Channel Home Centers

A 1975 New York Times profile traced the company's origins to a lumber business started in Newark in 1922 by two Russian Jewish Americans, Abraham Levy and Morris Charin (1887–1963). A 1990 article in the same publication, and other company releases, however, have put the founding date at 1908. Louis L. Slater (1913–1987), son-in-law of Levy, ==Expansion==

In 1963, it was reported that Channel Lumber had seven locations, all in New Jersey. By late 1975, the chain had 24 locations, 22 of which were in New Jersey. In 1986, Channel's executives bought the company through a leveraged buyout. The purchase included a total of 202 retail locations in 20 states, including home centers under W.R. Grace located in the southeast, among them "Handy City" and Handy Dan. ==Bankruptcy==

By 1990, the chain had grown to 89 Channel outlets in nine states, It emerged from bankruptcy in March 1992. In 1994, Channel and its competitor Rickel were bought by a venture capital firm, which merged the operations of the two chains under the Rickel name. At that point in time, it had 60 locations, and its 1993 sales topped $300 million. Fifty-nine of Channel's sixty stores were rebranded; the only one that was not was its location in Totowa, New Jersey as Rickel already had a store in the vicinity. ==References==