Posted on 10/17/2011 12:13:01 PM PDT by mandaladon
It's a good thing I heard this on the radio at about 11:00 a.m., because I might otherwise have missed it. With yours truly's opinion along for the ride, I'll let readers judge whether the news of the Lowe's home improvement chain announcing that it will close 20 stores and cut its new store opening plans by one-half to two-thirds deserved to be in the top ten business stories at the Associated Press as of 12:52 p.m.
Lowe's to close 20 stores
Home-improvement retailer Lowe's Cos. says it will close 20 underperforming stores in 15 states and cut 1,950 jobs in a move that it says will allow it to focus on more profitable locations.
Ten locations were closed Sunday; the other 10 will close in a month.
Before the closures Lowe's operated 1,725 stores.
Lowe's, based in Mooresville, N.C., also says it will only open 10 to 15 stores in North America annually beginning in 2012. Previously the company expected to open 30 stores per year. It will open 25 stores this year.
The front-page placement issue is important and becoming moreso, as news consumers get more of their news from computers, tablets and smartphones. If the headline doesn't show up on the electronic device (and it probably won't if it's not on the Business front page), users won't know to look for it.
Beyond that, the AP "somehow" decided not to include this pull quote which the Wall Street Journal found obviously newsworthy (the Journal also included the "severely cutting" opening slowdown in its headline):
(Excerpt) Read more at newsbusters.org ...
I do most of my hardware business at Lowes. I quite going to Home Depot after they became Homo Depot by sponsoring numerous “Gay” pride deviant parades.
Lowes’s is basically giving up on 5 markets and they’ll probably see a boost in sales at some of their neighboring stores...
Los Banos, CA —None within 20 miles.
Biddeford, ME —Three within 15 miles.
Old Bridge, NJ —Five within 12 miles.
Westminster, CA —Five within 10 miles.
Ellsworth, ME —Two within 20 miles.
Batavia, NY —None within 20 miles.
Denver, CO —Five within 10 miles.
Ionia, MI —None within 20 miles.
N. Kingstown, RI —None within 18 miles.
Aurora, IL —Three within 10 miles.
Rogers, MN —Four within 15 miles.
Emporia, VA —None within 20 miles.
Oswego, IL —Three within 15 miles.
Claremont, NH —None within 30 miles.
S. Tacoma, WA —Three within 10 miles.
Chalmette, LA —Five within 10 miles.
Hooksett, NH —Two within 10 miles.
Brown Deer, WI —One within 10 miles.
Haverhill, MA —Two within 12 miles.
Manchester, NH —One within 5 miles.
I'm a Contractor, and that's exactly what they are doing. Our business has shifted from 95% new construction : 5% everything else to the exact opposite. I've done three new houses this year. Everything else has been remodel, repair or additions. I work and live near three Lowe's and they are always busy with both home owners and tradesmen. Lots of illegals are moving away because the cash is drying up and you can't be paid under the table if the bossman has no cash. Even sure bets suffer in the obama economy.
And to think we have the lowest taxes in 50 years.
It is sad.
LLS
Lowes model was to drive out Home Depot so yes they built the stores in areas close to HD. They also tend to try and build wherever a Walmart goes up. They did not build in the Wisconsin and Minn areas until recently when Menards started moving into territory that Lowes was the leader in.
Until now, yes.
I just caught one of their new ads that walks thru an entire house with exploded-views of door locks, switches, appliances, frameworks, etc., which was pretty good!
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