Customer was in my store and told me the company he works for has a contract to put up 10 Menards stores in the NY Metro area in 2020. Looks like they are doing a rapid national expansion.
9 replies (most recent on top)
menards also just opened up their largest store ever. they had a small one in south bend indiana and decided to rebuild in a new part of the city. something like 260,000 sq ft store with full lumber yard and a full garden center (which they tend to not have in alot of their stores). got an email about it a couple weeks ago. store is apparently so big theyre giving out a map when you walk in the doors so you can find everything. even though menards sells a lot of lower quality junk..and a lot of filler aisles of shelf stable food, pet foods etc. etc. they have a massive DRIVE THROUGH lumber yard—no dedicated pro loader needed!, larger overall selection of products too that gets into mattresses, hunting supplies, fireplace accessories, furniture. lowes chief competitor isnt HD in any market that has a menards....its menards! for marv its all about stock...he has no fricken clue how to improve a business. menards is loved by the average homeowner for their huge unique selections...and also by the pro do to the enormous selection of lumber and building supplies.
menards is running another come meet the pros event. got a message on my menards app about it. they fully make it known they arent affiliated with the pros...just offering a safe place and time to come meet and discuss your project needs with them
Another worry for Lowe's...Menards is expanding into West Virginia and Pennsylvania from their traditional region. They are privately owned, and have gotten to #3 in the home improvement supply industry by NOT competing against their primary customer, the professional installers and contractors.
Lowe's was good when they tried to be different from Depot. It's really sad that they went this route, but so many retailers are cutting staff. Retail use to be rough, but manageable. Now its just hell.
Lowe’s down fall will be this obsession they with pro. Sure it’s an untapped market for Lowe’s but how many storesY have the staff to handle an influx of pro customers early in the morning?
The Home Depot bear my store is so busy they have people in the lot directing traffic. Meanwhile at my store we have a skeleton crew on until 8 am when most of the associates arrive. Some days we don’t even have the “dedicated pro loader to get you back to the job site faster.”
To the 1st comment. I things are so great with your life , why are you even reading this ?
We will if lowes would invest in the stores meaning spend more on payroll to keep and recruit the best employees and be able to eliminate those who don't want to work. It's not likely to happen because this is a publicly traded company and the execs are compensated heavily based on stock price, so long term be damned. Also it's not the number of stores it's location, location, location.
Correct
Get a life