By Paul Morden, from www.theobserver.ca The Observer
Sarnia-Lambton politicians were at Lowe’s Tuesday to welcome the new home improvement store, and its 135 new jobs, to the city.
Manager Mark Mollard said the 95,000-square-foot store quietly opened its doors on Boxing Day.
“The community has been fantastic,” Mollard said. “From the day we opened the doors, we’ve had an amazing amount of foot traffic.”
Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley said talks about the Lowe’s development began three years ago.
“It was a big coup that they decided to come into this marketplace,” he said. “They’re very respected for their treatment of their employees and their customer service.”
The store opening comes as several hundred jobs are being lost with the closing of the local NCO call centre.
“There are a significant number of new jobs here,” Bradley said about Lowe’s. “They’re a very strong corporation, so I expect those jobs to last.”
The impact will “spill out into the whole economy,” Bradley added.
He called on Sarnia-Lambton MP Patricia Davidson to help him finish sawing through a board Tuesday to officially open the store.
“We don’t focus on the competition,” Mollard said about the new store’s neighbour, Home Depot. “We focus on our four walls and what we need to do.”
Opening a new Lowe’s store generally costs $20 million, he said.
While the initial round of hiring is all but complete, the store may add another 15 to 20 workers for the spring and summer, he said.
“Most of those will be seasonal jobs.”
Lowe’s district manager Matt Basso said the Sarnia staff were chosen from “several thousand folks” who applied.
“We’re very pleased with the over 130 individuals who were selected . . . many of whom are full-time.”
Sarnia’s Lowe’s is one of the smaller locations among the 30 stores the company has opened in Canada so far, Mollard said.
“But it has, generally, the same item mix, just in a little smaller footprint,” he said.
Store number 31 in Niagara Falls was set to have its official opening Wednesday, he said.
“We’re continuing to grow quite rapidly in Canada.”
The North Carolina-based retailer’s first Canadian stored opened in December 2007 after it announced plans to develop as many as 100 locations in Canada.
The Sarnia store also includes a Subway sandwich shop that employs about 10 people.
Mollard grew up in nearby Forest and began working for Lowe’s in Michigan after he married an American girl.
He returned to Ontario initially as an assistant manager of a Lowe’s store in London and then was appointed manager of the new Sarnia site.
Grand opening activities are planned for this weekend.
At Tuesday’s event, Lowe’s donated $2,500 to the Sarnia-Lambton YMCA’s Strengthening the Community campaign.
Bradley said city hall is current studying where commercial growth should go in the next five to 10 years.
“There’s going to be a big debate coming at council this year about should we expand the commercial area, or are we simply allowing it to shift around.”
Observer Article ID# 3431473
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