Lowes closes stores in Elgin and Schaumburg

Lowe's home improvement stores in Schaumburg and Elgin were closed for good Sunday night.

The nation's second largest home improvement store chain told employees in Elgin and Schaumburg they would be closing the doors for good Sunday night, after the businesses shut down for the day, said Lowe's spokeswoman Stacy Lentz.

She said those two stores were targeted for shut down because they routinely missed sales estimates from the outset of the facilities opening, adding those sales figures did not improve over time.

Both stores have automatic recordings at their stores announcing both locations have been permanently closed. And, the stores have also been removed from Lowe's Internet website.

She said 85 employees were let go at Lowe's in Elgin, and an additional 110 were released from the Schaumburg store.

She said each employees will continue to receive benefits and pay for the next 60 days as part of their severance packages.

Lowe's corporation announced shutting down seven stores nationwide after second quarter earnings fell short of expectations.

In a news release on their website, the company reported net earnings of $830 million for the quarter that ended July 29, essentially flat from the same period a year ago.

Officials said, for six months ending July 29, net earnings decreased 2.2 percent from the same period a year ago.

“Despite some recovery in our seasonal business, our performance for the quarter fell short of our expectations,” commented Robert A. Niblock, Lowe's chairman, president and CEO. “We are working diligently to improve sales and profitability in the near-term in a way that we believe will generate sustained customer preference and shareholder value. We are also building momentum in 2011 behind our longer-term commitment to deliver even better customer experiences.

During the quarter, Lowe's opened two stores. As of July 29, 2011, Lowe's operated 1,753 stores in the United States, Canada and Mexico representing 197.6 million square feet of retail selling space, a 1.5 percent increase over last year, company officials said.