Lowe's to close all Orchard Supply Hardware stores (Sears spin off) nationwide

[Demovictory9]

Lowe's will close all Orchard Supply Hardware stores nationwide by Feb. 1, the company announced Wednesday.

Orchard Supply Hardware, founded in 1931 in San Jose, California, and acquired by Lowe's in 2013, has 99 stores in California, Oregon and Florida. Lowe's is closing the stores to focus on its core home improvement business, the company said.

Employees were told about the decision Tuesday, and all stores will be open Wednesday for normal business hours. Orchard Supply Hardware stores will have store closing sales beginning Thursday with a plan for all stores to be closed by the end of the company's fiscal year. Lowe's will also close a distribution center in Tracy, California, the company said.

"While it was a necessary business decision to exit Orchard Supply Hardware, decisions that impact our people are never easy," Lowe's president and CEO Marvin Ellison said in a statement. "We will be providing outplacement services for impacted associates, and they will be given priority status if they choose to apply for other Lowe's positions."

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Lowe's acquired Orchard Supply Hardware in 2013 after Orchard Supply, which was spun off from Sears Holdings in 2011, filed for bankruptcy.

The news about the stores' closing led many longtime customers to reminisce on Twitter about the chain, which remodeled some stores recently and had been expanding in Florida. "Deeply saddened," one person tweeted.

"I am going to miss them big time," wrote another longtime customer.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2018/08/22/lowes-orchard-supply-hardware-stores-close/1060236002/

[superpatriotman]

1. There's one 500 feet from where I am sitting

Never stepped foot in it.

[Demovictory9]

8. soon to be empty building

[Lee-Lee]

2. Sears has been toxic to everything it touched in the last 20 years

Even things that got split off again.

[durablend]

4. Everything Lampert touches turns to shit n/t

[marylandblue]

3. Very sad, I used to go there often when I lived near one

It was actually a great business model. Large enough to have what you want, but small enough that you don't have to walk a mile to find it. Too bad it wasn't purchased by someone willing to nurture it.

[hunter]

5. This sucks.

I can usually get what I want at Orchard and be on my way in the same time it takes to walk through and find an item in Lowes.

[RockRaven]

6. This sucks. We go to our closest OSH all the time.

We do a lot of home improvement/DIY projects. We probably average one trip to a hardware store per week (ACE, OSH, Home Depot, or Lowe's). The reason we go to all 4 from time to time instead of just being loyal to one favorite is that their item selection/stock is slightly different. Contrary to what they'd like you to believe the two big box home improvement stores don't carry everything.

Orchard Supply definitely had brands/items/models/parts we could not find elsewhere. That said, the last decade or so the store definitely got bleaker and more ragged-looking. Good job Sears and Lowe's.

[Demovictory9]

7. I went into OSH recently looking for seeds... was surprised that they didn't carry seeds

didn't realize they were associated with Lowes...thought they were competitors

[Dem_4_Life]

9. I have a friend that used to work in one and said last year their days were numbered.

Mostly due to poor management of all the stores and a very bad overall treatment of employee's. He tried everything he could and eventually had to move on to a better job to get out of that awful environment.