Masters shutters with fire sale

PERTH, Australia — Masters Home Improvement, the ill-fated joint venture between Lowe’s and Woolworths, held its final clearance sales over the weekend, with prices slashed by up to 90%. While Sunday was the slated final day of sales, many stores’ inventories were exhausted before the end of the day, leading to frustration and disappointment as customers arrived at empty stores. Woolworths decided to close the 63 stores in January but legal disputes with JV partner Lowe’s delayed the closures. Fewer than half of Masters employees have sought transfer to other Woolworths stores.