84 Lumber in Commerce to close

EIGHTY FOUR, Pa. - 84 Lumber Co. announced Tuesday it would close 67 stores in 19 states, including 12 in Pennsylvania, but plans to open 125 new stores in faster-growing areas in at least 20 states.

Stores in ``no-growth'' and rural markets will be closed, as the company tries to boost its annual sales to $10 billion by the end of 2009, 84 Lumber said in a statement Tuesday.

The company, the largest privately owned building materials retailer in the country, had 521 stores and reported sales of nearly $4 billion in 2005.

``We determined that we needed to make some tough decisions regarding underperforming stores and close them,'' said company president Maggie Hardy Magerko.

About 600 employees will be affected by the closures, said company spokesman Jeff Nobers. About two-thirds of those workers will likely keep their jobs by relocating to other stores, Nobers said.

Nearly 50 news stores will open this year, with up to 125 opening in the next three years, the company said.

The company also plans to hire at least 1,000 outside sales representatives over the next three years, as the company seeks to expand its sales to large national builders.

Unlike competitors such as The Home Depot Inc. and Lowe's Cos., 84 Lumber markets exclusively to contractors. The company says more than 95 percent of its sales come from professional builders.

Founded in 1956, 84 Lumber is named after the town of Eighty Four, where the original store continues to operate.

Locations of stores that 84 Lumber Co. plans to close:

GEORGIA

Commerce

Calhoun

ARKANSAS

Malvern

Clarksville



ILLINOIS

Springfield

Alton

INDIANA

Centerville

Kokomo

Merrillville

KENTUCKY

Alexandria

Campbellsville

Morehead

MARYLAND

Woodlawn

MICHIGAN

Benton Harbor

Houghton Lake

Jackson

MISSISSIPPI

Pontotoc

MISSOURI

Neosho

Camdenton

NEW JERSEY

Berlin

NEW YORK

Ontario

Olean

Oswego

Oneonta

Batavia

NORTH CAROLINA

Clinton

Oxford

OHIO

South Columbus

Lima

Mansfield

Bucyrus

Findlay

Hillsboro

Newbury

North Lima

Akron

North Canton

Ashtabula

Alliance

Brunswick

PENNSYLVANIA

Ephrata

Bethel Park

Kane

Hermitage

Woodland

Northeast

Imperial

Homer City

Johnstown

Moon Township

Wexford

Washington

SOUTH CAROLINA

Camden

TENNESSEE

Kingsport

Oak Ridge

Clinton Highway

Union City

Shelbyville

Lawrenceburg

Decherd

VIRGINIA

Blairs

WEST VIRGINIA

Gallipolis Ferry

New Martinsville

Wellsburg

Logan

WYOMING

Rock Springs

Gillette

Locations of stores that 84 Lumber Co. plans to open in 2006:

ALABAMA

Mobile

Northport

ARIZONA

Florence

Yuma

CALIFORNIA

Rialto

Visalia

FLORIDA

Sarasota

Ft. Lauderdale

Fort Pierce

Haines City

Medley

Jensen Beach

Miami Dade

Riviera Beach

IDAHO

Meridian

ILLINOIS

Crystal Lake

Minooka

LOUISIANA

Ascension Parish

Hammond

Lafayette

Slidell

MINNESOTA

Hugo

Lakeville

MISSISSIPPI

Moss Point

NORTH CAROLINA

High Point

Huntersville

NEVADA

Reno

OKLAHOMA

Oklahoma City North

OREGON

Forest Grove

Redmond

PENNSYLVANIA

Exton

SOUTH CAROLINA

Lexington

TENNESSEE

Chattanooga

Hendersonville

Piperton

TEXAS

Burleson

Georgetown

Houston West

Killeen

McKinney

San Antonio South

San Benito

UTAH

Spanish Fork

West Jordan

VIRGINIA

Fredricksburg

Winchester

WISCONSIN

Wrightstown