Out with the old, in with the new

One Frederick casualty of the housing slump gets replaced by discount upstart.

It's been depressing to read about local store closings. Here's a bright spot in that department! Remember the 84 Lumberyard on Willowdale Dr? I used to see it everyday from my balcony when I lived in the Manor Apartments. 84 Lumber went out of business, I'm no economist but IMHO Home Depot did them in.

84 Lumber faced another round of store closings this week as the building materials retailer continues to struggle through the national housing crisis.

After closing a total of nine stores in such states as Alabama, Illinois and Oklahoma a few weeks ago, the Eighty-Four, Pa.-based company closed another 20 stores Tuesday including western Pennsylvania stores in Belle Vernon and Meadville.

In total, the company said 160 positions have been eliminated, and some employees have been offered positions at other 84 Lumber locations.

The rest of the closings are scattered throughout 84 Lumber’s territory throughout much of the country, including in Kentucky, Indiana, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, Michigan, California and Missouri. Source: http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2008/10/20/daily27.html

Well some somebody thinks Frederick still has some fiscal life in it:
Designers Plus moved into the empty 84 Lumber Yard property.

Designers Surplus has opened a new location at 101 Willowdale Drive, Frederick, the former site of 84 lumber. Designers Surplus carries kitchen and bath products at wholesale prices to the public. The retail store and warehouse boasts over 20,000 square feet. Rusty Mellott has teamed up with Designers Surplus to manage the store and oversee future growth. “The company plans to open a number of new stores in 2009” says Mellott. “The high quality for the low cost of the items makes for an unbeatable value. People go to a home improvement store and then come here and can’t believe how much more they are getting for their money. We sell solid, hardwood kitchen cabinets, designer vanities, saunas, baths and spas.” A lot of our business is done on the internet. at http://www.designerssurplus.com/ where you can see our products and prices. Almost everything is in stock so delivery is quick.We just opened recently and business has been brisk with many builders, contractors and home owners taking advantage of the great values we offer..”

Designers Surplus Kitchen & Bath Deals
Tel: 240-575-1507
www.designerssurplus.com
101 Willowdale Drive
Frederick, MD 21702


That was the in with the new part of this post... now for the out with the old:

Circuit City Frederick Maryland bites the dust, the pictures tell the story.



Every thing I saw was 10% to 20% off, I suspect most of the real bargains had already been jumped on. I did see some fancy computer hardware and high end cameras I'd like to have but didn't have that kind of money on me.

Read what PC World had to say about Circuit City's closing:

Bargain hunters headed to Circuit City to take advantage of the retailer's liquidation sales take heed. We checked out a closeout sale in Norwalk, Connecticut earlier this week and found once we got past the signs screaming "30 percent off" there weren't a whole lot of bargains to be had. We did find some good deals, but far fewer than we had hoped.

As you've no doubt heard, Circuit City, the nation's second largest retailer, has gone belly up.

We were hoping to find loads of great deals. While some of Circuit City's stock such as cables and wiring and DVD movies at the store we visited were marked down 30 to 20 percent, big tag items were only cut by 10 percent. Still, in this economic climate even a 10 percent off sale is welcome.



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Issue #51
Life in Frederick Maryland

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