For decades, Wisconsinites have circulated myths around the origin story that Fleet Farm and Blain's Farm & Fleet cut ties after a series of terrible arguments between family members.
It's easy to see why customers might be confused. The stores have similar names and sell comparable products — everything from tools to giant packages of snacks.
Despite widespread rumors surrounding the origin of the two chains of stores, the grisly details are fortunately untrue. The two stores weren't founded by the same family and there wasn't a fight that tore the two companies apart.
But it's gotten to the point where even Kwik Trip is confused. So, we're sharing what you need to know about the real story as part of our What the Wisconsin? — where reporters take on questions about our state, our communities and the people in them.
Federal law used to prevent selling products at a discount
After a 1937 federal law allowed states to pass fair-trade acts to control prices, Wisconsin and other Midwestern states enacted laws that prevented retailers from selling products at a discount or wholesale price.
But there was a loophole to the regulations: customers were allowed to buy discounted goods if they owned a fleet consisting of five or more gas-powered engines.
Most people didn't own five or more tractors, but fortunately farmers were an exception. That piqued the interest of a few Midwestern retailers looking for their next business endeavor.
In the early 1950s, Bob and Jean Kiesau of Grand Forks, North Dakota, developed the idea of selling discounted products to farmers. The couple owned Home of Economy, a chain of retail stores in North Dakota.
The Kiesaus' approach inspired both Fleet Farm and Farm & Fleet.
The first Fleet Farm opened as 'Fleet Wholesale Supply' in Marshfield in 1955
Stewart Mills Sr. had purchased the Lively Auto Company in 1922 and started selling Chevrolets and Hupmobiles. After learning about the loophole, he and his sons Stew Jr. and Hank opened their first Fleet Wholesale Supply in Marshfield in 1955.
The family picked Marshfield because they'd determined the location had the most cows per square miles, said Nick Widi, Senior Vice President of Fleet Farm. They'd figured where there were cows, there had to be farmers needing agriculture supplies.
Turns out, they were right.
In 1960, Fleet Wholesale Supply changed its name to Mills Fleet Farm.
Blain's Farm and Fleet was launched in Janesville in 1955
Around the same time, brothers Claude and Bert Blain, who, like the Mills, already owned a farm implement and auto parts business, decided in June 1955 to open the first Blain's Farm and Fleet in Janesville.
The two companies were never connected
Over the years, both businesses have expanded, but never have connected or shared ownership.
But that's not to say that the two families weren't friends, saidJane Blain Gilbertson. "I grew up knowing the Mills very well. They came to my wedding."
Repealed laws allowed both companies to expand across Midwest
In the 1960s, after laws requiring selling merchandise at a full retail price were changed, Fleet Farm and Farm & Fleet were able to expand their stores and start selling merchandise to more people.
Fleet Farm now has 49 locations across Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, North Dakota and South Dakota, while Farm & Fleet has 45 stores in Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois and Michigan.
Both companies continue to expand through the Midwest. Earlier this year, Fleet Farm opened a new location in Muskego off Interstate 43 along Racine and College avenues. Officials say the Muskego location brought about 150 new full- and part-time jobs.
Last spring, Blain's Farm & Fleet opened its 45th location in Rhinelander and also opened another location last fall in Grafton. Most Fleet Farm and Farm & Fleet locations are separated by many miles.
One exception is in Madison, where a Fleet Farm and Farm & Fleet are about 12 miles apart.
How Fleet Farm and Blain's Farm & Fleet operate today
In 2016, the Mills brothers sold Fleet Farm to a New York-based equity firm KKR, which manages investments across private equity, energy, infrastructure, real estate, credit and hedge funds.
Claude Blain died in 1988 and his brother Bert died in 1993, and Bert's son Robert Blain took over the company. After his retirement, his sister, Jane Blain Gilbertson took over the company in 2014 and remains the current owner and CEO.
Keeping the business in the family remains a strong source of pride for Blain's Farm & Fleet. "We're a family owned business. We get to do things differently," said Blain Gilbertson. "We don't make short-term decisions. We make long-term decisions. We invest in our people."
Of course both companies are Midwestern giants, said Frank Steeves, Fleet Farm's executive vice president.
"They're family-owned and we're owned in part by private equity, as if that's a distinguishing factor, and it's not. I kind of have to laugh a little bit, because sure, we have a shareholder that's private equity, but both these companies are big companies," said Steeves.
Another thing both companies say they have in common — besides selling just about everything you can think of — is consideration for their customers.
"That's the fun part of the job ... feeling like it's a neighborly experience and they (employees) knowing they can actually help someone," Gilbertson Blain said.
"We still take the same information from our customers and make decisions on what they think they need. It's still very much part of our DNA," said Steve Jensen, head of merchandising at Fleet Farm. "That hasn't changed at all."
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