W.B. Mason Company Inc.

What does W.B. Mason Company do?

W.B. Mason distributes workplace products to businesses across the United States. It sells office supplies, furniture, janitorial products, break room and coffee service, foodservice items, packaging, and safety products, delivered largely on its own trucks with free next-day service. It also runs furniture design and outlet store divisions.

Is W.B. Mason publicly traded?

No. The company is privately held by the Mason and Meehan families and management. It has never conducted an IPO and does not disclose detailed financials, which is why all revenue figures for the company are press estimates.

Who founded W.B. Mason?

William Betts Mason founded the company in 1898 in Brockton, Massachusetts, initially selling rubber stamps and stencils to local shoe manufacturers. The business expanded into office supplies as the regional economy shifted away from footwear.

Where is W.B. Mason headquartered?

The company is headquartered at 59 Centre Street in Brockton, Massachusetts, the same city where it was founded. It operates more than 60 sales and distribution locations concentrated in the eastern United States.

How big is W.B. Mason?

Estimated annual revenue is roughly $1.8 to $1.9 billion with about 3,600 employees. The company serves more than 300,000 business customers and operates a leased fleet of over 1,000 delivery trucks.

Who owns W.B. Mason?

Ownership rests with the Mason and Meehan families and company management. There is no outside private equity sponsor or public shareholder base. CEO Leo Meehan's family has been part of the company for three generations.

William Betts Mason opened a small Brockton storefront in 1898, selling rubber stamps, stencils, and engraved printing to the shoe factories that made the city one of America's footwear capitals. When the shoe industry migrated south and overseas, the company pivoted toward the paper and supplies needs of the region's offices.

Through most of the twentieth century it stayed a local stationer. The inflection came under Leo Meehan, whose family joined the business in the 1940s. Meehan restructured the company around a simple offer: a dedicated account representative, broad assortment, low prices, and free next-day delivery on company trucks. National chains could not easily match that service level for small accounts.

The model compounded. Revenue hit $247 million in 2001 and $1 billion in 2011 as the company spread out of New England into New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and beyond. It added furniture design through W.B. Mason Interiors and clearance retail through WhattaBargain! outlet stores.

Brand building ran in parallel. The 2003 Fenway Park Green Monster advertisement, the first on the wall since 1947, turned a commercial supplier into a household-visible name across Red Sox broadcasts. Yankees and Phillies deals followed. Employee-painted truck murals became a signature in every delivery market.

The COVID-19 pandemic was the hardest test in company history. Office demand collapsed in 2020, revenue fell sharply, and headcount dropped from about 4,000 toward 1,900. The company responded by launching residential delivery and a consumer website for the first time, chasing remote workers rather than empty buildings. As offices refilled, the commercial business recovered and the consumer channel stayed.

W.B. Mason has no major regulatory record. Like most large employers it has faced routine employment litigation over the years, but nothing material has surfaced in public filings or press coverage. Its low regulatory profile partly reflects its private status and regional footprint.