Don’t expect to see a bonanza of heavy discounts at Lowe’s, despite the announcement that it’s closing over 50 stores.
The Moorseville, N.C.-based home improvement company announced on Monday it was shutting down 51 locations before February. Twenty of those locations are in the U.S, and 31 are in Canada.
Many of the shuttering stores will sell off their inventory at a discount, except for a few select locations in the U.S. that will close immediately, the company said in its announcement.
The shuttering of these locations won’t have a profound impact on Lowe’s LOW, +0.26% shoppers, analysts say, due to the small number being closed and their proximity to each other.
Don’t miss: These Lowes stores are closing in the next three months
For starters, these locations represent just 2% of total store count, said Laura Champine, senior consumer analyst at Loop Capital Markets in New York.
This isn’t a portentous sign that Lowe’s will disappear from shopping centers across the country.
The company said these locations were under-performing, and that most of the impacted stores were located within 10 miles of another Lowe’s location.
What’s more, the closure of these stores isn’t a portentous sign that the company will disappear from shopping centers across the country.
New management is effectively doing some “housekeeping” by closing down underperforming stores, Champine added.
The company said in its announcement it will focus on its profitable stores and “improve the overall health of its store portfolio.” (The company did not respond to a request for comment.)
Also see: This company wants to take the sweat out of home repair
In August, the company said it would shutter 99 of its Orchard Supply Hardware stores in California, Oregon and Florida by the end of the fiscal year.
Analysts anticipate the new chief executive officer, Marvin Ellison, who took the reins in July, will make more organizational changes in the coming months.
Even when searching for deals at a closing-down sale, experts say consumers should comparison shop online, ask the store to match a lower price at another store.
As with all closing-down sales, use up gift cards for local stores and avoid products with bad reviews as it will be difficult to get a product repaired, replaced or returned.
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