(Nigel Maxwell/ paNOW Staff)
End of the line

Home Hardware shuts down after 30 years

Aug 8, 2020 | 8:00 AM

One of Prince Albert’s longest running businesses is closing its doors for good.

A sign posted on the main entrance door to the Home Hardware Building indicates this was not a store management decision. Doug Banzet, Chief Operating Officer of West Cap Management explained to paNOW the store has been losing money the past five years, and shareholders just no longer wanted to continue funding losses.

“We had an offer to sell part of the real estate and to sell off a fair chunk of the inventory,” he said.

Banzet cited a number of challenges facing the store including the “tough market” in Prince Albert, as well as the abundance of competition from other stores such as Econo Lumber, Rona, and Lake Country Co-Op.

“We’ve let [the managers] try to run the store and they’ve tried very hard but they just can’t get the sales number up high enough,” Banzet said.

A sign on the main entrance door provides the news long-time customers have not wanted to hear. (Nigel Maxwell/ paNOW Staff)

There are currently 18 people employed at the store, and Banzet reassured paNOW they’ve all been taken care of financially.

In terms of the unsold inventory, Banzet said 60 per cent will go to a Prince Albert business, and 40 per cent will be sold to other Home Hardware stores. A clear out sale will also be held for the public starting the week after next.

nigel.maxwell@jpbg.ca

On Twiiter: @nigelmaxwell

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