It seems discount shopping is a family affair. Some fans of members-only retail chain BJ’s Wholesale Club are just figuring out what the initials in the store’s name mean. Although the wholesale giant’s customers may assume it comes from its exclusive private label brand, Berkley Jensen, there is actually a touching story behind the name. Shoppers finally realize what BJ’s stands for. Bloomberg via Getty Images When the mega-retailer first opened in 1984, its president, Mervyn Weich, lent the initials of his daughter, Beverly Jean, to its first store, located in Massachusetts. Although Weich resigned just three years later, in 1987, the name had already passed into retail history. BJ’s Wholesale Club even has a page in the help center section of their website that reveals Beverly Jean’s initials. A woman shops inside a BJ’s Wholesale Club store. Bloomberg via Getty Images The publicly traded corporation, which has 267 locations and 206 gas stations in 22 states, now plans to launch 25 to 30 new clubs every two years. Six new locations will arrive this year, in Texas, Alabama, Indiana, Kentucky and three in Florida. Other companies with initials in their names also have a storied past. H&M began as Hennes, which later changed to Hennes & Mauritz in 1968 after acquiring the men’s clothing store Mauritz Widforss. It was later reduced to H&M. The acronym IKEA was created in 1943 from the initials of its founder, 17-year-old Ingvar Kamprad, combined with the first initials of the farm where he grew up and its nearby village.
