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ABOUT US
Bob McDougal Sewing Machine Co., Inc. is
a 60+ year old, third generation, family owned and
operated firm that was built upon strong Christian
principles while offering the highest quality products
at a competitive price and the highest quality service
any dealership in America could provide. It is certainly
one of the oldest and most respected independent sewing
machine dealers in America. Today, it is owned and
operated by Doug Welch, the founder’s oldest grandson
who has been with the company since 1972 and under his
successful management and direction since the early
1980’s.
Through the years, Bob McDougal’s has
been an authorized dealer for almost every major brand
of sewing machine and serger manufactured. Included in
the list are Brother, Bernina, Consew, Dressmaker, Elna,
Elnita, Feiyue, Husqvarna, Jaguar, Juki, Necchi, Nelco,
New Home, Pacesetter, Pfaff, Riccar, Simplicity, Singer,
Viking, and White. As for now, our most successful lines
are the Elna and Brother lines. We have been selling the
Elna line since they came to America in 1949 and the
Brother Pacesetter line since 1993.
As tradition might have it, our goal
is the same today as it was in the beginning: To have
honest dealings at all times and offer only the best
machines on the market. There are many good reasons
for our success, but one of the main reasons is the
simple fact that customer satisfaction is our top
priority. We realize that if you are not satisfied,
we would not be here. Nor do we believe in trying to
sell you merchandise because it’s what we have in stock
or because we’re overloaded with it, but rather it is
what you want or need.
HISTORY
Bob McDougal Sewing Machine Co. was
established in August, 1940 by Bob McDougal. Bob was a
35 year old man discontent with the business ethics of
his employer, the Singer Company, where he had been a
successful store manager for about 2 years. Deciding to
leave Singer to form his own sewing machine business,
Bob began operations from his garage.
Quickly outgrowing those facilities, by
1944 he had saved enough money to pay cash for two home
sites at the corner of 13th and Yale street in the elite
Heights area of Houston where we continue to operate
today. During the next couple of years, Bob built
additions to the sides, the front and the rear of the
two homes until he had over 6,000 square feet of
facilities including a sales floor, a service center,
office space, classrooms and a warehouse.
During the 1940’s and 1950’s, he had
developed one of the largest, strongest and most
respected independent dealerships in America. Bob
McDougal’s quickly became one of the largest New Home
and Necchi dealerships in America. He also had
his own brand of sewing machine, the Bob McDougal
66-class head, imported direct from Japan to help
support his enormous rental business which consisted of
over 3,000 units. To support this tremendous success he
had as many as 25 full-time employees including a
general manager, eight salespeople, six service
technicians, and a full staff of teachers and office
personnel.
Upon his untimely death in November,
1965, at the age of 60, his wife, Evalyn took control of
the business. Although she had been actively involved in
the business in the early years, she was somewhat
overwhelmed with the enormous task of operating a
thriving multi-line dealership. Turning to her brother
to help manage the business, the business lacked the
direction, vision and driving force which Bob McDougal
had given for 25 years. The next few years were still
quite healthy though; as a strong foundation, a growing
customer base and a great respect for honesty and
quality had been established.
Since Bob and Evalyn only had one
daughter, Joyce, who married Leslie Welch, a Southern
Baptist minister, the line of business succession and
leadership management skipped a generation. In the
1970’s, two of Bob’s grandsons, Doug and Dan Welch,
joined the business. Doug, the oldest grandson, joined
the company in August, 1972 and purchased the business
in 1996. Dan, the youngest grandson, joined the company
in the late 1970’s, however left the business in the mid
1990’s to pursue business interests of his own.
During the mid-1980’s and into the early
1990’s, with the vision and the leadership of Doug, Bob
McDougal’s continued to be one of the largest and most
respected single-location sewing machine dealerships in
America. Even with the trends in the metropolitan
markets demanding the convenience of multi-location
dealerships, McDougal’s continued to be one of the
highest volume Elna and Viking/White
dealers under one roof. Today we are still among one of
the largest single-location dealers excelling in the
sales and service of the Brother PaceSetter and
Elna
lines of sewing machines, sergers and presses.
Bob McDougal Sewing Machine Co., Inc., is
excited about the changes that have transformed the
industry and is looking forward to the possibilities of
what the future might bring. Although our facilities
have some of the “original” touches, one should have no
doubt that we are a thriving, high-tech dealer that
continues to offer the best products available through
personal and honest dealings. |
