What is amazing to me is that we have not seen more news like Bailey’s Lumber announcement they are shuttering their Gulfport store. Residential construction has been in the tank for about a year now across the vast majority of the coast due to insurance affordability issues. Now with the credit crisis and economic slowdown in full bloom, the few pockets of activity left in Eastern Harrison/Western Jackson counties are also suffering.
There is a good bit of analysis I could add to Ryan LaFontaine’s story but I won’t since I’m feeling lazy. 😉 Mr Bailey is absolutely right that Home Depot and Lowes are not his company’s problem. Contractors with little to no backlog would be the cause IMHO.
The slumping economy is forcing one of the Coast’s lumber giants to shut its doors, despite much post-Katrina construction left to be done in South Mississippi.
Bailey’s Lumber and Supply, a major player in construction in the Southeast since 1951, will soon close its Gulfport location as a belt-tightening move to help weather the current economic storm.
“We feel like this will make us a little leaner and meaner to deal with the economic conditions that we’re facing,” owner Woody Bailey told SunHerald.com Friday.
Bailey said the move is not permanent. Instead, the company plans to “mothball” the Gulfport store in hopes of reopening once things improve.
Meantime, the Gulfport employees will be offered jobs at another Bailey’s location, either Bay St. Louis, Ocean Springs, Jackson, Brandon or Meridian.
“With the level of business that we have currently (on the Coast) and with what we are forecasting over the next several months, we feel like we can take care of our customers from our stores in Bay St. Louis and Ocean Springs,” Bailey said.