() is a
US -based chain of
Retail Home Improvement and
Appliance stores. Founded in 1946 in
North Wilkesboro, North Carolina , the chain now serves over 13 million customers a week in its over 1,400 stores in 49 states. Vermont is the only state without a Lowe's store and with the exception of Wyoming, each of the other 48 states is home to multiple stores. (Wyoming is also home to a Lowe's distribution center). Beginning in 2007 Lowe's will start to operate in
Canada with up to 10 stores opening up in
Ontario . In 2009 Lowe's will start to operate in
Mexico opening between 3 and 5 stores in
Monterrey . Lowe's Companies, Inc. is 45 on the
Fortune 500 list. The chain is now based in
Mooresville, North Carolina , about 30 minutes north of downtown
Charlotte . It is currently the second-largest hardware chain in the United States of America.
Lowe's began as a single neighborhood hardware store in
North Wilkesboro ,
North Carolina in
1946 . Through growth and expansion, and later with the addition and rebranding of Eagle Hardware stores, Lowe's has grown to be the largest home improvement store before
Home Depot with
B&Q 3rd.
Lowe's is organized geographically into Divisions (such as Southeast, West, Northeast), Regions (usually designated with a two-digit number), Areas, Districts and then the individual store. A Lowe's store can have anywhere from 80 to over 400 employees depending on the size and sales volume. Lowe's is a
Big-box Store , that is, a retail warehouse environment, its primary competition is from
Home Depot .
As with large retailers across North America, Lowe's also owns and exclusively sells some of the brands it sells. Some of the brands found at the Lowe's stores are:
- Bosch (tools/appliances)
- Black & Decker (tools)
- Char-Broil (grills)
- Choicedek (composite decking)
- DeWalt (tools)
- Fridgidaire (appliances)
- Harbor Breeze (Ceiling fans and accessories)
- Hitachi (Tools)
- Husqvarna (power equipment)
- John Deere (power equipment)
- Kohler (bath/kitchen)
- Kobalt (tools)
- Larson (storm doors/windows)
- Maytag (appliances)
- Miracle-Gro (garden)
- Olympic (paint)
- Ortho (garden)
- Peachtree (doors/windows)
- Pella (doors/windows)
- Pergo (flooring)
- Portfolio (lighting)
- Roundup (garden)
- Quikrete (building materials)
- Samsung (appliances)
- Scotts (garden)
- Task Force (Tools)
- Therma-Tru (doors/windows)
- TopChoice (lumber)
- Trex (composite decking)
- Troy-bilt (power equipment)
- Valspar (paint; formerly under the name ''American Tradition'')
- Whirlpool (appliances)
Lowe's offers customers about 40,000 products in stock and more through a Special Order Service.
Prior to 2006, Lowe's
Tagline was "Improving Home Improvement." In 2006, Lowe's adopted the new slogan "Let's Build Something Together."
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 Katrina Cottages F&Q
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.
Gene Hackman -other works
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 area's of
Busch Gardens Europe .
Lowe's purchased
Naming Rights of
Lowe's Motor Speedway (formerly ''Charlotte Motor Speedway'') in
Concord, North Carolina in 1999. Lowe's Motor Speedway is home to several
Auto Racing events annually. The corporation also sponsors the 2006
NASCAR Nextel Cup champion
Jimmie Johnson in the #48
Chevy Monte Carlo SS/Impala SS and
Busch Series driver
Kyle Busch in the #5 Chevy; both teams are owned by
Hendrick Motorsports . Previous to the current sponsorship deal with Hendrick Motorsports, Lowe's was the sponsor of the #31 Chevrolet for
Richard Childress Racing from 1997 to
2001 . Drivers during this period included
Mike Skinner and
Robby Gordon . Before that, Lowe's was the primary of the #11
Ford driven by
Brett Bodine for
Junior Johnson Motorsports , and later, Brett's own team,
Brett Bodine Racing (after Bodine bought the #11 team from Johnson).
Lowe's also sponsored
Fernandez Racing in the
Rolex Sports Car Series and later in the
American Le Mans Series when the team switched championships.
Lowe's Canadian unit will start up operations in
Ontario with up to five to six stores by the end of 2007 financial year and will be based in
Toronto , Ontario, headquarters of
Home Depot Canada.
The initial stores are projected to open in the second half of 2007, each creating up to 175 jobs. Each store represents an average investment of $20.5 million ($18.5 million USD).
A news release on Lowe's website stated that "we’re breaking ground on our first location in
Hamilton , have identified additional locations in
Brantford , South
Brampton and
Toronto and have another nine locations approved through our real estate committee process...”"
Lowe's Updates Canadian Expansion Plans
Lowe's will expand to Mexico beginning in 2009. An expected three to five stores will be built in
Monterrey , Mexico's third-largest city. The new operations is expected to create up to 800 jobs, with each store representing an investment of $18-20 million USD.http://lowes.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=press_releases&item=1379
The average time a employee works at Lowe's is less than two years.
Lowe's offers comprehensive benefits to its employees including
401k , employee stock purchase plans, medical coverage and disability benefits. Lowe's also offers all employees and their spouses a 10% discount on store products.
Six company holidays are standard including
New Year's Day ,
Memorial Day ,
Independence Day ,
Labor Day ,
Thanksgiving Day , and
Christmas Day . All holidays save Thanksgiving and Christmas are working holidays, with full-time employees receiving eight hours of holiday pay and part-time employees receiving four.
They forgot to tell you they are also open on Easter! Even Walmart is closed.
Full-time hourly employees are entitled to two weeks of vacation after one year 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 a 401(k) plan for all employees with 90 days of service or greater. Employees are given a wide selection of mutual funds to invest in, as well as company stock. In addition, Lowe's contributes a baseline match to all employees following 180 days of service. Employees can contribute up to 50% of their paycheck, and the company will fully match the first 4.25%
Lowe's markets itself internally and externally as a customer-focused organization in contrast to
Home Depot , a contractor oriented organization. The marketing strategy between Lowe's and Home Depot is similar to the strategy between
Target and
Wal-Mart , with Lowe's stressing a softer and kinder image, appealing to women.
The case focuses on a pay practice known among Lowe's workers as "Chinese overtime," a term that could be translated as "variable overtime." The practice has the effect of paying a decreasing overtime rate the more hours a person works in a week. Your are required to work between 48 and 50 hours per week but are improperly compensated for that time. Fair Labor Standards Act regulations require overtime to be paid at a time-and-a-half rate.
Recently, two groups of Lowe’s employees; both current and former, have started a Lowes class action lawsuit proceedings against the home improvement chain. The Lowe's lawsuit alleges that Lowe’s consistently and systematically failed to pay employee overtime to its employees. The lawsuits are alleged based on violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act which dictate that employers to pay time-and-a-half to workers who put in overtime over the 40 hour work week. Because salaried managers are exempt some companies will promote individuals specifically to get extra work hours out of them without pay. Hence the filing of the Lowes overtime lawsuit.
The variable rate overtime ended in the first quarter of 2006. The lawsuit in itself resulted in a out of court settlement. The amounts dealing with states blue laws were already paid out. Supposedly the last week of September,2007 is when the full amounts will be paid out.
