WHITEHALL TWP., Pa. – A popular retail chain has built a larger local footprint with a new store in Lehigh County.
Harbor Freight Tools, a California-based chain carrying a wide selection of tools, hardware and other items for the home, garden and car, on July 30 held a soft opening of its new store at 2647 MacArthur Road in Whitehall Township.
The store fills a renovated MacArthur Commons space that was previously home to arts and crafts chain A.C. Moore, which announced the closure of all of its stores in late 2019 due to a difficult retail environment.
Harbor Freight’s new Whitehall location is the company’s 65th store in Pennsylvania and third in Lehigh County.
It is “even more convenient” for customers in the Whitehall community as they previously had to travel about five miles to the chain’s Bethlehem or South Whitehall locations, according to Craig Hoffman, Harbor Freight’s director of corporate communications and content.
“We’ve been looking to open another location in Lehigh County, and specifically in Whitehall for a while now, but we always believe in waiting until we find a location that meets our needs and the needs of our customers: good visibility, easy access, ample parking, and the right square footage,” Hoffman said.
The new Whitehall location – totaling 23,000 square feet – is one of Harbor Freight’s larger stores, but it’s still smaller than the “big box” stores in the company’s category, offering a competitive advantage, Hoffman said.
“Many of our customers are professional trades workers who want to stop in, find what they need and then head out quickly to their job site or workshop,” Hoffman said. “For other customers, this size makes it easier to browse and find our great deals.”
Harbor Freight traces its origins to 1977, when founder Eric Schmidt began bypassing middlemen, working directly with factories and passing the savings on to customers.
The first store opened in 1980, and the company has grown to over 1,500 stores nationwide, with 2-3 new locations opening every week.
Harbor Freight, employing more than 28,000 team members, has three other Lehigh Valley locations in Wilson, Bethlehem and South Whitehall Township.
Around two dozen locations operate in the Lehigh Valley and its surrounding counties.
“All our customers will find a full selection of quality tools and accessories in categories including automotive, air and power tools, storage, outdoor power equipment, generators, welding supplies, shop equipment, hand tools and more, at lowest prices, which has been our mission since we began more than 45 years ago,” Hoffman said.
“We also chose to open in Whitehall because we know there is a wide pool of qualified applicants to join our team. We hire locally, and in addition to the construction workers we’ll be hiring, we’ll be bringing an additional new 25-30 jobs to the Whitehall community.”
Harbor Freight offers highly competitive pay, great benefits and the “opportunity to advance in one of the fastest growing companies in retail,” Hoffman said.
“We were recently certified as a Great Place to Work for the second year in a row, and we’ve been recognized by Forbes Magazine as one of the top 20 Best Large Employers in Retail for four years in a row, and one of the top Employers for Veterans for three years as well,” Hoffman added.
“They’ve also recognized us as one of the Best Employers for Women, and for diversity, an honor we’ve received from Diversityjobs.com for two years as well. The company has also been named by Fortune as one of America’s Most Innovative Companies, and by Newsweek magazine as one of America’s Most Trustworthy Companies, and most recently, as one of America’s Greatest Workplaces for Veterans.”
The new Whitehall location of Harbor Freight operates between Giant and Dick’s Sporting Goods in the MacArthur Commons.
The shopping center is home to other well-known chains such as Burlington, Planet Fitness, TJ Maxx, Petco, Big Lots and Walmart.
Hours for the new Whitehall Harbor Freight location are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays.