Expo To Close July 31 But Employees Safe

Despite a strong home improvement and remodeling market, the Home Depot Company will close the doors on their Expo Design Center in East Elmhurst on July 31.
But, the company says, its employees don’t have to worry about losing their jobs.
The company will convert both the East Elmhurst and Nanuet-Rockland County Design Centers along with four other sites around the country into Home Depot outlets but permanently close 15 of its other Expo locations.
Shawn Strokes, manager of the East Elmhurst Expo store and resident of Hollis, said he expects to be moved to another local Home Depot location.
About 2,000 Expo employees nationwide will be affected by the closings, and those at the East Elmhurst location are no different.
“We plan to place our employees in other stores and positions within the company,” said Jean Osta, spokesperson for the Atlanta-based company.
“Besides providing jobs and encouraging growth Expo provided many of my district’s residents with a positive shopping experience,” Councilwoman Helen Sears said. “I applaud the Home Depot for not seeking to expand the site, but instead to adjust to fit the constraints of our community, and I encourage the company to seek employees from surrounding neighborhoods.”
Rather than selling the merchandise at another Expo location, Strokes said, “the company has authorized a liquidation sale. We are offering 15% off of everything in the store up to the day we close, July 31.”
When all is said and done, the company expects to lose another $20 million due to inventory markdowns.
The 80,000-sq.-ft. Expo Design Center in East Elmhurst has been open since March of 2002. Its remote location off the one-way, northbound service road of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway and 25th Ave., though, has kept it out of sight from many people outside the immediate neighborhood, hurting business.
In addition, Home Depot, the parent company, has expanded its installation programs and products, decreasing the customer base of its Expo stores.
The Home Depot Company announced their plans to dispose of 20 of its 54 Expo Design Centers nationwide in May after releasing their 2005 first quarter results.
Despite a small rise in first quarter net earnings, the Home Depot Company still considers the Expo stores a drain on their overhead to the tune of $86 million.
“Some stores were not aligning with the company’s strategic business objectives,” Osta said.
Expo Design Centers offer upscale ‘buy-it-yourself’ products that can be professionally installed in any room of your house.
Compared to the other four boroughs, Queens County has the highest percentage of home ownership, a statistic not expected to decrease any time soon.
toni@queenscourier.com