Builders Emporium was a chain of home improvement stores based in Irvine, California, United States. At the time of its closing in 1993, it had 82 stores in Southern California and an additional 15 in Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona and Texas; 4,300 employees in total.[1]
The chain had a fictional human character, "Pops" Larsen that, in brochures and other media, was portrayed as helping customers with do-it-yourself tasks such as hanging a door.[2]
History
The Builders Emporium chain was started in 1946 in the San Fernando Valley community of Van Nuys by Si L. Bercutt.[3][4][5]