LV Builders Square to close

Wednesday, Feb. 17, 1999 | 10:52 a.m.

The home improvement chain Hechinger Co. plans to close its lone Builders Square store in Las Vegas at the Westland Fair mall.

Hechinger is relinquishing control of the store this week. It will be taken over by a liquidator, which may take several months to sell its inventory and fixtures.

The store at 4501 W. Charleston Blvd. employs 48 people, said manager Doug Benjamin.

He said Hechinger's stores are mainly in states east of Nevada and that the Las Vegas store was a victim of downsizing in perimeter markets, where advertising and distribution expenses are higher than in markets with several Hechinger's stores.

Hechinger is closing 34 stores and keeping another 202 open.

"Although closing stores is always a difficult decision, monies raised from the sale of a store real estate and related inventory provides a source of cash for remodeling, equipment and other tools necessary to make all remaining stores stronger," the company said in a memo to employees.

In 1997, Los Angeles buyout specialist Leonard Green & Partners LP took control of Builders Square from Kmart Corp.

Builders Square was then combined with the Hechinger and Home Quarters stores to become Hechinger Co., the third largest chain of home improvement stores in the nation.