Conn's Coupons

Conn's is a publicly owned corporation that was founded 118 years ago as a plumbing company. In 1890, Edward Eastham founded Eastham Plumbing and Heating Company in Beaumont. First National Bank of Beaumont took over Eastham in 1931 and renamed it Plumbing and Heating, Inc. Plumbing and Heating, Inc. hired Carol Washington Conn, Sr. in 1933. He purchased the company in 1934, changing its name to Conn Plumbing and Heating Company. In 1937, Conn's began selling refrigerators and soon added gas ranges to its inventory. By 1940, Mr. Conn had purchased a store building and moved the company to 268 Pearl Street in Beaumont. The company's second store opened in 1959 on Eleventh Street in Beaumont. C.W. Conn, Jr. joined the company in 1953 after serving in the Korean Conflict. He recognized that customers needed dependable, quality service and founded Conn's retail service repair and maintenance subsidiary company, Appliance Parts and Service, in 1962. In 1964 he cofounded Conn Credit Corporation, a retail credit financing services company, to provide retail credit financing services to Conn's customers. Mr. Conn, Jr. was named president and chief operating officer in 1966 and served in those capacities until 1976. The Year 1966 found the company with four stores and a total sales volume of $4 million. Lake Charles, Louisiana was the site of Conn's first out-of-state store opened in 1969. A second out-of-state store was opened in Louisiana that same year, making it a landmark year. In 1975, Conn's opened stores in Port Arthur, Orange and Baytown, Texas, as well as one in Lafayette, Louisiana. A second location in Lafayette and new stores in New Iberia and Opelousas, Louisiana soon followed. Mr. Conn, Sr. passed away in 1975 and Mr. Conn, Jr. became Chairman of the Board. Mr. Conn, Sr. and Mr. Conn, Jr. were dedicated to their customers and to the idea that consumers should receive value for the dollars they spent on the products they offered in their stores. Their dedication was so strong that they often directed their employees to seek out dissatisfied customers and find what the company could do to replace their disappointment with satisfaction. Under Mr. Conn, Jr.'s direction, Conn's first location in Houston was opened in 1983, with many others to follow in subsequent years. In 1993, Conn's experienced its first $100 million sales volume year and opened its first San Antonio, Texas location. Thomas Frank, Sr. became Chairman of the Board of Conn's in 1994. Under Mr. Frank's leadership, the company continued its growth trend and established itself as a major player in the retail sales industry as total sales volume grew to more than $200 million in 1997. In July, 1998, the company reorganized and brought in a new financial partner, The Stephens Group, Inc. Conn's market reach was broadened in 1999, when it opened its first store in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and again in 2001, 2002 and 2003 when it opened its first stores in Austin, Corpus Christi, and in the Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex, respectively. The company now offers a full-range of products and services in nine markets in Texas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma with 22 stores in Houston, 17 in Dallas- Ft. Worth, 10 in San Antonio, four in the Beaumont area, five in Austin, three in the Texas Rio Grande Valley, one in Corpus Christi, one in Lake Charles, three in the Lafayette area and two in Baton Rouge, and with the new Oklahoma City store Conn’s has 69 stores. Conn's, Inc. became a publicly traded company on November 25, 2003, when it sold 4 million shares in its Initial Public Offering. The company's shares are traded on the NASDAQ Exchange under the symbol CONN. Today, the company consists of the parent, Conn's, Inc. (dba Conn's), with subsidiary companies and divisions that provide support in the areas of service, distribution, financing, insurance and other related services and has over 3,000 employees. Though Conn's has changed dramatically over the years, the customer continues to be the focus of attention and the reason for the company's continued success, and the basic values and culture of the company continue to support the contention that "the Customer is Number One."