Orchard Supply Hardware To Close All Locations
SAN JOSE (CBS) -- More than eight decades after opening its first store in the Bay Area, Orchard Supply Hardware is closing all of its locations.
Lowe's, which has owned Orchard Supply since 2013, announced all 99 stores in California, Oregon and Florida will close by the end of the company's fiscal year on February 1st.
About 4,000 employees will be affected by the closures.
The decision comes less than two months after Marvin Ellison became president and CEO of the home improvement chain. Ellison was previously CEO of J.C. Penney and a high-level executive at rival hardware giant Home Depot.
"While it was a necessary business decision to exit Orchard Supply Hardware, decisions that impact our people are never easy. 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," Ellison said in a company statement.
Ellison also announced plans to overhaul inventory at its namesake Lowe's stores and is overseeing a strategic review of possibly selling holdings that don't fit into its core business. "We must create a true expense reduction culture here," he said.
Employees were told about the closures on Tuesday. Stores were abruptly closed for the evening, stunning shoppers.
"I've never seen a store do that, just close down," said Lindi Yamashita, who pulled up to a Los Angeles-area store Tuesday night.
"I grew up in a time where there were mom and pop stores everywhere, right? Hardware stores local, everywhere, but that's the sign of the times," said Ron Rodriguez, an Orchard shopper also surprised by Tuesday night's unannounced closure.
"It's so sad to lose such a small, intimate store where people have worked for generations and everybody knows everybody," said Carol Austen, another loyal Orchard shopper.
Founded in 1931 in San Jose as a co-op for farmers during the Great Depression, the retail chain filed for bankruptcy several years ago and was sold to Lowe's. At one time, the chain was owned by Sears.
Santa Clara County Supervisor Dave Cortese, whose grandfather was a founding member of the original co-op location in San Jose, was affected by the news. "You go back three generations in my family and the word 'Orchard' has a lot of significance. My grandfather and other farmers started the co-op when orchards covered the valley," said Cortese.
Orchard Supply Hardware's loyal customers said they feel like a piece of their past is being uprooted.
"I'm really going to miss it. I'm not going to look forward to going to the big-box stores where nobody knows anybody," said Austen.
Orchard Supply locations are expected to be open with normal business hours on Wednesday, with liquidation sales beginning Thursday. The last day for Orchard Supply operations is November 2nd.
If you have purchased something at Orchard's Supply Hardware, you may be out of luck; all locations are no longer accepting returns after Wednesday, August 22nd (the time of publication). The company's more than 4,000 employees will have to apply for positions at parent company Lowe's.
