Lowes Announces Store Closures

[Grandpadave52]

Saw this earlier today...

https://newsroom.lowes.com/inside-lowes/lowes-store-closures-2018/

 

[Al B]

Thanks Dave. I had posted a note about this in the Free for all forum but I didn't have the listing of stores or why the closings are happening.

[lew]

One of the stores is just 12 miles away. 

[CharlieL]

The booming US economy eh ? Whatever, I'll believe it when I actually see it. Luckily there are no Lowes closing in my area, so far. 

[Grandpadave52]

2 minutes ago, CharlieL said:

The booming US economy eh ? Whatever, I'll believe it when I actually see it. Luckily there are no Lowes closing in my area, so far. 

Sometimes it's location or lack there of..also brand marketing within the locale, age of store, presence of other big boxes, and yes, economy within a region.

 

Not too many years ago when my daughter lived across state, H-D built & opened a new store just a few buildings down from the Lowe's which had been there for some time...less than 2 years later H-D was gone so it works both ways I guess.

 

I used to work directly across the road from a Lowes but usually by-passed it to travel down the road to a Menards...easier access, larger selection and most often less expensive for the exact same item(s).

[Dadio]

No stores in our area listed either.

Herb

[CharlieL]

2 hours ago, Grandpadave52 said:

Not too many years ago when my daughter lived across state, H-D built & opened a new store just a few buildings down from the Lowe's which had been there for some time...less than 2 years later H-D was gone so it works both ways I guess.

 

I used to work directly across the road from a Lowes but usually by-passed it to travel down the road to a Menards...easier access, larger selection and most often less expensive for the exact same item(s).

Pretty close to the same story here. Menards came, then a few years later and at about the same time Lowes and Home Depot built new stores and moved in, all three stores pretty much in the northern part of town. Home depot closed up after just a couple of years. I almost always pass up Lowes and drive an extra mile to get to Menards for the same reasons as you.

Edited November 6, 2018 by CharlieL

[Fred W. Hargis Jr]

I think they are hurting a little, they are even pulling out of Nascar after all these years of having a very successful team (that's actually a different story, I think). But Menards really has them beat.....although the story I saw on CNN said that HD is cleaning their clock. Don't know, our HDs were among they ones they closed some years ago when they were in trouble.

[HandyDan]

The article I read said

 

Lowe's (LOW) will shut down 20 stores in the United States and 31 in Canada. The company said that a "majority" of the shuttered stores are within 10 miles of another Lowe's location.

 

It also said Lowes is struggling to keep up with Home Depot.  I think the same day I read home remodeling is down dramatically.  People are learning if it ain't broke don't fix it and use the money more wisely.

[schnewj]

I suspect that Gramps hit the nail on the head. I can personally speak for the New Orleans East area store closing.

 

When I moved to Louisiana in '81 it was mostly an older mixed neighborhood. There was an excellent hospital, a shopping mall, numerous chain stores and restaurants, and a high concentration of car dealerships. Generally, a suburb on the rise.

 

Then they started to build 150-300 unit low income apartment buildings throughout the area. By '86 I was about the only white face to be seen in my neighborhood. My last straw involved a burgler, a .45 ACP, and an aggravated assault that didn't end well, followed by the ensuing harassment by the poor innocent baby's family, friends and clergy. I moved "north of the lake" and out of the craphole city.

 

In the subsequent years the neighborhood continued to deteriorate. The older established families got the hell out of Dodge. The shopping mall closed down and the building razed, because, as one store manager had told me, "the theft was outstripping the store profits". The area continued to slide downhill and into third world status.

 

Then in 2005 a little Beatch named Katrina hit. The entire area was flooded. The nice homes were destroyed, the old family camps along Lake Pontchartrain became nothing but pilings, the hospital ceased to exist, and most of the other businesses and restaurants never came back. There is/was no real industry in the area.

 

In 2010 NASA/Lockheed-Martin ended the manufacturing activities at Michoud Assembly Facility which was the largest employer in the New Orleans area. Although, an attempt to rebuild the area was tried, after the hurricane, the area never did rebound. With no employment, amenities, or entertainment in the area, coupled with the increased crime no one wanted to rebuild in the area.

 

The Lowe's store occupies part of the old mall area on Read Blvd. The HD competition is about a 1/2 mile away east on the I-10 service road nestled between all of Tom Benson's car dealerships.

 

However, no jobs, no rebuilding...to this day there are entire blocks of flooded and abandoned houses in the area. Over a decade (13 years) later, and the area is a wasteland.

 

So, I can only imagine, that, the lack of profits and the probable high rates of theft have destroyed the stores' viability.

 

The prosperity of neighborhood/areas rise and ebb all of the time, so I can imagine that many of these stores have fallen on the same basic problems as the NO E store.

 

 

Edited November 6, 2018 by schnewj

[Fred W. Hargis Jr]

I did catch the part about the closed stores being within 10 (I think I heard 12, not that it matters) mile of another...maybe that's why none near me are closing. I have easy access to 3, one at 4 miles...the other 2 at about 20 miles. But those 2 both have a Menards next door to them, and that has to be hurting as well. I have to say, the nearest one to me is what they call a "small format" store (a little less than 100K sq.ft., and finding anything you need there is very tough. That's probably why I keep driving to Menards.

[schnewj]

Luckily, I have a Lowe's with a HD a couple of blocks away...There is, also, a Lowe's on the other side of town. Both seem to do well, but I have noticed, that, they have cut down on the more expensive inventory items. Things like Bosch table and miter saws and hand drills, DeWalt planers, nail guns...you can still get whatever you want, but it needs to be ordered.

 

Good and bad in the long run! I personally like to hold and see what I'm buying. Ordering is like a pig in a poke. Plus when you need something right away, then waiting several days for it to get shipped to the store may not be acceptable.

 

As much as you guys brag on Menards I wish that they would come South. Everyone has told me, that, they have better quality, selection, prices, and customer service.

[Grandpadave52]

11 minutes ago, schnewj said:

As much as you guys brag on Menards I wish that they would come South. Everyone has told me, that, they have better quality, selection, prices, and customer service.

Pack up and move North...probably want to pick-up a snow-blower as one of your first purchases though..Menards Locations

[Grandpadave52]

7 hours ago, Fred W. Hargis Jr said:

although the story I saw on CNN said that HD is cleaning their clock.

I've seen similar reports and like you wondered how. However, the one that opened a few years ago in our county seat seems to be booming. It's also a smaller footprint store especially compared to the one about 30 miles North. There was a cost to it coming to town though.

 

In a twist of irony, the property where the HD store was built (and some other small businesses + Steak-n-Shake) was sold to the property management group of HD by a local, family owned Farm Supply/Hardware Store who had been in the community for over 50 years. Great people, great and VERY knowledgeable employees and very competitive prices. Probably the best of a modern era, old time hardware store in the area. They had even opened three additional stores in surrounding county seats, so if one didn't have what you needed the other probably did and you would have it next day at the latest.

 

My dad had traded with them as I continued. As they grew, they even began their own brand names on some items including Ag, Automotive and L&G batteries...I just replaced the last two of the L&G batteries this past year. The smaller L-post lasted over 4 years. The post type lasted 10 years...unheard of...but they really were that good. I digress...

 

I'm sure the family profited quite well with the property sale based on location...they relocated and leased space in an old Kroger building which had poor traffic flow and visibility. Add Big R (similar to Rural King, Tractor Supply, Farm & Fleet) coming to town directly across the highway from HD, the local business began to suffer.

 

Eventually all of their stores closed. Partly age related maybe as the four kids of the founder all came into their 60's..3 boys, two older than me, one the same age who passed away in Feb this year (A GREAT person!; we had gone to school together, shared the same first & middle names and remained friends), and a daughter probably in her early to mid 50's now who by another twist has become a real estate agent. Anyways, the big(ger) boxes impacted the business along with demographics, changing business models, and location.

 

We are fortunate to have a very strong ACE/Sears Home Store which also has been locally family owned for over 50 years now. Also, great & knowledgeable folks. HD also impacted the local family owned Do-It-Best Building Supply Store. They survive, but IDK how. They were always (& still are) way over-priced especially on building materials and hardware items. I can count on both hands the number of times I've been in there the past ten years. I've always worried the owners would drown in a hard rain storm the way they walk around with their noses up in the air.

[Fred W. Hargis Jr]

57 minutes ago, schnewj said:

As much as you guys brag on Menards I wish that they would come South. Everyone has told me, that, they have better quality, selection, prices, and customer service.

Menards has become my first stop anymore due to their broader selection of, well, everything. If you find the identical items at Lowes, Menards is almost always cheaper. But I won't say they have better quality on everything. I find a lot of the stuff is second (IMHO) in quality to some of the stuff Lowes carries. That's not universally the case, but often the case. They've remodeled the stores around me already. Most of them were less than 10 years old, and they remodeling wsn't just a shelf shuffle, the relocated major pieces, like moving the contractors desk to the back of the store and added mezzanine space to accommodate more stuff. As quickly as they're growing, I suspect they will be close to national in another 10-15 years.

[steven newman]

Lowes is 2 miles from me....some things I'll buy there.    Menard's closet store is about 30 miles away ( Sidney, OH) and Tipp City and Lima are even further.   Sometimes it makes sense just to drive to the south end of town....pick up a few things, and be back home in less than an hour.    Other items...IF the cost of driving to Menard's and the price they are asking...is still way cheaper than what Lowes has....we will make the road trip.   HD is either 45 miles away ( Piqua, OH) or in Marysville, OH  ( have to deal with Honda traffic/idiots)  Sometimes we will shop there....fireplace insert was one item we ordered there.  Usually, IF we have other business in Marysville, we may stop in. 

 

Would love a Menard's here in town....just to compete with Lowes.  

[Grandpadave52]

6 minutes ago, steven newman said:

Lowes is 2 miles from me....some things I'll buy there.    Menard's closet store is about 30 miles away

Same here...HD is 14 miles away...closest Menards (& Lowes & Rural King) is 30 mile +/-; if not an urgent purchase, I'll wait. RK is usually cheaper than Big R on most identical things too, but Big R is convenient. I keep a rolling list in my phone for when I am in Lafayette/West Lafayette.

 

11 minutes ago, steven newman said:

or in Marysville, OH  ( have to deal with Honda traffic/idiots)

Ya' got that right and that was 40 years ago before they expanded. Deere used to hold Columbus Division Summer/Winter service/product schools there...was insane.

[Al B]

I have a Lowes and a HD store less than 2 miles from home. They are almost diagonally across the street from each other. No Menard's stores in this area. Both stores do well, though I think HD does do more business. There is still a family operated hardware store that is about 5 miles from here and it also seems to be doing well. The only issue there is the store occupies 3 floors and there is no elevator.

Edited November 7, 2018 by It Was Al B

[schnewj]

Well I just stopped into one of the local Lowe's stores. They have shuffled around the tools sections. They are now loaded with Craftsman tools, and accessories. They expanded the Bosch sections, also. I was talking to the associate and he was showing me, that, the Stanley tapes were the identical ones in the Craftsman line. Only a color scheme change. The tools are Stanley, and DeWalt in red clothing. They will honor ALL lifetime warranties on the Craftsman line (like Sears) and will exchange for the like item. If they don't have it they have a website to perform the exchange.

6 hours ago, Grandpadave52 said:

Pack up and move North...probably want to pick-up a snow-blower as one of your first purchases though..Menards Locations

Nope! Sold the snow blower and the jeep PU with the Meyer's plow years ago. I have absolutely no desire or intention of replacing any snow removal equipment...ever!

[Grandpadave52]

51 minutes ago, schnewj said:

Well I just stopped into one of the local Lowe's stores. They have shuffled around the tools sections. They are now loaded with Craftsman tools, and accessories.

I've seen several Lowe's ads on TV promoting the Craftsman brand too. Curious how this will impact the Ace Hardware/Craftsman partnership. Our local Ace carried more Craftsman than the Sears store did even before Sears closed.