NOTE: The date listed in the article was incorrect. Coburn Supply began in 1934.

LAFAYETTE HISTORY.

COBURN SUPPLY A REAL SUCCESS STORY.

From the "Progress Edition" of the Lafayette Daily Advertiser of December 30th, 1949:

COBURN SUPPLY SHARES PROFITS WITH EMPLOYEES

A real success story - that's the phrase most often used in describing the Coburn Supply Co. Ltd., founded in Beaumont in 1936 and now boasting branches here and in Lake Charles.

According to Albert J. Coburn, president of the company, the Lafayette branch of the wholesale organization is one of the firm's principal stores. Managed by Arthur J. Maloney, also vice-president and treasurer of the firm, the Lafayette branch has left behind it an enviable record of expansion and progress.

Coburn attributes a large measure of his success to a profit-sharing plan, the custom in all Coburn stores. All profits are "split with our employees, which makes our business, wherever operated, a home store. We employ approximately 50 persons," says Coburn.

The firm had its beginning in 1936, when a friendly businessman suggested that Coburn go into business for himself. He followed the advice, and although he had no capital, received enough credit from firms retailing his wholesale products to establish what has grown into a thriving business. - Lafayette Daily Advertiser 12/30/1949.