Orange County Register

About 51,750 Homelite, Husky and Black Max brand generators that were made in China and sold at Home Depot and Sam’s Club and are being voluntarily recalled, according to a report released Thursday by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

The fuel gauge can leak excessive amounts of gasoline, posing a fire hazard to consumers. No injuries have been reported.

The Homelite and Husky generators were sold at Home Depot stores nationwide and Black Max generators were sold at Sam’s Club stores nationwide from July 2008 through May 2009 for between $480 and $1,600.

Consumers should immediately stop using their generator and contact Homelite Consumer Products Inc. for Homelite and Husky brands at 800-242-4672 or visit www.homelite.com or contact Black Max at 800-726-5760 or visit www.blackmaxtools.com for a free repair kit.

(Photo from CPSC Web site.)

More from OC Retail:

• Company with South Coast Plaza store files for bankruptcy
• Retailer plans to discontinue Irvine business
• Big retailer closes 2 O.C. locations
• Shoe company seeks bankruptcy protection
• Discounter closes local store, opens O.C. exclusive concept
• Target gives opening date for 28th O.C. store
• Target recalls 43,000 product units made in China
• Sears closes O.C. store
• Pottery Barn closes O.C. store
• Mattress retailer seeks bankruptcy protection
• Kohl’s to open in 1 more O.C. Mervyn’s store
• Family may reopen Mervyn’s stores
• $35 movie ticket may be coming to O.C.
• Big discounter to open O.C. store
• Ann Taylor to close O.C. store

For more from OC Retail, see list of links on the right-hand side of this blog.

The Home Depot announced Monday the launch of its improved Spanish-language Web site.

Espanol.homedepot.com offers know-how information for home improvement projects as well as online specials and Home Depot services.

The retailer cited some Juniper Research data: the Internet is a preferred venue for Hispanics to research and access information, as they are more likely than non-Hispanics to research products online before shopping offline.

Hispanic online spending is expected to reach $21.6 billion by 2011, Home Depot said.

Home Depot and Best Buy are among only a handful of other large U.S. retailers offering Spanish-language online shopping, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Several years ago, Home Depot set up a partnership with Telemundo to create the first Spanish home improvement show and instituted bilingual signage and packaging in its stores. It also conducts bilingual how-to clinics and kids’ workshops in stores located in top Hispanic markets, according to The Wall Street Journal.

More from OC Retail:

• Macy’s exec addresses store closure rumors
• Downtown Disney store to close
• Nordstrom reduces prices on 800-plus styles
• 1,000-plus store closures expected after Christmas
• Brea Mall store closes
• Fitness retailer with 5 O.C. stores files for bankruptcy
• 2 Irvine store openings
• American Idol winner designs clothing for O.C. retailer
• Bankrupt discount retailer closing big O.C. store
• O.C. sales tax to jump to 9.25%? What are retailers saying?

For more from OC Retail, see list of links on right-hand side of this blog.

Other retail news:

• Seal Beach shopping center looks to fill vacancies
• Farmers Market gets official kickoff at Westminster Mall

Home Depot plans to open its 23rd O.C. store in Huntington Beach on Oct. 30.

The store at 19101 Magnolia St. spans about 126,000 square feet, including a 25,000-square-foot garden center. By comparison, the company’s average store size is 140,000 square feet. The new local store will employ 180 workers, said spokesman Kathryn Gallagher.

This is the second Home Depot in Huntington Beach. The first one opened in 1985.

Here’s what Home Depot had to say about opening the Huntington Beach store during a tough housing market:

“We continue to open new stores where it makes sense for our business and the community,” Gallagher said. ”We still intend to open 55 new stores this year.  The 50 mentioned in our release are mostly in 2009 and 2010. We have a more disciplined approach to capital allocation and new store growth. As we increase our focus on existing stores and maintain our continued investment in improving those stores, we will be able to create better shareholder returns.”

For the fiscal second quarter ended Aug. 3, sales at stores open at least a year fell 7.9 percent.

In May, the home-improvement giant said it will close 15 underperforming stores and cancel plans to open about 50 stores in the U.S. None of those are in Orange County, Gallagher said.

To read more about the new Huntington Beach store, CLICK HERE.

(Photo of new Huntington Beach store courtesy of Home Depot.)

More from OC Retail:

• Newport shopping center developer gives some store details
• 20 stores, eateries, etc. to open at new Asian O.C. center
• Will an O.C. women’s clothing chain be discontinued?
• Discount retailer to open big O.C. store
• Brea Mall store closes
• Bella Terra store closes
• Goodbye Chick’s Sporting Goods; Dick’s plans big O.C. store
• Bankrupt shoe retailer closing O.C. store
• First outlet mall in O.C. gives more details on stores
• Bankrupt discount retailer closing big O.C. store

For more from OC Retail, see list of links on right-hand side of this blog.

Other O.C. business news:

• The news on Laguna Hills Nursery closing
• Finally, T-Mobile speaks: 3G Internet coming to O.C.
• Banks seize record number of O.C. homes
• Fresh & Easy workers in O.C. are first to demand union status
• Billionaire sues for $500 million over his tax woes
• Sales tax enforcement targets O.C. ZIP codes
• Irvine Co.’s Bren loses $1 billion! Maybe
• Readers to Sarah Palin: Keep mum about Botox

Home Depot plans to start cutting prices this week on as many as 1,200 items, including trash bags, paint, thermostats and toilets, according to The Associated Press.

Prices will be cut between 5 percent and 50 percent. The discounts will last at least through the next quarter.

The price reduction is the home-improvement chain’s latest effort to boost weak sales. For the fiscal second quarter, sales at stores open at least a year fell 7.9 percent.

The chain has 22 stores in Orange County and plans to open another local location later this year. To find out where and other details, CLICK HERE.

Other business news:

• 3M buys O.C. car-wax pioneer
• Self-serving froyo chains invading O.C., including Cherry on Top
• Get cable Internet in O.C. without Time Warner
• No plastic surgery for Sarah Palin, but maybe Botox
• Fairness drove judge to reject Broadcom billionaire’s plea deal
• $34.5 million Laguna home sale is O.C.’s second priciest

More from OC Retail:

• 20 stores, eateries, etc. to open at new Asian O.C. center
• Brea Mall store closes
• First outlet mall in O.C. gives more details on stores
• Forever 21 suspects fraud for 98,930 debit/credit cards
• MTV star to sign autographs at new Irvine Spectrum store
• Bella Terra store closes
• 90 seconds, $1,000 at Nordstrom Rack. What did he get?
• Jo-Ann to close stores
• Goodbye Chick’s Sporting Goods; Dick’s plans big O.C. store
• 400 wait in line at O.C. Nordstrom Rack

For more from OC Retail, see list of links on right-hand side of this blog.