Lowe's to close 51 locations, including Gurnee store
Lowe's is closing 51 North American locations, including its Gurnee store.
The company announced it will close 20 U.S. stores and 31 locations in Canada. Two stores are closing in Illinois. The other is in Granite City.
The news of the closing came as a surprise to village leaders in Lake County.
"The village of Gurnee was not aware that Lowe's was closing prior to the media announcement today," said Jack Linehan, assistant to the village administrator in Gurnee.
The store in Gurnee was constructed in 2007 and opened in early 2008.
"We have reached out to the Gurnee Lowe's for more information and a potential timetable regarding their closure," Linehan said.
The Mooresville, North Carolina-based company said that most of the underperforming stores are expected to close by the end of January, said Maureen Wallace, Lowe's corporate communications & public relations manager. She said this will allow the company to focus on strengthening its footprint of nearly 2,300 stores across North America.
Employees from the shuttered stores will be offered positions at nearby locations when possible. Suburban Lowe's continue to operate in Vernon Hills, Arlington Heights, Lake in the Hills, Carol Stream, St. Charles, Bolingbrook and Naperville.
"While decisions that impact our associates are never easy, the store closures are a necessary step in our strategic reassessment as we focus on building a stronger business," said Marvin R. Ellison, Lowe's president and CEO. "We believe our people are the foundation of our business and essential to our future growth, and we are making every effort to transition impacted associates to nearby Lowe's stores."
Lowe's has partnered with Hilco Merchant Services to help manage the transition in the U.S.