BJ's Wholesale Club, Inc. - 1997 dated Specimen Stock Certificate

Specimen Stock printed by American Bank Note Company. Incorporated in 1996. BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc., commonly known as BJ's, is an American warehouse club chain that operates on a membership-only basis. It is headquartered in Marlborough, Massachusetts, and serves customers primarily in the eastern United States, as well as in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, and Tennessee. Recently, the company has announced its intention to expand into Alabama. BJ's was established in 1984 by the discount department store chain Zayre, located on the border of Medford and Malden in Massachusetts. The name "BJ's" is derived from the initials of Beverly Jean Weich, the daughter of Mervyn Weich, who was the president of the newly formed company. Mervyn Weich resigned from his position in June 1987, officially leaving on August 1, and was succeeded by John Levy. Following the sale of the Zayre brand to competitor Ames in October 1988, TJX Companies was created.

In 1989, TJX divested its warehouse division, which included BJ's and the now-defunct HomeClub (later known as HomeBase and then House2Home), to establish Waban, Inc. In August 1997, Waban separated BJ's, allowing it to operate as an independent entity, BJ's Wholesale Club, Inc., with its headquarters in Natick, Massachusetts, while Waban rebranded itself as HomeBase, Inc. In 2011, BJ's was acquired by private equity firms Leonard Green & Partners and CVC Capital Partners, and it returned to public trading in 2018. In 2019, BJ's expanded its presence in Michigan by opening a new store in Madison Heights, followed by additional locations in Taylor and Chesterfield Township. The company has also established a store in Canton, Michigan.