Whether or not you liked the store, employees, etc., every time another retailer closes, it makes things worse for everyone. They are laying off close to 8000 employees, who now will have less money of their own to shop and there will continue to be a ripple effect on EVERY industry. I worked for Linens N Things for 14 years up until a couple of months ago. I know that some stores aren't "worthy" of staying afloat and maybe shouldn't stay around, but right now, all these retailers closing is very scary. Imagine what it's going to look like when you drive around looking at vacant storefront after vacant storefront.

EXPO closed in Houston more than three years ago. Prior to that, I purchased four (4!) frog-motif, high relief tiles from there for my laundry room back splash. I had to beg for a sales person to help me. Then I had to fill out several pages of order forms, in triplicate, for each tile. It took three weeks for the tiles to come in. EXPO called me and wanted them picked up immediately, even though I live two hours away and they had told me it would take four to six weeks to get the tiles into the store. I loathe that place.

The last time I went there was to look at the tiles. On the way out, my 13-year-old son and I stopped to look at this hideous indoor waterfall. An employee started yelling "don't touch it, DON"T TOUCH IT!"

Maybe it was my fault, because I wasn't holding his hand? (Have you ever tried to hold the hand of a 13-year-old boy in public?) He wasn't even that close to it! Being well-behaved in public (in public!) is one of his strong suits. He was indignant!

Perhaps we were interested in buying that item? Well, no.

Huh. Maybe it's just the California vibe but Hubby and I always enjoyed going to Expo. The staff was always very friendly, knowledgeable and helpful. We got lots and lots of ideas there and purchased things as well. As noted, you have to be careful but as long as you were a smart consumer it was good. Some of their things were cheaper than at the regular HD, some were much more. They also did custom Behr paint samples in the store, which was really handy for us. (I know people here like to trash Behr but Hubby likes it and I have no complaints.)

Out in our area, they were about the only decent resource for home design/improvement resources.

Hey if they have deals: buy tile! EMSER tile expensive: buy Decos there: might use later date. Just an idea. Wow: TIMES ARE GETTING TOUGH> !!!!

I bought all the tile for my guest and master bathrooms at the Expo in Burlington, MA. It was a huge purchase because I tiled not just the floors but halfway up the walls plus a big walk-in shower. I'm not sure if I paid too much for the tile, but everyone I worked with was very pleasant and helpful. I also visited the appliance department on numerous occasions, and one older gentleman in particular was extremely knowledgeable and helpful. I almost purchased my appliances there but instead went with a dealer more local to me.

I'm sad to hear they're closing. I think they provided valuable services to their community, and I feel very bad for all the people losing their jobs.

Erika

We don't even have an Expo in my area but like mahlgold said, I feel for all those people who will be out of a job, snotty attitudes or not. I know people (professionals) so desperate for jobs that they are going to fast food places...and finding nothing!

Expo is a great place to browse and get ideas. I will say there are some snotty people who work there, but there are some helpful ones too.

I do hate to see more people losing their jobs. It's scary. Anyone know a timeline for the closing?

I also get the snotty vibe at Williams and Sonoma. I don't really get it. I feel like saying 'You basically make minimum wage and you're being snotty to me because???'.
My money is just as good as the lady carrying the Chanel bag. :)

I primarily used the Paramus, NJ and Commack, LI stores for browsing. But over the years, I did buy silk flowers, a DeLonghi toaster (before I knew better about pricing) and my F&P DDs -- a floor model at a great discount price -- from the East Elmhurst store when it was closing a few years ago. In all my experiences, the sales people were fine. No snotty attitudes. I'm just sorry to hear about more job losses!

Anyone know if there would be great discounts for all the floor models, since they're closing?
thanks.

I just found out Yardbirds is going away, too (owned by Home Depot). They were our closest hardware store, and very handy to have nearby - and they were very nice.

I live in North Carolina, but visited the Home Expo in Vernon Hills, IL when I was visiting my sister. To me Home Expo was a dream come true. I could finally see all of the kitchen elements in one place! The salespeople were fabulous and I actually bought a lot of hardware and bathroom fixtures at a significant discount from prices I had been given locally. The bathroom sink arrived broken and I received a new one within a week. I couldn't afford to work with a kitchen designer and having everything in one place was fantastic. I'm glad my kitchen is done and I'm sad they are closing.

Two fellow KDs who are good friends of mine lost their jobs today. One was a designer with Expo and the other was a corporate trainer for kitchens with HD. It's pretty sobering to see these two very talented people are now without work. HD is trying to place both of them in their orange box stores, but there's no guarantee. So many others have more seniority and the orange boxes are tightening their belts too.

I really hope thsi economy starts to turn around soon!

Liquidation sales start Tuesday! Boy, I wish we had them in Canada. :( Could use a good sale right now!

I called today and all the salesperson knew was that they were starting with 10% off floor models. He didn't have a schedule beyond that.

I never bought anything at EXPO like most people, just there to get ideas. BUT yesterday I did buy my kitchen faucet and soap dispenser for less than I could get it online. It was a stock item (paid around $400 for both items) and I was shocked when I got home and checked the price at Home and Stone. Now that all my kitchen decisions have been made and we're about to start the demolition, I won't need EXPO any longer, but will miss the place.
(Burlington, MA EXPO)

I have spent a lot of time in my local Expo in SoCal, I feel horrible
for all of those people, many have been so helpful over the years.
No wonder last week I was in looking at the lighting and there was
a lot missing and really no one around to help. I have to go in tomorrow
so I will find out about sales going on.
There are a lot of empty storefronts around.
vic

If they hire a liquidator company to handle closing sales do NOT expect any deals. At Circuit City and Linens and Things, they jacked prices up to full price, then took minor discounts. People assume it's a deal without knowing the real prices. At LNT, they pasted a $69.95 sticker over a $29.95 sticker and then offered 20% off. And people were buying!

If they do the sales themselves, there's hope that there might actually be some real deals. But watch out!

I'm really saddened to lose the Nashville one . . . we bought several ceiling fans and a lot of items from a line of faucets that we couldn't find cheaper elsewhere -- and were planning to get our Oceanside glass tile there for the kitchen backsplash. They had a wonderful farm sink that I never saw anywhere else -- it didn't work for me because of my window placement, but every time I go in the store, I visit it regretfully.

I love browsing there . . . the salespeople at the Nashville store were very helpful. They tried very hard to get us to use the design service -- they called us several times before they took "no" for an answer, but they were friendly and courteous.

So sad for those people now out of a job. Just yesterday I emailed our very talented and personable KD from the local, family-owned cabinet company we used -- she answered my question but told us she was let go in December. We called the company to check on our cabinets -- they're in storage in the warehouse. We're pretty close to being able to take delivery, but it's a bit unnerving!

Arlene

I once bought some switchplates at Expo, only to find the EXACT same thing at Home Depot the next day, at almost HALF the price. And although they are owned by the same company, that you could not return HD at Expo, or vice versa. SO before you buy any of the "deals" at Expo, check Home Depot's prices first, because from now on Expo won't be taking any returns, and it might be cheaper at HD even with a clearance discount.

And I too will miss being able to see all the glorious tiles and luxury goods on display.

Carla in Sac

I've gone to the Expo in Vernon Hills, IL (the one that Shknbk mentioned), and they were so nice and so helpful. I would be there in jeans and a t-shirt, and was always treated wonderfully there. But I have always questioned why HD would put an Expo in that particular location. For appliances, that Expo is only a 20-minute drive from Abt Electronics, and you can't hope to compete with Abt on price, service, selection and reputation. And then I was also surprised, as others have pointed out, at the very high prices for other items. A no-name medicine cabinet at Expo was going to cost me twice what a better-made Robern medicine cabinet cost at my neighborhood bath/kitchen store, and also there'd be a 5-week wait for it. Or a Jado faucet was available virtually everywhere else for about $200 less than Expo's price. It was confounding how Expo even stayed in business this long, as they just didn't seem interested in competing at all with other retailers.

I feel terrible for the people losing their jobs there. I thought the people working there were very professional, knowledgeable and polite, and deserve better.

I, too, have browsed and have shopped at the Burlington, MA store. While I buy many of my items online after extensive research, I have found some Expo prices to be competitive when purchased during a promotion or with an HD 10% off coupon. And on top of the competitive price, I've gotten 6-month or 1-year financing by paying with the HD card. In fact, yesterday I just placed a sizeable order for special order tiles and countertops, the latter of which will probably not be installed until March. After reading about the store closing, I returned to the store today to find out if my countertop order could still be fulfilled given that the store might not be around in March. I was told that the store is scheduled to close April 8 and that my order should be fine. In the event that the store closes earlier, I'm hoping that HD will take over my order since HD carries the same countertops. Since I charged the purchase to my HD card and payment won't be due until July, I'm not overly worried if I don't get my countertops since I can just dispute the charge. (I was caught in this same situation with Domain, where I'd purchased over $10,000 worth of furniture with the Domain credit card but was not scheduled to take delivery for 6 months due to my home remodel, but then Domain filed for bankruptcy and I never received my goods. Although it was a struggle with HSBC, the bank eventually reversed the charges.)

While it's true that some of Expo's employees are less than helpful or are downright rude, I've always had good service in the tile department. Then there's Jean at the Customer Service counter. She exemplifies customer service, and I'll miss her.

We found the perfect stools for our island at Expo on Sunday and placed an order for them. We were so excited because we had been looking for a LONG time and finally found what we both liked. Expo was going to call us in mid-February when the stools were delivered to the center. Well, on Monday night (last night), we received a call from Expo telling us that they will be canceling the order and refunding our money since they will not be able to fulfill the order. DH and I are now back to square one....such a bummer! I am also sad for the people losing their jobs. Crazy times....

According to the salesman at Expo yesterday, they are having a liquidation company come in.

According to the CFO of Home Despot, Expo's parent, the stores never met expectations even in the best of times. That would explain previous closings.

Reading between the lines, I get poor business model or mismanagement. Perhaps it was both.

"According to the salesman at Expo yesterday, they are having a liquidation company come in."

In that case, prices will be going UP!

I to have done lots of looking at expo, but have brought a few things there. I shop at the LI, NY store. We have brought Hunter Doughlas blinds (before I found other discount blind stores), knobs, a rug, and bathroom fixtures and faucet for a small bathroom. When we dormered our house we ordered through the contractor and brought things cheaper, but we liiked there for ideas. We just did our kitchen and had looked in the past at Expo but their products we too high. Even Kraftmaid you could get cheaper in regular HD. We will miss the store.

If they hire a liquidator company to handle closing sales do NOT expect any deals.

I've linked an article below that talks about this very thing. Here's a quote from the article that is telling:

The purpose of bankruptcy liquidation sales isnÂt to give the public great deals, said consumer advocates and those with companies that have managed liquidations for retailers.

ThatÂs a common misconception in any liquidation, and there have been several recently, including MervynÂs, Linens ÂN Things, Sharper Image and KB Toys.

There are creditors  banks, manufacturers and others  to whom the company going out of business owes money, said James Schaye, president and CEO of Hudson Capital Partners, one of the companies handling the liquidation.

"They always expect everything to be 50 percent off," he said of shoppers. "We are hired to get the most amount of money for the creditors."

Here is a link that might be useful: At Circuit City, going away doesnt mean giving away

I have to chime in with the other Houstonians...

The Expo we had here was nearly impossible to work with. Salespeople would ignore you, buying anything felt like a battle with the company to see if you would actually get your product before giving up in frustration.

My honest opinion when it closed here was "Good Riddance".

However, with the entire division closing perhaps Home Depot will start carrying a few of the more upscale pieces that used to only be seen at Expo.

Count me in as one of the browsers. I go to the Expo in Bridgewater NJ, and the help hasn't been great, but since I wasn't planning to buy, it was fine for my purposes. I especially like them for getting a hands-on look at appliances.

I also feel terrible seeing all the closed stores. I've always blamed Home Depot for all the small hardware stores that they put out of business, but now I find myself feeling bad for all the people losing their jobs, and the large empty retail space. In central NJ where I live, there are a number of strip malls that had reasonably nice stores, that are completely shuttered.

Hi Helou,
We are probably neighbors as I have been to that same Expo. Did you go to the Linens-n-things on the Somerville Circle when it was being liquidated? I was amazed at the high prices! Now, after reading the posts by lowspark and sushipup, I realize that this is par for the course when liquidators are involved.

My experience at the Bridgewater EXPO was so-so.
The staff of the kitchen department was the worst. The sales staff in other departments was more helpful.

I never did buy anything there as I did not find their prices to be copetitive with other stores. Mostly I would go and gape at the price tags and wonder just who was buying it and why would they choose to spend so much.
It was fun to 'window shop' there.

flooranddecoroutlets.com

in many states and I think you can order online???

their prices are pretty good.

FLOOR & DECOR OUTLETS OF AMERICA

Is this SPAM?

This thread is discussing the closing of EXPO so why are you promoting an internet store? No one is asking for recommendations for flooring in this discussion.

More spam! We seem to be getting a lot of them around here lately.

I don't believe petra granite is a spammer. She offers plenty of spam-free advice. People have even posted questions to her specifically.

petra - that was an odd post, though

Sorry if I misjudged. It just seemed like an odd post to me.

spam: heck no:
I ment: if people are so worried about them going out of business: there is another "Big store" out there nation wide: it's like the Sam's of tile like Expo was:
No spammer/scammer here! LOL! sorry girls! I type to fast sometimes without thinking first!

I love natural stone: and I believe in educating before spending all the money and knowledge is great on what is in your home. How to take care of it is my main passion.
I try to watch my advice: and speak from experience only: opinion is always maybe color or type. I have opinions but attempt to I base them on facts and a little on taste too.

have a great day: ice storm here: going home: yeah dallas texas gets ice storms!
LOL

*last note: Very sad Expo closing: because that should give you all a CLUE what is going on with the industy! and How the economy is effecting business places. Sad! They were expensive, but the public doesn't have much options to shop except home depot or lowes on their own. (their selection is slim!)

the public doesn't have much options to shop except home depot or lowes on their own.

Well, that's not exactly true. There are lots of smaller local stores (at least here in Houston and I'm sure in most medium to large cities) plus the plethora of product information and suppliers on the internet.

Petra_granite,
Sorry for misjudging your post. Since there was no context as to why you were posting that, it seemed like SPAM.

Quote:
*last note: Very sad Expo closing: because that should give you all a CLUE what is going on with the industy! and How the economy is effecting business places. Sad! They were expensive, but the public doesn't have much options to shop except home depot or lowes on their own. (their selection is slim!)

I have to disagree with you here. "Give us a clue what is going on in the industry..."

Instead, it seems that EXPO was built on a faulty model. Another poster pointed out that Home Depot made a statement that said that EXPO wasn't really making money even in a better economy.
Also, many, many of us noted that we'd had unpleasant experiences at EXPO. Now, most of us have had a bad experience at HD, but we still go back due to the huge selection and very low prices. EXPO did not have low prices to lure customers back after they'd had a bad experience with a snotty sales person.

And I believe that the public has many, many more options that HD and Lowes. I did our entire kitchen renovation with almost no purchases from those stores (I used them only for our high hats.) Cabinets, flooring, sink, plumbing items... we went to specialty stores.

It's a shame that some good folks are losing their jobs -

however -

IMHO - the Expo in Snottsdale (I mean - SCOTTSdale)
was as useless as doggy doo on the carpet...

The experiences I have had at
that freak show were totally negative...
I always got the distinct impression
that the decorators at Expo were always
looking down their noses at Tradesmen like me...

Even when I would go in there to shop - they'd always
be 'coppin an attitude!!! - like they were REALLY
doin me a favor to even TALK to me....Guess there
may be something to that good/bad "Karma" thing.....

Good riddance to those clowns!!!

that's awesome: I swear: I heard that word weekly: Oh: expo Oh: expo: expo this and expo that. Oh, expo has this and why don't you all? Because we aren't them!

It could be that it's so "trendy" I never went : so I have no experience. I know several of our granite customers got their sinks there and splash material.
Yes their prices are high. But over all: it's a nice way to look at things presented nicely.

It's great all the people who research pricing and use the internet and find the discount sites and stores.

How is it. The business for remodeling is slow right now here in north texas: slowed down right after october bank failure! We were 5 weeks out on jobs. Last year we were 6-7 weeks out on jobs. Right now. one week out.
Vendors here have gone out of business. More than one. Vendors have slowed their shipments down: like 4x4 tumbled splash material. We had to go buy from Lowes because three of our vendors was out last week! And Slabs: I was told by one vendor they are moving that many slabs in that aren't popular: Slab shipments into Dallas has slowed down. That never happened before. Frieght on slabs use to be free: now it's $75: I have a guy who brings slabs 10 miles for $55.

Customers are tight with money now here. 4 of our customers who were going to sign for graite in kitchen : Dec: lost their jobs. These were upper class homes.

I have just not experienced this in the 19 months that I have been in the granite, tile, slate, travertine business.

Good luck all! Keep finding the great deals!

(my experience with lowes: or home depot when I go there: I know more than they do "sometimes" about tile or grout questions that I might have. or the durrock sheets. Like: I had to help a lowes customer one day in the tile isle because the clerk didn't have a clue re: a grout and durrock question. It's all good! I am not talking mean: just don't expect too many of your questions to be answered all the time there: hit or miss!
LOL

I was sad to hear about EXPO closing, too. I've gone there for years to browse...never bought much, though. Recently I got a 15% off coupon from them in the mail. The coupon expired on Sunday, so I went in to use it. The store was packed with people, I could hardly get anyone to help me. We are building a house so I bought all of our appliances, bath tubs, some faucets, and ceiling fans......all at 15% off. All of the salespeople commented on how unusual it was for EXPO to send out a coupon, they said they had never seen it happen before- I don't think they had a clue that they would be out of jobs shortly. :-(

Tinny, you'd better check on your orders. They may have canceled all special orders already. And a special order is anything not currently in stock.

We did our kitchen through them. Even before we "signed up", I didn't run into the "snotty" attitude much. Our KD had/has a great design sense and despite the measuring issues, I liked her. [She's starting her own business rather than stay w/Home Depot.]

I don't remember the EXPOs I visited being empty, they were never really busy, but there always seemed to be at least 2 or 3 people browsing in each department...usually more in the kitchen area. [We have/had 2 EXPOs: Columbia & Rockville/Bethesda]

As to over-priced, maybe it depends on whether you're a "Project", but their prices for appliances, faucets, etc. were comparable to most prices I found elsewhere, including online (after factoring in shipping)...and even better was the fact that I didn't have to pay sales tax b/c it was a "Project".

What I do think was overpriced, was the labor...and that came from the contractors themselves. I would never recommend the contractor we had to someone else as their supervisors were awful! Their attitude was
"do whatever it takes to get the job done as fast as possible"and"the customer doesn't know what s/he's talking about; we know more about their kitchen b/c we [the contractor] have been doing kitchens for so long".

I had to have "the talk" w/the supervisors a couple of times!

When the supervisors weren't around, the "workers" were great! They took their time and did things right!

Even on the EXPO side, I think a lot of the problems had more to do w/local management than the designers/sales staff.

Here in Dallas, HD Expo is right across Dallas Parkway from the Great Indoors which is owned by Sears. When we have been in either store, we have had to hunt down a sales person.

Being a licensed electrical contractor (not the only one in Dallas),I go out of my way to respond to potential customers.

Whether it is home stores, electronic stores, linen stores or what ever, the market has a way of weeding out the also rans. Circuit City was going belly-up and could find no one who wanted to waste money on them. In the best of markets, HD Expo has never made money.

Can anyone tell me if any selection is left in these stores? Specifically, the Nashville store? I have been hoping to browse some things there in person and would like to know if it would still be worth the 3.5 hour drive.

I live in Nashville and was at the store about two weeks ago. It was starting to get picked over and many of the displays were being taken apart. If it was me, I wouldn't do it.

I went a few days ago to a location in Atlanta. There was plenty of stuff left and the discounts weren't that great, most everything was 30% off. In my opinion, there are no bargains to be had yet.

"Evidently, EXPO was primarily a display center for manufacturers. Manufacturer's had to PAY for their products to be displayed at these stores."

This would explain why during the first week of their G.O.B. sale many of the items in their displays were totally gone and the reason that 4 weeks in many items are labeled "not for sale"

""According to the salesman at Expo yesterday, they are having a liquidation company come in."

In that case, prices will be going UP!"

AND..........they'll be trucking in loads of crap to hawk that was never sold at EXPO in the first place. The ones I've been in have tons of crappy bath vanities from the regular HD , bathtubs and shower receptors from vendors that neither HD nor Expo carry and about 30 washing machines new in the box - all sitting on the floor. Expo never carried inventory on major appliances.

Dang. Thanks for the info though felicitas77, you saved us a heap of disappointment and driving.