Home-improvement chains are almost entirely back to full operations, providing supplies to aid in the clean up and rebuilding after Hurricane Irene delivered an uneven blow to a vast swath of the eastern U.S.
Just one Lowe's Cos. (LOW) store remained closed Monday, out of more than 250 locations in Irene's path, said spokeswoman Karen Cobb. The Lowe's of Hackettstown, N.J., a town of about 10,000 in the northwest part of the state, is closed per order of local emergency management officials due to localized flooding in the town, and will reopen when allowed. No stores were damaged to the point of forcing a closure, she added, and only a small handful suffered "very minor" damage.
Only five of the more than 400 Home Depot Inc. (HD) stores in areas affected by Irene were closed Monday, spokesman Stephen Holmes said in an email, and some of those could reopen later today. Two stores in north-central New Jersey sustained flooding, and those stores are currently being cleaned, while another store in the state was closed due to a local road closure, and one store each in Connecticut and Massachusetts were closed in areas that had been evacuated by authorities. The Massachusetts store did take on water as well, he said, and is also in the process of being cleaned while it waits for the evacuation to lift.
Though neither company is providing details of how the hurricane may affect sales, demand for preparedness and clean-up items was brisk before and remains so after, the pair said.
Both Home Depot and Lowe's have extensive emergency response services and distribution networks that are rushing to bring generators and other high-demand items to the stores and customers that need them. There is still a heavy call for flashlights and batteries, and chainsaws, sump pumps, trash bags, cleaning supplies and wet/dry vacuums.
Lowe's said Irene "has been on our radar since it was a mere tropical storm off the coast of Africa," Cobb said, and it has also prepared for flooding in Irene's aftermath by keeping up supplies of goods like carpeting and home appliances.
Since the disaster didn't reach the cataclysmic proportions of some forecasters, except for certain areas plagued by terrible flooding, it is possible some customers who over-prepared and didn't need some of the high-ticket generators and other merchandise would return them. Then again, said Cobb, hurricane season isn't yet over and winter is fast approaching in the Northeast, so many customers may opt to keep them, rather than brave the rush to buy them again when Mother Nature next produce panic-inducing weather.
Article Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20110829-709487.html
Just one Lowe's Cos. (LOW) store remained closed Monday, out of more than 250 locations in Irene's path, said spokeswoman Karen Cobb. The Lowe's of Hackettstown, N.J., a town of about 10,000 in the northwest part of the state, is closed per order of local emergency management officials due to localized flooding in the town, and will reopen when allowed. No stores were damaged to the point of forcing a closure, she added, and only a small handful suffered "very minor" damage.
Only five of the more than 400 Home Depot Inc. (HD) stores in areas affected by Irene were closed Monday, spokesman Stephen Holmes said in an email, and some of those could reopen later today. Two stores in north-central New Jersey sustained flooding, and those stores are currently being cleaned, while another store in the state was closed due to a local road closure, and one store each in Connecticut and Massachusetts were closed in areas that had been evacuated by authorities. The Massachusetts store did take on water as well, he said, and is also in the process of being cleaned while it waits for the evacuation to lift.
Though neither company is providing details of how the hurricane may affect sales, demand for preparedness and clean-up items was brisk before and remains so after, the pair said.
Both Home Depot and Lowe's have extensive emergency response services and distribution networks that are rushing to bring generators and other high-demand items to the stores and customers that need them. There is still a heavy call for flashlights and batteries, and chainsaws, sump pumps, trash bags, cleaning supplies and wet/dry vacuums.
Lowe's said Irene "has been on our radar since it was a mere tropical storm off the coast of Africa," Cobb said, and it has also prepared for flooding in Irene's aftermath by keeping up supplies of goods like carpeting and home appliances.
Since the disaster didn't reach the cataclysmic proportions of some forecasters, except for certain areas plagued by terrible flooding, it is possible some customers who over-prepared and didn't need some of the high-ticket generators and other merchandise would return them. Then again, said Cobb, hurricane season isn't yet over and winter is fast approaching in the Northeast, so many customers may opt to keep them, rather than brave the rush to buy them again when Mother Nature next produce panic-inducing weather.
Article Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20110829-709487.html
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