Harbor Freight Tools coming to New Albany

New Albany is apparently going to have a Harbor Freight Tools retail store.

While no official announcement has been made, the company has filed plans with the city to renovate the former Goody’s in the Wal-Mart shopping center.

No time line was provided.

The company is privately owned and specializes in discount tools and equipment. It is based in Calabasas, California.

Harbor Freight Tools has a chain of about 1,000 retail stores, as well as a mail-order and e-commerce business. They employ over 20,000 people in the United States.

The company got its start as a mail-order tool business specializing in liquidated and returned merchandise.

Its first retail store opened in 1980, selling returned merchandise from the mail-order business.

The success of the first retail store led to the eventual opening of others.

To give an idea of the variety of items Harbor Freight sells, its web site has more than 37,000 indexed pages.

Area cities where Harbor Freight has retail stores include Columbus, Corinth, Oxford, Southaven and Tupelo.

Harbor Freight stores are typically open seven days a week. Hours are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, and from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays. Holiday hours may vary.