Ranch and home stores change to owner's name Big R becomes Murdoch's

"Big R" no more.

The Big R Ranch and Home Supply store at 1147 W. Broadway Ave. is about to undergo a name change.

It will take on the name of its president and founder, John Murdoch, thus becoming Murdoch's Ranch and Home Supply.

Stores in Mead, Wash.; Bozeman, Kalispell, Miles City and Helena, Mont.; Montrose, Longmont, Salida, Clifton and Littleton, Colo. and Cheyenne, Wyo., will also undergo the name change.

"It's kind of a rolling change," Murdoch said. "We've got signage to do and 12 stores to do it in. We're hoping to have it done by the first week of May. Our first flier that comes out after the 10th of May will be under the new name."

Murdoch said that the name change is to straighten out some confusion amongst customers.

"You can be a Big R store if you're a member of a buying group out of Minneapolis and as I have grown, I've gotten closer and closer to those other stores using the Big R name," Murdoch said. "We have a store in Mead, and there's a different group that owns a Big R on the south side of Spokane. They sell different kinds of products, have different prices … it's very confusing for our customers as to who they're dealing with. There are many more (Big R) stores in Colorado, so we keep tripping over ourselves."

From a branding standpoint, Murdoch said, the company is spending a lot of money promoting the name Big R when it doesn't have to, and the change is to solidify the store's name.

"I think it's going to strengthen our position as to who we are as we do our expansion, which presently looks to be in the Colorado area," he said. "It gives us a lot of opportunity that we wouldn't have had otherwise because of (the confusion).

Murdoch noted that one of the Big R stores in the Colorado area is a sporting goods store, so occasionally his ranch and home store will get requests for assistance from people who have a problem with their rifles. Murdoch's store can't be any assistance in that situation, he said, so all that happens is a customer gets cranky.

Murdoch said he wasn't really concerned about any potential confusion that would be created by the name change.

"I am hopeful that Moses Lake will be our easiest town for the change," he said, noting that the local store has undergone several changes to its name already.

Moses Lake store general manager Jeff Sparr agreed with Murdoch.

"If anything, this should reduce confusion," Sparr said. "It was previously Dress Ranch and Home, became Big R Ranch and Home Supply about the middle of 2000 and is soon to be Murdoch's Ranch and Home Supply."

Sparr said the switch to Murdoch's will help separate the store from others in the business.

"Overall, I think with the name change our customers will continue to experience a huge selection at great value and excellent customer service," Sparr said. "The upcoming name change represents our continued commitment and separates our company from others."