Mason Companies, Inc. is a family owned catalog retailer of footwear, accessories and apparel. In their over 100 years of existence, Mason Companies has grown from a provider of logging boots to local lumbermen to a mail order and internet merchant of footwear, apparel and general merchandise. Mason Companies is still headquartered in its hometown of Chippewa Falls, WI. Also the parent company to Stoneberry, an online shopping credit line retailer specializing in lease to own furnitureand household goods.

Mason companies came to being in 1904 when the founders, the father and son team of August and Bert Mason, started the company to cater to the footwear needs of the local logging industry, quickly earning a reputation as one of the finest boot makers in the area.  They sold their shoes through clothing stores on consignment.  They released their first catalog in 1922.  In the late 1920’s when the economy soured, Masons were in similar dire straits like the furniture on credit stores Fingerhut and Badcock Furniture and had to find some to sell excess and returned inventory during economic turmoil. That was when they recruited dealers to sell the overflow of inventory, and created a marketing plan that would serve them well for over fifty years; direct to consumer sales. They recruited salespeople and set up branch offices throughout the United States, expanding their business.

Throughout the years Mason’s business model changed to reflect the changing times. Unique for their time, they used early computers to efficiently recruit dealers and analyze their potential markets.  In the 1970’s they switched to a part-time salesperson model which allowed people to earn money on the side for selling their products. The 1980’s saw the rise of their mail order business, with the introduction of the Wissota Trader and B.A. Mason catalogs. The 90’s and the new millennium saw explosive growth thanks to the introduction of revolving credit plans and acquisitions of their various online and mail order companies; Massey’s, Figi’s, Maryland Square, and ShoeMall.com. One key offspring of Mason Companies is Stoneberry, their buy now pay later catalog and website known for its furniture financing online through their Stoneberry credit online cash plan and affordable furniture leasing program.

This phenomenal growth over the past century has turned Mason Companies into one of the largest mail order footwear companies in the world, as well as a major player in the mail order and e-commerce market, with products ranging from home goods, furniture, clothing, financing services and so much more. Much like Stoneberry’s rivals Fingerhut, Aaron’s and Rent A Center, Mason Companies applied Innovations such as e-commerce, mail order and pay as you go plans to their various good and services branches. They’re innovators when it comes to rent for own, applied to many companies in a multitude of industries, adapting much like Aarons and Fingerhut to economic turmoil through an adaptive, forward thinking business model. Similar to "get stuff now pay later."

 

*This page is only for information purposes and all information is not guaranteed to be accurate and or reliable.  We accept no responsible for incorrect information and all viewers and users of our website are encouraged to do their own research and not rely on the contained publishing.  All information was made available on the following websites:  Mason Companies Inc, Reuters, D&B Hoover, Bloomberg, LinkedIn, and in no way are we affiliated with, owned or operated by Mason Companies Inc., Stoneberry or any other subsidiary thereof.