Builders Emporium Mugs
Description: The Builder's Emporium chain was started in 1946 in the San Fernando Valley community of Van Nuys by Si L. Bercutt. The store's motto was "Everything to build anything." Victor M. Carter bought the ailing Van Nuys hardware store in 1949. He introduced the concept of a self-service hardware store with a "do it yourself" training component that became the model for The Home Depot. Carter built Builder’s Emporium into a leading self-serve retail operation and the largest hardware store in the United States, selling it in 1956, to acquire controlling interest in Republic Pictures just a few years later.