FRESNO, CA (KMJ) – Orchard Supply Hardware is closing all 99 of its stores.
4300 employees got the news that OSH was shutting all stores by the end of this year.
Stores are located in Oregon, Florida, and here in California; with seven stores across the Central Valley (see below), three in Sacramento, two in Modesto, and one store each in Turlock, Sonora and Manteca.
Central San Joaquin Valley OSH Locations:
- 1536 E Champlain Dr, Fresno
- 5445 N Blackstone Ave, Fresno
- 147 W Shaw Ave, Clovis
- 6055 N Figarden Dr, Fresno
- 5653 E Kings Canyon Rd, Fresno
- 700 N 11Th Avenue, Hanford
- 2230 W Walnut Avenue, Visalia
The flagship store is in San Jose, founded back in 1931 as a co-op supplying fruit growers and now catering to homeowners and do-it-yourselfers.
IN 2013, OSH was acquired out of bankruptcy by Lowe’s, and with $600 million in sales last year, CEO Marvin Ellison says it was less than 1% of Lowe’s overall sales of $68 billion.
Lowe’s had previously announced intentions to reorganize and expand the company, but in a release Wednesday Ellison said it was “a strategic reassessment” led to the decision to close the stores.
“It became clear to me we wanted to be focused on our core retail business,” Ellison said, and even if Orchard were a much larger business, it would “have very small benefit to the shareholders.”
Ellison says he also plans to slash Lowe’s inventory to compete with Home Depot.
OSH Workers can keep their jobs through the closing process, will be given job placement services, and when applying for positions at Lowe’s will be given priority status. Some employees may also be eligible for severance pay.
OSH will begin liquidation on Thursday, August 23.
Click to listen to the report by KMJ’s Liz Kern:
