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.

 

[Industrial Toys]

A lot of guys just pass the cost of materials on to the customer, so they don't care that they are paying a premium. Marking up material is the easiest money I ever make. But obviously, you have to buy at wholesale.

If for some reason, I have to buy Retail, I charge for my time to do it.

 

[prichard]

I stopped at Lowe's tonight. It was horrible, the store was a mess, pretty much no employees on the floor or at registers. Used to be that would describe HD, not Lowe's. Their original model was to be more female friendly, clean and lots of help.

 

[kenmac]

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.

Actually, When I was in the HVAC business. My cost for wire at the electrical supply house (wholesale) was about .02 cents per foot less than what I paid at lowes. When using my lowes contractor account. I got 5% off. so I paid less for wire at Lowes

Some size wire at the electrical supply was more than Lowes

 

[ovrszd]

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.

I paid $1.15 per foot for 2-2-4 aluminum direct bury wire buyin exactly the amount I needed with no waste. Not sure where I could have beat that price. Couldn't get close at my Electrical Supply store. They are who told me to go to Menard's.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

I paid $1.15 per foot for 2-2-4 aluminum direct bury wire buyin exactly the amount I needed with no waste. Not sure where I could have beat that price. Couldn't get close at my Electrical Supply store. They are who told me to go to Menard's.

We ain't got Menards here.
I do like the fact you pick your own lumber. When you get it delivered from a lumberyard, you never know what you will get.

 

[downsizingnow48]

Just went to my first Menards store, while visiting family in Cheyenne. Well stocked, well lit, clean. For lumber and hardware, I could not see much difference compared to HD or Lowes.

Here in Sacramento I get all my lumber and softwood plywood from a family owned lumberyard that has been in operation about 40 years. The #2 lumber is always straight with some tight knots, stocked in lengths up to 20 ft. The plywood is clean, completely flat, no dinged edges, and I have never noticed voids. I like that I can drive right up to the piles of lumber and the yard guys load everything for me. There is no need, as there is in HD and Lowes, to waste time picking through a pile of scrap to find one or two half way decent pieces of wood. And both HD and Lowes have only pre-warped plywood, because they store it badly on racks. The family lumberyard price is a little higher, but not that much, and more than worth it to me to get reliably good quality materials.

 

[Oldoak]

downsizing, in your case I would agree. However not all family owned lumberyards as well as Lowes and HD stores are run the same way. I always shop where I receive the service and quality that I am paying for.

I don't expect the highest quality at the cheapest price and at the same time don't mind paying more if I am getting higher quality material.

 

[Diggin It]

Your local electric contractor may buy wire and cable by the million feet, or hundred thousand feet. The Big Box stores buy wire and cable by the ten million feet on national contracts.


Other things are different. My Lowes store sells standard concrete blocks for less than the public can buy them from the place that makes them locally. Lowes buys them from the same place and they have the same block making company name on the pallets.

 

[Jstpssng]

downsizing, in your case I would agree. However not all family owned lumberyards as well as Lowes and HD stores are run the same way. I always shop where I receive the service and quality that I am paying for.

I don't expect the highest quality at the cheapest price and at the same time don't mind paying more if I am getting higher quality material.

You are one of a very rare breed, which is one reason why stores with knowledgeable, helpful people are fading away.

 

[ovrszd]

We ain't got Menards here.
I do like the fact you pick your own lumber. When you get it delivered from a lumberyard, you never know what you will get.

My shop builder got all the dimensional lumber locally. Ordered extra. Sent back rejects. Can't do that with a Menard's delivery.