![]() ![]() The corporate buyers often found one-of-a-kind deals on miscellaneous items, including seasonal items like toys during the Christmas holiday season. Many stores also had a tire and battery shop. The stores also had a full-service deli and a separate produce department. The customer/member was presented with a wide variety of consumer products: camera equipment, office machines, major and minor appliances, garden supplies, clothing, jewelry, liquor and groceries. The management strove to make Fedco a one-stop shopping destination, similar to a hypermarket concept. Īt its peak, Fedco had ten department stores plus three appliance-only stores, and served 4 million members. Names on the cards were only checked when paying by check.įedco's lifetime membership cost $10 (~$18.00 in 2022) in 1998. Anyone could borrow or take a member's card and enter. ![]() However, it was very difficult to restrict non-members from purchasing from the stores in cash, since the lifetime membership cards did not include photographic ID like those used by later membership stores such as Sam's Club. Membership cards were required to enter a store and to use a check as payment. It also included anyone who received regular payments from the government, such as social security pensions. Over the years, the membership pool was widened to include anyone who had any relationship with the federal or local governments, as well as their employees, children, etc. Like a credit union, store membership was legally restricted to a defined group. The organization of the company was similar to that used for credit unions, in which the stores were owned and operated by a not-for-profit organization that was owned by its members, who elected a board of directors. government, students, and their family members. Lifetime membership was less than five dollars for employees of the U.S. Lines included general merchandise, grocery, and, in some locations, auto services and furniture. This allowed a form of "borrowing" but ensured that the funds could only be spent at Fedco. Under the guidance of Kee, FedScript was developed. Business flourished and they took over adjoining storefronts. ![]() As demand grew, the Board of Directors began to carry merchandise in the store. Members would come into the store and find items they wished to purchase in various catalogs. The Board of Directors, headed by Robert Kee, established the first store on Slauson Avenue in Los Angeles. Post Office employees who wanted to leverage their buying power by purchasing goods directly from wholesalers, and eliminate the additional markup of a retail store. The chain was unusual in that it was a nonprofit consumers' cooperative. Clothing, footwear, housewares, jewelry, garden, furniture, appliances, sporting goods, produce, hardware, toys, electronicsįederal Employees' Distributing Company, known as Fedco, was a membership department store chain that operated in Southern California from 1948 to 1999. ![]()
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