BOZEMAN, MT, April 2004 - The vision that started as some scribbles on a restaurant napkin over a decade ago has grown into a unique brand of western ranch and home stores. As of May 1, that brand, formerly called Big R Ranch and Home, will take the name of its founder and CEO - Murdoch.

In an effort to ease market confusion due to the company's growth into four states along with the number of Big R stores that are not owned and operated by Murdoch, John Murdoch decided to rename his family of 13 stores to Murdoch's Ranch & Home Supply. What better way to reflect the company's core values of honesty, integrity and quality than by putting his own name on his stores, he thought.

Murdoch's success is rooted in his founding principles: create a store that caters to ranchers, farmers and lovers of the great outdoors; offer down-to-earth merchandise, create an environment that the entire family likes to visit, and let customers know that you truly appreciate them.

"The name is changing but what is on the inside is not changing at all," says founder John Murdoch. "We believe the name change reflects our pride in the uniqueness of our company, the fact that we do things a little differently at Murdoch's."

In 1994, John opened his first store in Bozeman, Montana, with five employees and eighteen parking spaces. Big R Ranch and Home Supply was received with such enthusiasm that by 1996, it had become too small and was moved to its present location. Two years later, the store was expanded to its current size of nearly 50,000 square feet. By 2004, John's company had grown to include 13 stores in four states, employ more than 600 employees, and look towards further expansion.

In all stores, a week of special events, performances, giveaways, contests, and sales will celebrate the store's new name from May 2-May 9. Murdoch's Ranch and Home Supply stores are located in Bozeman, Kalispell, Miles City and Helena, Montana; Montrose, Longmont, Salida, Clifton, Craig, and Littleton, Colorado; Evanston, and Cheyenne, Wyoming.