Lowe's Companies Inc. says it plans to close 27 underperforming Canadian stores as part of a plan to focus on its most profitable operations.
The closures include mostly RONA stores in Canada including nine in Ontario, nine in Quebec, six in Newfoundland and Labrador, two in Alberta and one in British Columbia. Regional support centres in Mississauga and St. John's, Newfoundland will also be shut down.
Lowe's says it expects to close the impacted stores by the end of the company's 2018 financial year — Febuary 1, 2019.
The company is also closing 20 stores in the U.S.
On October 18, Lowes opened its second Windsor location at 7350 Catherine St. The company puts the local investment in excess of $21.6 million and says has added 75 new permanent jobs and 80 seasonal positions.
The stores up for closure in Ontario include RONA locations in Mississauga, Sault Ste. Marie, Sudbury, Peterborough, Kingston, Lakefield, North York and Sault Ste. Marie.
None of the locations across Windsor-Essex were identified by the company for closure.
— with files from The Canadian Press & AM800's Rob Hindi