Have you ever wondered how Shoppers Supply began its journey? Originating as a humble fleet and farm operation in Spencer, Iowa, it has since blossomed into a vibrant multi-store enterprise. Today, it stands tall as a living testament to the family legacy, with three generations of the Schmidt family steering its success.
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The History of Shoppers Supply
In 1966, Mr. George Schmidt established Shoppers Supply, a small business. By 1989, his son Jim assumed leadership of the growing multi-store enterprise. In 2011, Shoppers Supply relocated to Arizona, inaugurating its first store in Apache Junction. Two years later, in 2013, the Chandler store commenced operations, followed by the opening of the Power Ranch location in 2022.
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Values
At Shoppers Supply, family values form the bedrock of their ethos. They prioritize actions over words and are deeply grateful for their customers’ support. They are firm believers in hard work, advocating for rolling up their sleeves and putting in an honest day’s effort.
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The Arizona Locals behind Shoppers Supply
Now that you’ve gained insight into Shoppers Supply and its core values, allow us to introduce you to the Arizona locals, Ryan Beenken, Tyler Schmidt, and C.J. O’Brion who are the driving force behind this business. Join us on a series of articles introducing each owner individually.
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Introduction: Ryan Beenken
We recently had the opportunity to connect with Ryan Beenken, check it out below!
CLN: Can you tell us about how honesty, integrity, and hard work were instilled in you from your backgrounds, or the types of jobs and responsibilities you had?
Ryan Beenken: I grew up in the Midwest in a Christian home. Both of my parents were raised on farms in small town Iowa, where hard work was a necessity for the family farm to provide for the family. These values were passed down to my siblings and I as we grew up. Still to this day, my Christian Faith and the values demanded in living out my faith are the single top priority in my family with my wife and three children. This includes being a hard worker, being honest, acting with integrity and ultimately producing with high competence.
CLN: What are your thoughts on the impact your business has had on yourself, your family, your employees, your customers, and your community?
Ryan Beenken: I moved from Iowa to Arizona in 2011 to start our first Arizona store after working for Shoppers Supply in Iowa for 4 years. My wife Megan (married in 2014), who moved from our hometown of Fort Dodge to the Phoenix area in 2012 after graduating from college, son Micah (5), daughters Ellie (Elizabeth, 3), and Piper (1) currently live in Ahwatukee. We love the proximity to the Chandler location while also allowing us to live in the foothills, enjoy the elevation changes and views the foothills provide and have such close access to hiking trails on South Mountain.
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CLN: Why is it important to your family to foster good neighbor relations as a local family business?
Ryan Beenken: Shoppers Supply has had an enormous impact on me. I am blessed to get to work with many of the best people I’ve had the fortune to meet, and we get to serve the best customer base this country has to offer. We get to live life alongside our customers, our employees, and a wide range of potential customers who have a passion for many of the lifestyles we outfit. Our employees are amazing because most of them live the lifestyles that are supported by our business, and so they have a natural passion for the things we sell, and for the customers we service. We want to be that way in our local community too. As owners, our children are growing up here, they attend or will be attending schools in these communities. They will play sports here, get their first jobs here, and launch into adulthood from here. Naturally, we will be investing in this community. Shopping locally is a way to invest in your local community in ways that shopping globally doesn’t allow. We know the issues of our community, and we’re here to lend a helping hand. We know the events that are important to our customers, and we support those events. Our kids are growing here, we’re living and loving here, so we invest in other local businesses in our community. That doesn’t happen with global businesses.
Pictured: Ryan Beenken – Credit: CLN
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