Bi-Mart President Richard Truett meets Curry County Commissioner David Itzen at Monday’s Business Outlook Conference. The Pilot/Steve Kadel

Company President Richard Truett discussed aspects of the new store – Bi-Mart’s 72nd outlet – during Monday’s Business Outlook Conference at the Tolowa Event Center in Smith River.

Truett said the firm does better than most during economic downturns when people are looking for low prices on basic goods.

“We don’t change with the fads,” he said. “We try to keep expenses down and differentiate ourselves by offering excellent customer service. We are a very no-frills operation.”

Bi-Mart was founded in Yakima, Wash., in 1955. Its second store was in Eugene, which is now the corporate headquarters.

The company became employee-owned in 2004, with part-time and full-time workers who have been with Bi-Mart at least one year and are 21 or older receiveing a percentage of annual profits.

Truett said the company had more than $800 million in sales last year. The average annual payroll is $82 million, which breaks down to a range of $800,000 to $1.3 million per store.

Truett added it was an easy decision to expand into Brookings.

“There are a lot of people who live there, more than enough for us to do good business.”

About 4,000 Bi-Mart members already live between Harbor and Port Orford, he estimated. Many of them shop in Coos Bay or Grants Pass Bi-Mart stores at the current time.

“That was the reason for us to come here,” Truett said.

Bi-Mart almost built a Brookings store in 1991 at the site now occupied by Fred Meyer. However, Truett said Thrifty Corp. purchased the company just before the Brookings deal was finalized and put all expansion on hold.

It cost about $5 million to build the new store. Truett said government officials have “been great to work with” in terms of getting needed permits and other documents.

He promised a gala grand opening celebration next month, and said the store will hold $1.7 million worth of inventory.

The management team will be headed by a 12-year Bi-Mart employee from Grants Pass.

Truett said good employees are the company’s secret of success. Bi-Mart prefers full-time workers who stay with the firm for many years, he said, because they know the products well and offer better customer service than short-term, part-time employees.

Truett himself has worked for Bi-Mart since 1974, when he joined the Bend store.