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>Donna-

In my yout, F&H, was a "local" paint in the Philadelphia area. It was made
in
north Philly. To my knowledge they are still in business, it is still sold
in
Hechengers (sp) the local Home Depot competition.

Twybil<

Sorry, folks, Hechinger's closed in 1999 or 2000, having been sold by the
Hechinger family for $500m a few years ago. The new owners tried to merge
it with some other regional stores (in NJ I believe) & go national, and
couldn't cut it. Hechinger's was victim to what they themselves had done to
most of the indie stores in the DC area (their original home base). Home
Despot now has no effective competition here, except where there are also
Lowe's (in MD); this is like choosing one's preferred way to be executed.
Fortunately, at least in Arlington and McLean, small local hardware stores
still thrive and provide some alternatives. But Fairfax Hardware closed
last month after generations in the same family. 

Immediately upon Hechinger's closing, HD raised all its prices and stopped
carrying some things that Hechinger's had. I have been told this is HD's
standard operating procedure as it kills competitors in a new market area. 

Don (buys Morgan fasteners at Cherrydale Hardware in Arlington)