Home Depot to close 11 landscape stores

ATLANTA, Sept 20 (Reuters) - Home improvement retailer Home Depot Inc (HD.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said on Thursday that it plans to close 11 Landscape Supply concept stores later this year, affecting 380 workers.

The stores, located in Atlanta and Dallas/Fort Worth, sell a variety of lawn and garden products, including live goods, chemicals, tools and irrigation systems.

"There are no plans to expand the concept," Home Depot spokesman Ron DeFeo said. He added that the retailer felt that resources devoted to the landscape stores, the first of which opened in 2002, could be shifted back into its core retail warehouses.

The company plans to hold job fairs for affected workers, he said.

Atlanta-based Home Depot is focusing on improving service and merchandise at its stores under Chairman and Chief Executive Frank Blake, who was named to the top job after Robert Nardelli resigned early this year.

Blake told reporters at a briefing in February that various store concepts were under review. The retailer closed two floor stores earlier this year, and sold its Home Depot Supply wholesale distribution business last month.

Home Depot shares closed down 86 cents to $35.32 on the New York Stock Exchange.

(Reporting by Karen Jacobs)