Power Equipment Direct, an Internet-only retailer with nine e-commerce sites, has opened its first bricks-and-mortar store -- right down the street from Home Dept, Lowe’s and Sears. According to an article in Internet Retailer, the Bolingbrook, Ill., location, a suburb of Chicago, is adjacent to one of the company’s warehouses, allowing immediate fulfillment of most orders. 

Founded in 2003, the privately owned company waited until last December to test a “pop-up” store for the snowblowers sold through SnowBlowersDirect.com. By February, after store sales exceeded expectations, company founder and CEO Jon Hoch decided to make the store permanent and offer shoppers his full line of products, which include  lawn mowers, pressure washers, air compressors, chain saws, electric generators, log splitters, sump pumps and water pumps.

Each product category has its own e-commerce site, and Hoch said he will consider opening additional stores if the current pilot continues to be successful.