Feud for Farm & Fleet, Fleet Farm,"
''

Wisconsin State Journal The ''Wisconsin State Journal'' is a daily newspaper published in Madison, Wisconsin by Lee Enterprises. The newspaper, the second largest in Wisconsin, is primarily distributed in a 19 county region in south-central Wisconsin. As of September ...

'', August 14, 2008. In 2016, Mills Fleet Farm was sold to the private equity firm

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts KKR & Co. Inc., also known as Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., is an American global investment company that manages multiple alternative asset classes, including private equity, energy, infrastructure, real estate, credit, and, through its strate ...

for an undisclosed amount rumored to be around $1.2 billion.Neal St. Anthony
"Mills Fleet Farm to be sold to investment giant KKR"
'' Star Tribune'', January 5, 2016. As of July 2018, the "Mills" part of the name has been dropped, shortening the name to "Fleet Farm". In addition, Fleet Farm launched a new brand campaign and added the tagline “Built for real life”, replacing the slogan "We Love It" which debuted in 2009.

Store brands

Fleet Farm carries a variety of store brands in a variety of departments. These include: Road Runner - Batteries and tires, Big Max - Trailers and automotive supplies, Field and Forest - Clothing and footwear, Fleet Boutique - Women's clothing, Dura-Built - Farm supplies, Milkhouse brand - Dairy supplies, Farm Life - Animal supplements, Sprout - Animal feed, Mills Fleet Farm - Candy and nuts, Farm Toys.

Images

File:Fleet Farm Store Support Center.jpg, Fleet Farm Corporate Office in

File:AppletonFleetFarm 11-25-2006.jpg, A store in

File:Mills Fleet Farm in Rochester, MN 5-31-2007.jpg, Old fleet farm store in Rochester, Minnesota File:Mills Fleet Farm Sign 5-24-2011.jpg, Typical Mills Fleet Farm Sign File:Oakdale, MN 10-30-2009.jpg,

Oakdale, Minnesota Oakdale is a city in Washington County, Minnesota, United States. It is a suburb of Saint Paul and is on the eastern side of the Twin Cities Metropolitan area. The population was 27,378 at the 2010 census. Oakdale is the 32nd largest city in M ...

store File:Millslogo.png, Logo used until July 2018.

References

External links

* {{official website, http://www.fleetfarm.com/ Farm and ranch supply stores of the United States Retail companies established in 1955 1955 establishments in Wisconsin Companies based in Wisconsin Agriculture companies established in 1955 American companies established in 1955