Lowe's closing 50 stores !

[MinnesotaEric]

Under performing stores will be closed in the U.S. and Canada

Lowe's is closing 51 stores in the US and Canada - CNN

Canary in the coal mine? As interest rates have slowed, real estate sales have slowed over the last year. Home prices have yet to reflact the slowing demand, but I think this is because the starter home segment is still robust due to a lack of inventory (as in I've got well qualified clients looking for starter homes, but we cannot find one, or it is a competitive situation, here, way up in the middle of nowhere, northern Minnesota). Anyway, household formation is what creates 70% of American consumerism and if home improvement segment is growing soft, that's a little scary since people are always fixing up their homes until they reach their elderly years.

 

[Oldoak]

Lowe痴 bought out Rona . After the merger there is no use have two stores beside each other competing when they are now owned by the same company .

Got it. There is always more to a story. And that is only good business sense on their part.

 

[kenmac]

I don't like Menard's marketing practices. But I sure like their stores. If you haven't been in one, give it a look. It's embarrassing how much better they are stocked. They fit the saying "If they don't have it, you don't need it".

There are none here.So, I have never been to one.
Talked to my brother which lives in Texas. He called me last night saying they were building one close to him

 

[ovrszd]

There are none here.So, I have never been to one.
Talked to my brother which lives in Texas. He called me last night saying they were building one close to him

Yeah, in the scheme of things they are young.

I was buying some 2-2-4 alumimum umderground wire awhile back. A young girl, 25 or less asked me if I needed help? Told her I wanted 180ft of wire. She she'd hafta cut it for me out in the lumberyard. Asked me if I was using conduit? I said yeah, 150ft of 1 1/4". She asked if I needed an LB? I said yeah two. Asked me which type of sweep elbow I wanted to use? By now I am impressed with her knowledge and salesmanship. I said which do you recommend? She said if you are assembling the conduit as you run the wire you can use short sweeps. But if you are assembling and burying the conduit and then pulling or pushing the wire she recommends the long sweeps. Then asked me what type of walls I was running up and/or going thru? I told her and she recommended a holder type
She cut and rolled my wire, helped me load my conduit. I thanked her profusely. Her name was Sky.

That's typical of Menard's service.

 

[Oldoak]

Now that Menard's has been brought into the discussion. I have found Menard's to be the best of both worlds, like Lowes and Home Depot combined plus more. Menards stores are huge, like a one stop home improvement store along with a very large assortment of household goods and furnishings and toys, etc, etc. :thumbsup:

Unfortunately there aren't any Menards stores here in the east..........what a bummer!

 

[fried1765]

Fine print is that over 30 are in Canada.

Typical big management decision.
Buy a smaller group ...like Rona..., then dismantle the operation.
Target recently completed a similar operation in Canada ( they closed all stores).

 

[Industrial Toys]

I watch a lot of documentaries about how the rich keep getting richer. The poor little guy working retail is just getting jerked around some more. Team member, team leader, it's all so very stupid. I guess there's just no more you in Team!

So never mind the customers. Is that word even used anymore?

 

[buckeyefarmer]

20 some yrs ago when i was building my house we only had a small, old lowes and no HD. Then HD came to town, and Lowes built a nice big store. Now we have 2 HD and 2 Lowes. I prefer Lowes.

 

[kenmac]

Yeah, in the scheme of things they are young.

I was buying some 2-2-4 alumimum umderground wire awhile back. A young girl, 25 or less asked me if I needed help? Told her I wanted 180ft of wire. She she'd hafta cut it for me out in the lumberyard. Asked me if I was using conduit? I said yeah, 150ft of 1 1/4". She asked if I needed an LB? I said yeah two. Asked me which type of sweep elbow I wanted to use? By now I am impressed with her knowledge and salesmanship. I said which do you recommend? She said if you are assembling the conduit as you run the wire you can use short sweeps. But if you are assembling and burying the conduit and then pulling or pushing the wire she recommends the long sweeps. Then asked me what type of walls I was running up and/or going thru? I told her and she recommended a holder type
She cut and rolled my wire, helped me load my conduit. I thanked her profusely. Her name was Sky.

That's typical of Menard's service.

Very impressive. I really doubt Lowes or HD employees would have been able to do that.
In fact, last time I was in the local HD. The guy told me they no longer cut the small wire for customers, only the large wire. The small wire is now prepackaged for sale

 

[buckeyefarmer]

You can usually buy a roll of wire for what it costs to buy half a roll by the ft. Or you go to your local supply house and pay even less, which makes me wonder why contractors even shop at Lowes or HD. I can see getting a few odds and ends.