LOWE’S CLOSURES

Two local stores to shutter

Two Calgary stores are among the 31 Canadian properties Lowe’s Companies Inc. is closing in an attempt to streamline its business.

The home improvement company said Monday in addition to closing 27 stores, it will also shutter two regional support centres in Mississauga, Ont., and St. John’s, N.L., a truss plant in St. John’s and a block plant in Kamloops, B.C., as part of a plan to focus instead on the most profitable parts of its business.

Among the 27 stores set to close by the end of January are a Rona property in Douglasdale (11520 — 24th Street S.E.) and the Reno Depot at 12330 Symons Valley Rd. N.W.

Another nine stores in both Ontario and Quebec, six in Newfoundland and Labrador and one in British Columbia will also close.

Sylvain Prud’homme, chief executive of Lowe’s Canada, did not say how many employees would be affected by the closures, but said the changes will allow the company to improve collaboration between its banners to better serve customers.

“Everything will be done to ensure a smooth transition until the stores are closed, and Lowe’s Canada will support impacted employees, including by transferring eligible employees to other locations within our network whenever possible,” Prud’homme said in a statement.

The brand will also axe 20 stores in the United States.

The Canadian closures amount to a reduction of about three per cent of the brand’s total retail network square footage.

The company has 68 Lowe’s and 430 Rona stores in Canada — part of its network of 2,390 home improvement locations across North America, including Reno-Depot, Dick’s Lumber, Contractor First and Ace locations it also owns.

Lowe’s Canadian business is based in Boucherville, Que., and has more than 630 corporate and independent affiliate dealer stores.

David Soberman, a University of Toronto professor specializing in marketing and retail, said the 2016 acquisition of Rona Inc. in a deal valued at $3.2 billion has likely fuelled some of the Canadian cuts.

“They probably had too many locations,” he said.

“Now, this will mean people will have to drive a bit further to find a Lowe’s or a Rona store.”

He said the company has also been facing fierce competition from fellow home improvement businesses Home Depot and Canadian Tire and to some extent, Costco and Walmart, which are “extremely powerful” and stock some home and garden products.

E-commerce giants, including Amazon, have also posed a threat because of their efficiency, but Soberman said their impact on Lowe’s is limited because many construction and do-it-yourself products are bulky, heavy and cost more to ship — “not things that are suited to online retail.”