Home Depot to close 15 of its flagship stores

Published 5:00 am Friday, May 2, 2008

ATLANTA — It’s been 4½ years since former Home Depot Chief Executive Bob Nardelli’s bold prediction that the home- improvement retailer could sustain “unlimited growth” without significantly affecting sales at established stores. That statement was made during much better economic times.

The Atlanta-based company, under different leadership, a different growth philosophy and amid an ailing housing market, put the brakes Thursday on some of its expansion plans and said it would do what was previously unthinkable — close 15 of its underperforming flagship stores. No Oregon stores are on the list of closures.

It is the first time the world’s largest home improvement store chain has ever closed a flagship store for performance reasons. The move, to be completed within the next two months, will affect 1,300 employees.