Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies
The closing of the Seminole bargain outlet store will create the second large vacancy this summer in the city's retail market.
By SHARON L. BOND
© St. Petersburg Times, published July 8, 2001
SEMINOLE -- Scotty's on Seminole Boulevard is going out of business, leaving the city with a second big vacancy in its retail market.
No definite closing date has been set.
"We will sell out the merchandise until it is gone," said Lora Kellogg, vice president in marketing for Scotty's. "Usually a store closing lasts 12 to 15 weeks."
The store at 6780 Seminole Blvd. began its closeout on June 29, she said.
Waccamaw's HomePlace in the Seminole Mall closed Tuesday, after several weeks of going-out-of-business sales. Its parent chain based in South Carolina went out of business completely. Negotiations are under way to fill that space.
In the case of Scotty's, the Winter Haven-based company decided to close all of its bargain outlets of which the Seminole store was one. Other Scotty's hardware stores remain open.
"It's been a fixture for a long time," said Jimmy Johnson, executive director of the Greater Seminole Area Chamber of Commerce. "It was really doing quite well up until the time Home Depot opened" two years ago.
The Seminole Scotty's opened in 1981 when Scotty's was thriving and dominant in Florida's home improvement market. Home Depot and Lowe's now are the top two home improvement stores in the country.
The Seminole store has 21 employees. Kellogg said management and full-time workers will be offered jobs at other Scotty's locations.
Johnson said the Scotty's space in Seminole will be difficult to fill because it is a free-standing store.
Meanwhile, negotiations are under way between Lamar Cos., owners of the Seminole Mall, and a new tenant for the Waccamaw space, according to Larry Lang, executive vice president and asset manager.