Liquidation has begun.
Home Depot – one of the nation’s largest home improvement companies – is getting ready to change Yardbirds Home Center in Alamo to its brand name although details of its new format has not yet been decided. For now Yardbirds is selling everything and no longer refilling its shelves.
“It’s going to be remodeled and will have the new store format,” said Kathryn Gallagher, Home Depot spokeswoman. “It’s going to be one of our brands.”
In December, Home Depot purchased Yardbirds, a San Francisco Bay Area chain comprised of 10 home improvement stores and a distribution center. Now, after months of planning, Yardbirds in Alamo, Concord, Petaluma, San Pablo and San Rafael will become Home Depot stores.
Gallagher said the stores began liquidating products this month and should be empty by July.
“Hopefully, we are getting close,” she said.
She added that Yardbirds employees could request transfers to Home Depot stores throughout Northern California, including San Ramon, Pleasanton, Concord, Fremont, Vallejo, Fairfield, San Leandro, Tracy, Pittsburg, Hercules, San Jose, Sunnyvale, Campbell, Gilroy, Morgan Hill, Woodland and Chico.
Gallagher said Home Depot does not know what type of format the former Yardbirds stores will be.
“It’s very exciting,” she said, noting that Home Depot would tailor its stores to the needs of the community.
The store manager of the Alamo Yardbirds would not comment about the change and referred all inquiries to the Home Depot public relations department.
Yardbirds was founded in 1975 by John Healey and generated about $185 million in annual sales last year. His family opened two stores in Santa Rosa and Vallejo in 1975. Since 1988, it has opened stores in Santa Rosa and Martinez. The Santa Rosa store is nearly 155,000 square feet with an outdoor garden center and indoor drive-through lumberyard.
The trademark colors for Yardbirds are yellow and white, and its mascot is a white stork with yellow overalls.
Home Depot has purchased the entire Yardbirds chain, and the stores are closing. Most will reopen as Home Depot, Home Depot Pro, or Expo Design Centers.
Bernie Marcs and Arthur Blank founded the Home Depot in Atlanta in 1979. The original stores stocked around 25,000 products and were attached to Treasure Island stores. Home Depot grew to encompass stores in Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, Texas and Alabama within the first five years. The company has expanded to include EXPO Design Center and the Home Depot Supply. There are more than 2,005 stores throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Today, on average, a Home Depot offers 40,000 products and is approximately 106,000 square feet.
