<<<But, we are not HD's targeted carpet customers.>>>
My beef is HD went to a lot of trouble to stock the items carried by their competition a few years ago, cut the prices on those items enough to put their competition out of business, and have now decided those of us who are the market for those items are no longer their "targeted customer". Where I used to be able to go to Builder's Square, HomeBase, Pay and Pak, Earnst, Eagle and Home Depot, I now have a choice of Lowe's and Home Depot. It's frustrating when neither store decides to stock the items I need to complete a particular part of a project.
Years ago I worked in retail sales and while it wasn't in a hardware store, one thing I know is stocking some of those "slow moving items" makes the difference between making a big sale with a lot of add ons or walking a customer. A strategy which involves the idea they want to be the biggest and only place customers shop for building supplies, and then shifts to a focus of a niche in that market, is stupid beyond all belief. Maybe they have a few better stores in other cities, but that doesn't do me much good here. |
