- Hechinger
Infobox_Company
company_name = Hechinger
company_
company_type = Private
foundation = 1911 (as home improvement retail, defunct 1999)
2004 (asonline retailer )
location =Landover, Maryland
industry =Retail
products = Lumber, tools, hardware, garden supplies & plants
homepage = http://www.hechinger.com/Hechinger, mistakenly called Hechinger's by many customers, was a chain of
home improvement retail stores headquartered inLandover, Maryland outsideWashington, D.C. , and is currently an online retailer owned byHome Decor Products .John Hechinger, Sr. helped pioneer thedo it yourself industry; from a singlehardware store established by his father in 1911, Hechinger grew to a 64-store chain by the time it acquiredVirginia Beach, Virginia -basedHQ Home Quarters Warehouse in December 1987 for $66 million. In the 1990s it underwent a massive expansion of both HQ and the Hechinger Co. divisions, openingbig-box store s to better compete with rivalsHome Depot andLowe's .The company continued to lose money in the early 1990s, however. The Hechinger family sold the company to Los Angeles investors
Leonard Green & Partners for $507 million in July 1997, and the management launched new, smaller concept stores called Better Spaces and Wye River Hardware & Home searching for a niche. In September, Hechinger was merged withSan Antonio, Texas -basedBuilders Square , formerly owned byKmart .After several rounds of store closings, Hechinger Co. filed for
Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection onJune 11 ,1999 , but the reorganization failed. That September, Hechinger's assets were liquidated, including its 117 remaining stores.In 2004,
Home Decor Products , bought the Hechinger brand name and opened anonline retailer the following year, which sells the same products as the former brand. The company currently does not operate anyretail store s.References
* Golubovskis, George. " [http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/1997/07/21/editorial4.html Hechinger no longer our hometown store] ," "Washington Business Journal",
July 18 , 1997
* " [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/business/longterm/post200/data/bftc010.htm Post 200: Hechinger Co.] ," "The Washington Post ",April 28 , 1997
*Kelly, John, " [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/27/AR2006032701623_pf.html A Familiar Brand, Reborn in Pixels] ", The Washington Post, March 28, 2006External links
* [http://www.hechinger.com/ Hechinger's online hardware store]
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