Our family-owned regional retail chain, Blain’s Farm & Fleet, was founded in Janesville, Wisconsin in 1955 by my father and my uncle. Since the beginning, as we’ve grown from one store to 43 stores in four states, we’ve been driven to serve our customers as though each one is a neighbor. That motivation has resulted in many iterations in our service over the years, as we meet and respond to changing needs and shopping behaviors.

Often, these innovations are made in response to suggestions from our associates who work the floors of our stores every day. We value their frontline feedback, and they generally don’t hesitate to share what they’re seeing and hearing for the benefit of our customers. This was the case about six years ago, when a young employee made a request for a Pragmatic Innovation.