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- Published: 16 Mar 2008
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Company name | Lowe's Companies, Inc. |
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Company logo | |
Company type | Public |
Foundation | North Wilkesboro, North Carolina (1946) |
Location | Wilkesboro, North Carolina, U.S. |
Locations | 1,749 (January 2011)}} |
Under Buchan's management, the store focused on hardware and building materials. Before then, the product mix had also included notions, dry goods, horse tack, snuff, produce, and groceries. The company bought a second store in Sparta, North Carolina, in 1949.
Carl Buchan and Jim Lowe differed on expanding the company to new areas, and they split in 1952, with Buchan taking control of the hardware and building supply business, and Lowe taking other joint ventures the two controlled, including a car dealership. Buchan became the sole owner of Lowe's. Lowe started the Lowes Foods grocery store chain in 1954.
Buchan quickly expanded, opening stores by 1955 in Asheville, Charlotte, and Durham, North Carolina. More stores opened through the 1950s.
In 1960, Carl Buchan died of a heart attack at age 44. His five-man executive team, which included Robert Strickland and Leonard Herring, took the company public in 1961. By 1962 Lowe's operated 21 stores and reported annual revenues of $32 million.
Lowe's continued to expand throughout the southeast United States.
It suffered in the 1980s, due to market conditions and increasing competition from the new big-box chain, The Home Depot. For a while, Lowe's resisted adopting the mega-store format, partly because Lowe's management believed that the smaller towns where Lowe's mostly operated would not support huge stores. However, Lowe's eventually had to adopt the big-box format in order to survive. Today most Lowe's stores are of the big-box variety, though some classic format stores remain in smaller markets.
Lowe's has since grown nationally, aided by the purchase of Eagle Hardware & Garden in 1999. It is now the second-largest home improvement chain in North America, and has begun expanding outside the United States, starting with the Southern Ontario area. The first store outside of United States was in Hamilton, Ontario, at Barton Street and Woodward Avenue.
Lowe's announced on 25 August 2009 that it had entered a joint venture with the Australian retailer Woolworths to enter the Australian market with 150 big box style superstores. The first store is scheduled for a February 2010 opening in Victoria.
In 2006, Lowe's partnered with designer Marianne Cusato to develop and offer affordable house plans for the hurricane-affected Gulf region. Lowe's is the exclusive retailer for both the plans and building materials for the Lowe's Katrina Cottage. They offer easy construction and affordability, as well as the possibility of expansion. Moreover, they meet all international building codes and exceed hurricane codes.
Lowe's has a wide variety of television and radio commercials. A significant number of different racing-inspired commercials can be seen and are often played outside of television race coverage. Gene Hackman's voice can be heard on many commercial advertisements for Lowe's. However, Ben Yannette is currently doing the Lowe's advertising campaign voiceovers.
In 2006, Lowe's began sponsoring the radio broadcast booth of the New York Yankees. Frequently during every game Yankees announcer John Sterling states "We are coming to you live from the Lowe's Broadcast Booth. Lowe's: Let's build something together."
Lowe's and other landscaping companies landscape some areas of Busch Gardens Williamsburg.
The domain lowes.com receives at least 7 million unique visitors per month.
The corporation is the primary sponsor for five-time Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson in the #48 Chevrolet Impala SS and a part time sponsor of the #5 Nationwide Series team; both teams are owned by Hendrick Motorsports. Prior to the current sponsorship deal with Hendrick Motorsports, Lowe's was the sponsor of the #31 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing driven by Mike Skinner and Robby Gordon from 1997 to 2001. Prior to the RCR deal, Lowe's was the primary sponsor of the #11 Ford driven by Brett Bodine for Junior Johnson And Associates, and later, Brett's own team, Brett Bodine Racing (after Bodine bought the #11 team from Johnson).
Lowe's also sponsors Fernandez Racing in the American Le Mans Series and previously sponsored the team in the Rolex Sports Car Series; in that series, Lowe's sponsors the #99 Gainsco Stallings Racing Pontiac in events where Johnson is driving.
Each store represents an average investment of $20.5 million ($20.4 million USD).
Full-time hourly employees are entitled to two weeks of vacation after one year of service, three weeks after five years of service, and four weeks after fifteen years of service, while salaried corporate employees with prior experience often receive two weeks of vacation immediately. Lowe's also offers a comprehensive service reward to long-term employees, such as additional vacation time and a series of gifts, ranging from a two-year pin to a thirty-year Rolex watch.
Lowe's offers health, vision, and dental plans for full-time employees. In addition, part-time employees are eligible for health benefits as well, although the part-time employees' health plan is more limited than those offered for full-time employees. Lowe's further offers a variety of other health-and-wellness benefits including optional pre-paid legal services and a program called LifeTrack, which offers programs and rewards to encourage healthy behavior in employees (including smoking cessation and weight-loss programs and incentives).
The lawsuit in Pennsylvania became a class-action lawsuit in June 2004, with 550 employees.
The case in Ohio was filed by ten former Lowe’s employees, in August 2004.
Category:Companies based in North Carolina Category:Companies established in 1946 Category:Hardware stores of the United States Category:Home improvement retailers of the United States
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