HQ Withdraws From Carolinas

Hechinger Co. is closing 22 locations, including all Home Quarters Warehouses in the Carolinas. to concentrate on markets farther north.

The changes, which affect approximately lTVo of Hechinger's l3l stores, are scheduled for late February through April. To be closed are eight Hechinger stores, including Roanoke, Va., and 14 HQs: Columbia (two stores) and Charleston, S.C.; Matthews, Pineville, Gastonia, WinstonSalem (two stores), Durham, Greensboro, Fayetteville, Raleigh and Cary, N.C., and Fairfield, Al.

"We could have been successful there, but only after significant capital spending," said Hechinger pres. and ceo John Hechinger, Jr., adding that the company would devote its resources to more profitable markets that are not over-stored.

The company said it plans to open up to 12 larger "Chesapeake class" HQs during the coming fiscal year in markets including Virginia, New

Hampshire, Massachusetts and Michigan, and three new warehouse-style Hechinger Home Project Centers. Twenty-four storOs in the chains are to be remodeled.

Prototype HQ Heavy On The Extras

The new HQ Plus megastores are "everything we were before - plus," said ceo Frank Dozci.

The stores, which opened last fall in Virginia Beach and Newport News, Va., cover 187,500 sq. ft. of shopping space, compared to 86,000 in the older stores, and have 40Vo more employees.

Amenities include free seminars and consulting services. drivethru lumber area, snack bar, child care, tool rentals, installation services and contractors' desk.

In the spring, a third HQ Plus will open in Norfolk,

Va., with sites being sought in Richmond and Hampton. HQ Plus is an expanded version of a prototype store built in Chesapeake, Va., in July 1993.