Lowe’s Meriden home improvement center with 94 employees was one of seven underperforming stores in a handful of states abruptly closed on Sunday, officials said.
A Quinnipiac University management professor sees an ominous sign for Connecticut’s economy from the closing.
“It’s surprising,” Prof. David Cadden said in an email statement Monday about the shutdown of the Meriden store. “One would think that with Lowe’s focus on ‘Do it Yourself,” its business would be stable or even growing in an economic downturn. This could be an indication that the local economy might be even worse that we think.”
The 102,000-square-foot store at 1201 E. Main St. employed 54 full-time and 40 part-time workers, all of whom will collect pay and benefits for 60 days and are eligible to apply for openings at surrounding Lowe’s stores, spokeswoman Stacy Lentz said Monday.
The Hartford Courant was among the first to report Monday the store’s closing.
The Meriden store opened in February 2008. Lowe’s has 16 remaining Connecticut stores.
The other closings included one each in upstate New York, Minnesota, Georgia, and two in Illinois.
“These stores missed their sales estimate from the start,” Lentz said.
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