Office Depot didn’t give themselves much of a chance, really. Many new stores were busy establishing locations at the South end of Bullhead City near the Target store that opened last March, but Office Depot picked a pretty inconspicuous spot in the corner of the Riverview Mall, set back from Highway 95. Worse, it was very close to the well-established, more visible Office Max location closer to the Highway.
With Office Depot announcing the closing of their store and bringing in a liquidator to clear out their merchandise, Home Depot wants you to know that they are “here for the community.” In this Mohave Daily News article, store manager Forrest Frazier says that any rumors they may be closing are untrue:
We’re not going anywhere… We’re not laying anybody off.
I’ve been here for 20 months. We haven’t had any layoffs. We continue to do business as normal.
Since I’ve gotten here, it hasn’t gone up or down. It’s sustaining itself.
The increase in services available to Bullhead City in the last few years has been quite impressive. There was a time not long ago when trips out of the area to satisfy the shopping needs of local residents was routine. Not today. Surely Home Depot is feeling the effects of the drop in new construction, but who isn’t? Many local retailers are offering amazing discounts to move their merchandise, and Home Depot is no different:
so if you find a product at another place in town at a lower price, we’ll match it and beat it by 10 percent… Some (Home Depot prices) are up to 50 percent lower
So it appears they are doing what they feel it takes to stay competitive.
Bullhead City, Kingman, and Lake Havasu have joined forces with their Shop Local campaign designed to encourage local residents to keep it, well, local. It’s good to see that the retailers themselves are taking action as well.
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