The early years
Henry Bloch was born July 30, 1922, the second son of a prominent Kansas City lawyer. He attended Southwest High School, began his college career at the University of Kansas City, and later transferred to the University of Michigan, from which he graduated in 1944.
Henry joined the Army Air Corps shortly after the United States entered World War II. Serving in the Eighth Air Force as a navigator on B-17 bombers, he flew 31 combat missions over Germany, three of them over Berlin. He was awarded the Air Medal and three Oak Leaf Clusters.
During the war, Henry and his brothers, Leon and Richard, began corresponding with each other about starting a family business, something that the boys parents had always encouraged. The Army Air Corps later sent Henry to the Harvard Business School for graduate training in statistical control. While at Harvard, he read a transcript of a speech by Professor Sumner Schlicter, a noted authority on economics and labor relations. Big business and labor had many resources, Professor Schlicter explained, but small business did not have comparable resources geared to meet its needs. Henry and his brothers saw an entrepreneurial opportunity in providing support and resources to small businesses.
A dream becomes reality
In 1946, Henry and his brother Leon founded the United Business Company, starting the business with a $5,000 loan. The company offered bookkeeping and other services to small businesses. After a disappointing few months, Leon left the business to return to law school, although Henry persisted.
Later, as the company began to grow, Henry published a help wanted advertisement, seeking to hire an employee. His mother responded to the ad, and recommended that Henry hire his brother, Richard. The two brothers then worked together as a team.
United Business Company's primary focus was bookkeeping, with tax preparation offered as a courtesy to customers and friends. Shortly before the 1955 tax season, Richard and Henry decided to discontinue tax preparation services, which were not a significant source of revenue. But one of their clients, John White, offered what turned out to be momentous counsel. John, who worked in display advertising at The Kansas City Star, suggested that they advertise their tax preparation service. After much discussion, John finally persuaded them to run the ad twice, late in January 1955.
Henry was visiting customers on Monday after the first ad ran in The Star. When he responded to a message to call the office, Henry found himself talking to a breathless Richard.
"Hank, get back here as quick as you can. We've got an office full of people!"
The ad, which was published shortly after many people had received their W-2 forms, uncovered an overwhelming need for tax services. And in Kansas City, the Internal Revenue Service had just discontinued its practice of preparing tax returns at no charge to taxpayers.
H&R Block is born
In July 1955, Henry and Richard created a new company, replacing United Business Company with a new firm that specialized in income tax return preparation: H&R Block Inc.
They named the company "Block" because their family name, "Bloch," had always been difficult for people to pronounce and spell. "Block" was simpler and could be spelled phonetically. Within weeks, the company grossed more than $20,000 -- nearly a third of the annual volume United Business Company had taken years to develop.
Success prompted Richard to suggest expanding the business to New York City, the next city the IRS had scheduled to discontinue its tax preparation services. H&R Block targeted locations as close as possible to IRS offices and opened seven offices in 1956. In its second year, the company more than tripled revenues to more than $65,000.
Early expansion
Henry and Richard shared responsibilities for the New York offices with alternating two-week schedules. Both had families and neither wanted to move to New York, so they decided to sell the New York City operation. The two CPAs who wanted to buy their New York business could not meet their asking price, so the CPAs agreed to pay the Blochs $10,000, along with royalties. The H&R Block franchise network was born.
In January 1957, H&R Block opened franchise offices in Columbia, Missouri and Topeka, Kansas. A year later, the company opened franchise offices in Des Moines, Oklahoma City and Little Rock.
By 1962, the company had 206 offices and nearly $800,000 in revenues. In that year, H&R Block Inc. became a public company with a $300,000 offering of 75,000 shares ($4 per share).
Setting the pace for the future
In the 1970s, H&R Block built a national brand by offering professional services for a mass market. The company established a national presence, nearly increasing the number of tax offices to more than 8,600. Its combined annual growth rate in number of clients served was a slow but steady 2.7 percent, the company's network of tax offices increased 99 percent.
In 1972, Henry Bloch first appeared in the television commercials that helped build H&R Block into one of the most widely recognized brands in American business. Henry's personal integrity along with his simple and direct Midwestern style personified the company's sincere commitment to clients. He continued to appear in H&R Block's television ads for more than 20 years.
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By 1978, H&R Block offices prepared more than one out of every nine tax returns filed in the United States. With that growth came the challenge of hiring enough qualified tax professionals. The company created H&R Block Income Tax Schools to fill the need. In 2003, more than 250,000 people took an income tax course from H&R Block. The company faced another challenge in 1978: Richard Bloch, the chairman of the company, was told that he had terminal lung cancer with three months to live. Richard refused to accept this bleak prognosis, participated in two years of intensive therapy, and defeated the disease. In 1980, he dedicated his life to helping others fight cancer. In 1982, he sold his interest in the company and gave up his position as chairman. |
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Richard Bloch, at left, with Henry Bloch, in 1982 |
H&R Block took a leadership role in electronic filing. Working with the IRS and Sears, in 1986 H&R Block filed 22,000 returns electronically from two sites: Cincinnati and Phoenix. The test was a success. Electronic filing significantly reduced the amount of time required for a taxpayer to receive a refund and the number of filing errors. In 2003, the company filed 16.4 million returns electronically.
In 1989, Henry became chairman of the board, filling a position that had been vacant since his brother, Richard, left the business in 1982.
Building stronger relationships with clients
Speed of refund, along with refund anticipation loans, was a key driver of client growth in the late 1990s and the company enjoyed a decade of the fastest growth in its history.
In 1998, H&R Block began building a distribution channel under the RSM McGladrey brand, to deliver tax, accounting and business consulting services to privately-held, mid-sized companies, along with wealth management services for the business owners.
Henry retired as chairman in 2000, when he assumed the title of chairman emeritus, the honorary position he continues to hold.
In 2006, the company opened the H&R Block Bank, a federal savings bank and member FDIC. During the 2007 tax season, the Bank launched the H&R Block Emerald Prepaid MasterCard as a way to help many of its tax clients begin to use traditional financial services products. The Bank opened more than 2 million prepaid debit card accounts its first year. <!-- <li> In 1998, H&R Block began building a distribution channel under the RMS McGladrey brand, to deliver tax, accounting and business consulting services to privately held, mid-sized companies, along with wealth management services for the business owners.
In 2006, the company opened the H&R Block Bank, a federal savings bank and member FDIC. During the 2007 tax season, the Bank launched the H&R Block Emerald Prepaid MasterCard as a way to help many of its tax clients begin to use traditional financial services products. The Bank opened more than 2 million prepaid debit card accounts its first year.
A legacy of leadership, commitment
"I've always wanted to do something different, something more than just a job, something to contribute to society," Henry once said. In addition to building a successful business, Henry is committed to building stronger communities.
Henry lives in the Kansas City area with his wife Marion. They have four children, 12 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, and are avid art collectors.
Henry is widely known as a business man, civic leader and supporter of the arts and education who works to improve the quality of life in his home town of Kansas City. Henry and Marion's generous gift to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art helped create the Bloch Building. The building, which houses the museum's contemporary and African art as well as photography and special exhibits, increased the Museum's capacity by 55 percent. Henry's generosity also created the Henry W. Bloch School of Business and Public Administration at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. The school also awards scholarships and faculty chairs in Henry's name.
The company today
H&R Block is dedicated to being the most trusted, state-of-the-art tax preparation firm at the best value. In addition to the company's retail tax offices and digital tax solutions, H&R Block continues to provide consulting services through RSM McGladrey and to connect clients to traditional financial services through the H&R Block Bank.
Henry and Richard Bloch founded H&R Block on a culture of providing superior customer service and on a pledge to stand behind their work. Today, the company remains committed to these tenants and to serving clients in the manner in which they prefer - in a retail office, using digital tax solutions or both.
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