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Lowe’s is growing its Orchard Supply Hardware chain, which the big-box retailer bought out of bankruptcy in 2013.
Orchard Supply Hardware is set to open nine new stores in 2016, growing its store count from 76 to 85, according to the Charlotte Business Journal. The company has locations throughout California and Oregon.
The chain is owned by Lowe’s, but remains a separate business unit. The business was founded in 1931 when 30 farmers considered buying their farm supplies as a cooperative. Each farmer contributed $30 and Orchard Supply was born, according to the store’s website.
Bob Tellier, president of Orchard Supply Hardware, says the company is predicting 33 percent new-store growth, with new locations that will follow the format the company has created. That format is typically a 25,000- to 28,000-square-foot store with a 3,000- to 8,000-square-foot nursery, according to the article from the Charlotte Business Journal.
“The stores ‘fit that niche,’ between big-box stores like Home Depot or (Orchard Supply Hardware) parent company Lowe’s brand and smaller mom-and-pop hardware stores,” the article says.
Since the company was acquired by Lowe’s, it has focused its stores’ product mix on paint, repair, maintenance and backyard items.
Orchard Supply Hardware strives to complement the Lowe’s big-box stores, Tellier says. For one, it caters to demographics that are not typically attracted to Lowe’s stores, he says.
“We supplement their model because we are in between them and small, traditional hardware stores,” he says. “We’re convenience, we have depth and breadth, and honestly, the big boxes don’t. We appeal to a different demographic.”
A majority of Orchard Supply’s new locations will be opening in California cities, such as San Francisco.
