Metal Supermarkets

Metal Supermarkets is a provider of small quantity metals, cut to the customer's desired size, with no minimum order quantities. Primarily a franchise network, Metal Supermarkets possesses the largest network in the small quantity metals industry and the only one with international reach. Metal Supermarkets’ main headquarters are located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada with support offices in Leicester, England and Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada. The company's locations extend across Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. Currently, Metal Supermarkets operates over 100 locations worldwide, with more under development.
History.
Metal Supermarkets was established in 1985 as a single location in Mississauga, Ontario. Its founder, William "Bill" Mair, wanted to address the demand for small quantities of metal that large metal distributors could not satisfy, while providing efficient, friendly and reliable service. Therefore, Metal Supermarkets adopted a business model based on cut-to-size metals and no minimum order size.
Metal Supermarkets began franchising in 1987, eventually expanding into the United Kingdom in 1994 and the United States in 1996. In 2007, Metal Supermarkets acquired and then integrated Metal Express, a similar metal distributor based in the United States. Metal Supermarkets opened its 100th location in 2020 and currently operates worldwide in addition to an e-commerce website. In 2021, Metal Supermarkets was ranked the 381st best franchise on the annual Entrepreneur Franchise 500 list. The company continues to expand its presence across North America and the United Kingdom.
Metal Supermarkets is a private company and also owns the FlannelJax's business system (www.flanneljaxs.com). The current President and CEO is Stephen Schober and the Vice-President of Development is Andrew Arminen.
Metal Products.
Metal Supermarkets stocks many different kinds of metal including Alloy Bar, Aluminum, Cold Rolled Steel, Hot Rolled Steel, Stainless Steel, Brass, Copper, Tool Steel. Additionally, stores source hard to find metals for customers with specific requests.
Metal Supermarkets offers over 8,000 metal products, shapes and grades through physical locations and its online store. The requested metal can then be cut to size, picked up by the customer or delivered.
Services.
In addition to supplying metal, Metal Supermarkets locations provide a variety of cutting and processing services. In addition to delivery services, sourcing hard-to-find products, production cutting and shearing are standard cutting services at all Metal Supermarkets. Select Metal Supermarkets stores also offer additional cutting services such as: 
Locations.
As of March 30, 2021, Metal Supermarkets has 103 locations, including 22 in Canada, 72 in the United States, 6 in the UK, and 1 in Scotland. Franchisees are provided comprehensive IT support, Marketing and Social Media support, in addition to various monthly training webinars and newsletters.
Canada.
The first Metal Supermarkets store was established in Mississauga, Ontario by company founder, William “Bill” H. Mair in 1985 and still operates today. In 1987, Metal Supermarkets began franchising and opened its second location in Scarborough, Ontario before expanding to additional provinces including Alberta and British Columbia. Metal Supermarkets currently operates 22 stores in 5 Provinces across the country, including British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario and Nova Scotia.
United Kingdom.
Following the successful opening of several locations in Canada, Metal Supermarkets expanded into the UK in 1994 with its West Bromwich store in the Birmingham area. There are now 7 locations across the UK, with the latest opening in Trafford Park, Manchester in February 2020.
United States.
After finding success in the Canadian and UK markets, Metal Supermarkets entered the United States in 1996 with the opening of the Atlanta, GA location. The Metal Supermarkets Atlanta serves as the company’s longest running US franchise. The following year, Metal Supermarkets opened three more US locations: Buffalo, NY, Cincinnati, OH, and Dallas, TX and has continued US expansion ever since. In 2020, after 35 years of operation, Metal Supermarkets opened its milestone 100th store in San Diego, CA. Metal Supermarkets currently operates 72 stores in 34 States across the country.
Community Involvement.
Metal Supermarkets has been a long-time supporter of the skilled trades and trade schools, recently conducting a survey on trade careers which revealed the negative perceptions of trade schools and the lack of awareness for careers in trades. Metal Supermarkets franchises have also actively given high school students the opportunity to gain hands-on industry experience, while better educate young people on the stable and successful career opportunities offered by the trades. Several Metal Supermarkets franchisees have even spoken on media platforms, advocating for the trades as viable and in-demand career options. Some Metal Supermarkets franchisees even make regular metal donations to local schools in their area.