Lowe's Closing 20 Stores

[Happy Home]

You've heard already.....but here' a list of the locations.

Many are in New England. I though you guys had a lot of doe up there ? What's going on ?

http://media.lowes.com/article_displ...rticle_id=3093

[Dancing Dan]

Other than their essential suckiness? 2 in Maine are shutting down. Bummed that over 150 jobs are being lost, otherwise don't let the door hit you on the way out.

[Happy Home]

I gather that from these forums that these cities / townships are not quite metro areas......that is they're not on the 8 lane freeway, every 10 miles - Lowes, HD, Target, Best Buy.....

Maybe these places couldn't support the stores. Most open only 4 - 5 years.

Kind of wished it were that way here where you could get to a real yard in 20 - 30 min with only a few traffic lights.

[Andrew R.]

Once these stores close, a really big piece of **** building is left to litter the landscape for years to come. I can think of two mega stores that closed here many years ago and still sit empty.

[Ted S.]

They are obviously too daft to realize every business connected to construction is "underperforming" in this economy.

[James Eggert]

The Lowes/Home Depot contest is just like the drugstore wars of Walgreens/CVS/RiteAid and whatever other drug store is out there. Every one of these chains has marketing numbers that say "OK, build us a new one!".

Yet, common sense says if you build within a close proximity of another store in theory the best you get is half of that other stores market!

So, Who closes first? I could care less if each chain says I'll stay in city X and you stay in city Y, saturation from these stores does not provide cost savings, because the stores are not far enough away from each other to make any difference in travel. The difference is perceived as going to the closest store; second choice is going to Brand X because that is your favorite!

Let'em close, and let the market stabilize. In my mind, if either HomeDopey or Lowies closes in an area, the small independents could survive, however, when both enter a market, it's a swan song!

[davenorthup]

Once these stores close, a really big piece of **** building is left to litter the landscape for years to come. I can think of two mega stores that closed here many years ago and still sit empty.

I agree - that is half the reason our town has a building footprint cap.

We had a Lowes close up north from us a month or so ago. The area there has about 30K people in a 35 mile radius and had two local full service yards (now ProBuild) a new Home Depot and a newer Lowes. Lowes lost.

It is amazing, the HD there will deliver to my town for $50. That is a 75 - 100 mile one way drive - I see them down here twice a week. Crazy.

[James Eggert]

And that's the point. Two full service yards, AND a Home Depot, and some ignoramus thinks they can enter the market WITH THE SAME EXACT STUFF!

Stupid waste of expansion money.

[Ted S.]

Glad to see it's a big box going out and not a local yard.

[Bob Kovacs]

Glad to see it's a big box going out and not a local yard.

That's because the local yards are already gone.....

[Ted S.]

That's because the local yards are already gone.....

Not in my neck of the woods. If the local yards are gone in other areas, who supplies the lumber packages?

Are production builders wheeling hand picked 2x down the HD isle while fat ladies are asking them how to install shelves?

[Bob Kovacs]

Many of the local yards here are gone. The production builders buy from a few very large suppliers that really cater only to folks of that size- you barely get the time of day from them if you go in looking for a single-house order or a small addition framing package. They buy trusses direct from the truss vendors, windows direct from the window company distributors, millwork from millwork specialty shops- they don't buy that all from a "local yard".

[Overbuilders]

I gather that from these forums that these cities / townships are not quite metro areas...

Not exactly. Denver metro has a population of over 2.5 million. The store Lowe's is closing here was part of an urban renewal project that rejected a Walmart courtship as beneath them. Imagine that. The area is blighted and rejected Walmart. Lowe's opened 19 short months ago on Alameda Avenue, a major east-west artery, as a shining example of government subsidized cooperation with private development - $7.3 mill to be exact. Oops.

About a mile east of Lowe's near Alameda Avenue and facing I-25 near the heart of the city sits the busiest Home Depot in the metro area. Guess Lowe's thought they were close enough. Guess not.

[Overbuilders]

Are production builders wheeling hand picked 2x down the HD aisle while fat ladies are asking them how to install shelves?

Ted keeps me focused on my diet. Thanks, Ted.

[hdrider_chgo]

Once these stores close, a really big piece of **** building is left to litter the landscape for years to come. I can think of two mega stores that closed here many years ago and still sit empty.

Many of these mega-stores put restrictive covenants on the property, so that if they close, no similar store can ever occupy the space. So for example if Wal-mart decided to close a location, Costco or possibly even Target could not buy the location and put one of their stores in. That tends to force people to travel to the next nearest Wal-mart location, and leaves a gigantic building and parking lot empty. A scorched earth approach with no consideration for the community.

We've seen that happen here, it has been a big community development issue.