Home Depot to close doors Sunday

LIMA - There are no more mowers, weed trimmers or rugs. The signature orange racks, once crowded with tools and sundry man-toys, now stand empty but for the occasional pipe fitting or random fixture. With three days left of its six-year Lima run, there's little left of the Home Depot store.

The Cable Road store is set to close its doors for the final time Sunday, but by Thursday there was little left of the store's inventory.

"It's like a picked-over body," said Jerry Merrello, of Lima, as he rummaged through a bin of face plates Thursday afternoon. "I keep thinking of things maybe I need, but they don't have that either. It's good deals if you can find something you need, but man, there's not much left."

There were still deals to be found, but it depends on what you're looking for. Prices have been gradually slashed in recent weeks and will drop to 90 percent off on Sunday. There are still stacks of tile, fertilizer and landscape stones, but most of the larger items and appliances have already been sold.

"I came in two weeks ago and there was still quite a bit of stuff. I was going to wait and buy a new fridge if I could get a deal, but they're all gone," said Willard Roush, of Lima.

Home Depot announced in May it would close 15 "underperforming" stores, including the Lima and Findlay locations. The closing leaves 98 employees in Lima and 106 employees in Findlay either hoping for transfers or looking for new jobs before the businesses lock up.

Employees and store management have refused to talk about the closing, but company spokeswoman Jennifer King said about 15 employees from the Lima store have taken transfers to other stores.

"The nearest store is pretty far away so it's going to be a challenge, but they're doing everything they can," King said.

Home Depot officials blame weak sales for the closing. The average store in the chain generates about $36 million in retail sales per year. The Lima and Findlay stores had around $11 million in sales.

For Merrello and other local customers, those low sales could be attributed to timing and competition. The location of the Lima store, just up the road from Lowe's and Menards stores, could have had something to do with it too, Merrello speculated

"I've got to admit, I always go to Lowe's. It was here before these guys and I just got used to going there. Once in awhile I'd come in if they had something on sale, but mostly didn't think about them," Merrello said.

Karen Thomas stopped by the store Thursday in search of a new light for her family room. Weeks of store sales left her with fewer options but better prices than she could hope to get anyplace else. Still, the Elida woman was torn by the decision of whether to buy Thursday or wait until Sunday, when discounts were expected to drop to 90 percent off.

"I don't want to be greedy, but if I can save $10 by waiting a couple days then I will. It's like betting on if it will still be here if I wait," Thomas said.

Once the stores close, the buildings will be available for sale, said Craig Fishel, public relations manager for Home Depot. He didn't have an estimate on what the company would want for the property.

The Lima location, at 2090 N. Cable Road, is on a 35.46-acre plot near the Lima Mall.

The store, which has 96,000 square feet, opened July 18, 2002. The store had 105 employees when it opened. Once the company decided to locate in Lima, it moved fast, opening within five and a half months of breaking ground.

The Findlay location, at 1981 Tiffin Ave., is on 9.37 acres. It has a 94,990-square-foot building.

The company still has 70 stores in Ohio. The nearest stores are now in Piqua and Bowling Green.