Home Depot to close 15 underperforming US stores

By Harry R. Weber
It is the first time the world's largest home improvement store chain has ever closed a flagship store for performance reasons. The move, to be completed within the next two months, will affect 1,300 employees.
Some analysts and large investors have worried in the past that as Home Depot gets bigger, it would invariably put stores in direct competition with existing stores, a practice known in the industry as cannibalization.
Home Depot in the past has justified cannibalization by saying it increases the company's overall market share.
On Thursday, Blake said Home Depot's goal now is to "reduce cannibalization and drive higher returns."
Growth aside, Home Depot previously had never closed one of its flagship stores for performance reasons.
More: Home Depot - Yahoo! Finance