Yardbirds store to close July 1, reopen later

April 12, 2006

By DANE GOLDEN
ARGUS-COURIER STAFF

The Petaluma Yardbirds store will close July 1 for an undisclosed period to be remodeled into a new format, and the Petaluma Yardbirds headquarters and warehouse will close permanently, acc-ording to Kathryn Gallagher, a spokeswoman for Home Depot, which purchased the 10-store Petaluma-based chain from former owner John Headley late last year.

The move is part of a complete overhaul of the Yardbirds chain. In May, the Petaluma store will begin liquidating all inventory in anticipation of the July 1 closing. After that, the building will be remodeled into a new store format, which is yet to be determined. It is not known at this time whether the new format would include lumber or garden services.

Home Depot announced in a statement that, "We are working with all impacted associates to find job opportunities in nearby The Home Depot stores. Our goal is to achieve no net job loss during this transition period."

Employees of the Petaluma store, headquarters and warehouse will be able to apply for transfers to other stores, but are not guaranteed positions. The nearest Home Depot is now located in Rohnert Park. Employees who transfer would also be able to apply for transfers back to the Petaluma location after the redesign and rebranding.

Each of the 10 Yardbirds will experience changes and at least temporary closures. The Yardbirds Superstores in Santa Rosa and Martinez, after closing July 1, will be converted to Home Depot stores, which will open in November. The Vacaville and Vallejo stores, in addition to the Petaluma headquarters and Petaluma warehouse, will close permanently. But the Petaluma, Concord, San Rafael, Alamo and San Pablo stores will shut down July 1 for remodeling to a yet-to-be-determined format. The Rohnert Park Yardbirds will reopen as the ninth store in Home Depot's Contractors' Warehouse chain.

The smaller Yardbirds stores are much smaller than the standard Home Depot stores, which are generally at least 60,000 square feet plus 50,000 square feet of outdoor garden and lumber areas. The Petaluma Yardbirds is 48,000 square feet.

In addition to Contractors' Warehouse, the 2,000-plus store chain has several other home improvement chains under different brands, which include the EXPO Design Center, a design and services store with 34 locations; 11 Home Depot Landscape Supply stores, two Home Depot Floor Stores; three Home Depot Supply stores; as well as White Cap Construction Supply, a distributor of specialty hardware, tools and materials targeting large- and medium-size construction contractors.

"We're excited about the new store format, and are looking forward to serving the community," Gallagher said.

(Contact Dane Golden at dgolden@arguscourier.com)