RIP: Osh

[Bill Dufour]

I heard this morning that all Orchard Supply Hardware stores will close by the end of the year. This was a good size California chain that started in San Jose in then 1930's. No orchards there since the seventies, all they grow there now is chips.(to be truthful they do not make much there anymore the land is to expensive).
They cost a bit more then the box stores but the staff know their stuff and they used to have it all until Sears/kmart bought them. they spun them back off several years ago. They have about 100 stores in California ,Oregon and Florida.
I suppose we will wait for closeout sales. They are all closed today to figure out what is happening.
Bill D.

[Mark Gibney]

Sorry to hear this. Shopping at OSH was a much more pleasant experience than at the big box places.

[Jim Becker]

Sad to hear about this. Lowes is actually the owner of Orchard Supply Hardware and bought the chain 5 years ago. They are also making changes to how they do business, including reducing inventory to be more competitive with the "orange" stores.

[Joe Jensen]

UGH, the cheapness of American consumers kills another fine retailer.....sad

[Dick Mahany]

Just plain sad. OSH used to be my go-to place before the Sears/Kmart holdings acquisition. They had just about every type of special hardware items a person could want whereas now I use McMaster Carr. It was clean, organized well lit and the staff knew their stuff. They really went downhill gradually after that. Although it will be sad to see them go, they really left a long time ago for me.

[johnny means]

UGH, the cheapness of American consumers kills another fine retailer.....sad

Alas, the cheapness taketh with one hand, yet giveth with the other. Behold, Harbor Freight.

[glenn bradley]

OSH was where I went given the choice. When the other guys didn't have it, OSH always would. Like the now limited selection at McFeely's, the reduced inventory maximizes stock profits but, under-serves customers.

[Curt Harms]

Sad to hear about this. Lowes is actually the owner of Orchard Supply Hardware and bought the chain 5 years ago. They are also making changes to how they do business, including reducing inventory to be more competitive with the "orange" stores.

I read an article about Lowes recently. They brought in a new CEO who in turn brought in his own team. I didn't notice any of the executive team having any background in the hardware/DIY business. They came from places like J.C. Penney and CVS. This article seems like a recipe for short term gain long term pain.

https://www.fool.com/investing/2018/07/21/first-order-of-business-for-lowes-new-ceo-clean-ho.aspx

[Wade Lippman]

I envy you guys in the OSH area. When a chain like that goes out of business, the clearance sale is like a treasure hunt.

Last year a Sears Hometown closed and it just vanished; no sale at all. I felt cheated.
It opened 4 years ago, within walking distance of a Lowes and a Walmart; after a hardware store closed there the previous year. What could he have been thinking?

[Rod Sheridan]

Alas, the cheapness taketh with one hand, yet giveth with the other. Behold, Harbor Freight.

Sounds like it's still taking if you're talking about Harbor Freight :D

[Bill Dufour]

For the close out sales I do not think that they will have much for me. maybe the nuts and bolts. I bet the empty nut racks will sell high. I will see if they have any clean stream vac filters that fit.
Bill

[Vijay Kumar]

Such a sad piece of news. This was always my go to place. This was our neighborhood store living in this silly valley. In the 90s they used to have a fair at the SJ fairgrounds which was great for the family. They had celebrities like Norm Abrams, Carey brothers etc. About 13 years ago OSH was purchased by Sears, and we all know what happened to Sears. Then Lowes bought it from Sears. And now the bean counters are at it.

[Greg R Bradley]

I thought it was terrible when the OSH a couple miles East of me closed. That meant 10 miles West to the next one. Now that they will all be gone, that is worse.
A block to Lowes, a mile to HD, and I mostly went 10 miles to OSH. Now it will be 20 miles into the horrible traffic of Pasadena to something usable. The idiots of Sears have screwed us again.

[Jim Becker]

The idiots of Sears have screwed us again.
Lowes is the owner according to the financial news storeis...they bought them five years ago. I mentioned this earlier in the thread.

[Nick Decker]

Seems to me that consumers have the most "blame."

[Jim Barstow]

I have a different perspective.
Years ago, I think when sears bought them, they started to go downhill. They were out of stock on lots of stuff and all the knowedgeable staff disappeared. I once went in for a hose to pipe thread adapter. I asked where to find one and they paged the plumbing expert. He didn’t even know there was a difference in threading been pipes and hoses.

I’ve been to several in my areas and they were all the same. They didn’t pay well enough to keep good staff and just drove the business into the ground. It’s not the consumers fault; it was incompetent management.

[Andrew Hughes]

I will also miss Osh for the hardware selection.
I’ve never found their inventory lacking for the things I went for.
Small store is quick in and out.
It’s not that hard to find what you want if you know what your looking for.