Home Depot said Jan. 26 that it plans to close its 34 Expo Design Center stores in 13 states, including the one on Convoy Street and Othello Avenue in Kearny Mesa, and a second store on Leucadia Boulevard in Encinitas.
The Expo business has not performed well financially, the company said. In a statement, Chairman and CEO Frank Blake cited the need to strengthen Home Depot’s core “orange box” business, or its big-box stores.
Expo was meant to compete with specialty design stores or showrooms, including stores open only to interior designers. Demand for big-ticket design and d & #233;cor projects is down, Atlanta-based Home Depot said.
The closures will occur during the next two months, and affect 7,000 jobs companywide. Also closing are the company’s YardBirds and Design Center stores, and a bath remodeling business called HD Bath.
, Brad Graves
