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Quincy Lowe’s among ‘underperforming’ stores cut
Home improvement giant Lowe’s Cos. is closing 51 “underperforming” stores in the U.S. and Canada, including the Lowe’s on Thomas E. Burgin Parkway in Quincy.
The company said it would shutter 20 stores in the U.S. by Feb. 1.
Another 31 stores are being shut down in Canada, Lowe’s said.
Only one other Lowe’s in New England, located in Orange, Conn., made the hit list.
North Carolina-based Lowe’s said the majority of stores impacted are located within 10 miles of another Lowe’s, and that most employees “will be extended opportunities to transition to a similar role” at a nearby store.
“While decisions that impact our associates are never easy, the store closures are a necessary step in our strategic reassessment as we focus on bulding a stronger business,” Lowe’s president and CEO Marvin R. Ellison said in a statement. “We believe our people are the foundation of our business and essential to our future growth, and we are making every effort to transition impacted associates to nearby Lowe’s stores.”
Some U.S. stores will close immediately, though Lowe’s did not immediately announce those locations.
To facilitate an orderly wind-down, the company said it intends to conduct store-closing sales for most of the impacted locations.
The expected financial impact of the closure plan of $0.28 to $0.34 per diluted share was not figured into the business outlook for fiscal 2018, which the company provided on Aug. 22 when it released its second quarter earnings.
The announcement follows Dedham-based Papa Gino’s surprise weekend closing of dozens of restaurants throughout New England.