Eagle, Home Depot Square Off In Battle For Coeur D’Alene Market

Just when Coeur d’Alene’s existing hardware and building supply stores begin to possibly thrive, with the demise of Ernst and Pay ‘n’ Pak, along comes Fred Meyer. The giant variety store opens today on Highway 95.

However, the local hardware vendors aren’t too upset because Fred Meyer is so diverse that many area home improvement buyers will make major purchases at their specialty shops. And the under-construction Ziggie’s on Highway 41? Well, that’s Post Falls.

Then, last month, much to their chagrin, comes the announcement that Eagle Hardware & Garden will build a 95,000-square-foot store on Appleway at its intersection with Julia Avenue. Eagle is owned by Dave Heerensperger, Pay ‘n’ Pak’s founder who left the company before it floundered.

Today the local entrepreneurs, and Heerensperger & Co., are really scratching their heads.

Home Depot, North America’s largest home retail center, is planning a giant Coeur d’Alene store. If the Atlanta-based company finds its way over red-tape hurdles, the facility would be located on a 30-acre commercial development in the northwest corner of Highway 95 and Canfield Avenue.

The property, which reaches north to Wilbur Avenue, is owned by Hecla Mining Co., which also owns and is marketing about 40 acres on the east side of Highway 95. These parcels include Target (and the former Ernst store) and extend north to Wilbur and east to Government Way.

The west side is designated by developer GVD Commercial Properties Inc., of Orange County, Calif., as Phase I. The east side is Phase II. Phase I would include large retail tenants, and Phase II, preliminarily, is designated for offices and recreational or automotive businesses.

Home Depot would be the first major occupant of Phase I, although any of Price-CostCo, Wal-Mart and Toys ‘R’ Us could be part of the package.

“All those tenants are ones we’ve done business with in the past,” said GVD President Jerry Dicker. Those are retailers that often accompany Home Depot in occupying a large parcel.

Home Depot’s proposed 105,000-square-foot store with a 24,000-square-foot garden center would employ 150 to 200. The fact that Eagle Hardware also plans to build a large store in Coeur d’Alene was not a mystery.

“Eagle is a very worthy competitor,” Dicker said. “They were factored into our equation before Home Depot made the decision to go ahead with this.”

With 530 stores in the United States and Canada and development plans for South America, Home Depot expects to have 1,000 stores by the year 2000. The 19-year-old company has more than 100,000 employees and in 1996 boasted gross sales of $19.6 billion. Fortune magazine ranked it as America’s most admired retailer.

Amy Friend, Home Depot public relations manager, explained the store is different because it utilizes the warehouse format, but emphasizes customer service and adapting to local needs.

Home Depot services include installation of purchased products and free in-store design consultants and computer-assisted design programs. The company’s 1997 philanthropic budget of $10.3 million is directed to its communities and employees with the major focuses of affordable housing, at-risk youth and the environment, Friend said.

Marketing to both professionals and do-it-your-selfers, Home Depot stocks 40,000 to 50,000 types of building materials, home improvement supplies, decor items and lawn and garden products. The store would be the second in the Inland Northwest. A store is under construction near Sprague and Fancher in Spokane. The Seattle area has 10 stores.

Just as local economists and business owners are shaky about the fate of other stores (especially food markets) as Fred Meyer opens, they also have doubts about the success of “too many” hardware stores.

“Eagle is well on its way. This town is too small for two giants to make it,” one Realtor said.

The bottom line is that locally owned stores may suffer a slow death. One thing notable about hardware store customers, however, especially men, is that they are very loyal. Many seem to return to their old, familiar stomping grounds rather than shop around. Maybe there are - or will be - enough new people and new business to help everyone survive.

, DataTimes MEMO: Nils Rosdahl’s column appears in the Idaho edition of The Spokesman-Review on Wednesdays.

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Nils Rosdahl The Spokesman-Review