Lowe's Companies Stock

Lowe's Companies, Inc. (Lowe's) operates as a home improvement retailer.

Strategy

Lowe’s is an omnichannel retailer whose core priorities are to provide an excellent customer experience, create a great place to work for the company’s associates, and improve its communities. The key elements of the company’s strategy are to drive pro penetration; accelerate online business; expand installation services; drive localization; and elevate assortment.

The company continues to transform its Pro offerings to drive Pro penetration by expanding its Pro brands and product assortments, resetting the footprint of its stores to better serve Pro customers, and introducing its new MVPs Pro Rewards & Partnership Program this year, which further enhances its relationship with its Pro customers. The company is investing in its omnichannel retail capabilities to expand its online business. The company is increasing visibility to its installation services through improved signage throughout its stores and continuing to improve the customer experience for its services, which are provided by its network of independent installers or outsourced to its third-party model that sells, furnishes, and installs more complex projects. The company is expanding localization efforts better serve the product needs of the unique communities across the country. Finally, the company continues to elevate its product assortment to provide the right products at the right price to meet its customers’ needs.

Customers and Market

The home improvement market in which the company operates is highly fragmented, serving Pro customers, individual homeowners, and renters completing a wide array of projects that vary along the spectrum of do-it-yourself (DIY) and do-it-for-me (DIFM). The Pro customer consists of three broad categories: tradespeople, repair and remodelers, and property managers.

Omnichannel Capabilities

The company is committed to meeting customer demand to shop however, whenever, and wherever they choose. The company’s omnichannel capabilities allow its customers to move from channel to channel with simple and seamless transitions even within the same transaction. For example, for many projects, more than half of the company’s customers conduct research online before making an in-store purchase. For purchases made on Lowes.com, customers may pick up their purchase in-store at the customer service desk, curbside, or from touchless lockers, or have their purchase delivered to their home or business. In addition, flexible fulfillment options are available for in-store purchases and those made through the contact center. The company’s ability to sell products in-store, online, on-site, or through its contact centers speaks to its leverage of its existing infrastructure with the omnichannel capabilities it continues to introduce.

In-Store

The company’s home improvement stores offer similar products and services, with certain variations based on localization, along with a dedicated team of knowledgeable and friendly front-line associates available to assist its customers. The company continues to develop and implement productivity tools to enhance the efficiency of its sales associates and to integrate its order management and fulfillment processes. The company’s home improvement stores have Wi-Fi capabilities that provide customers with Internet access, making information available quickly to further simplify the shopping experience.

Online

Through its websites and mobile applications, the company seeks to empower consumers by providing a 24/7 shopping experience, product information, customer ratings and reviews, buying guides, how-to videos, and other information. These tools help consumers make more informed purchasing decisions and give them increased confidence to undertake home improvement projects. The company enables customers to choose from a variety of fulfillment options, including buying online and picking up in-store, curbside pick-up, truck delivery, and parcel shipment to their homes or businesses. The company also offers new virtual design services for paints, blinds, and flooring for its customers.

On-Site

The company has on-site specialists available for retail and Pro customers to assist them in selecting products and services for their projects. The company’s Pro sales managers meet with Pro customers at their place of business or on a job site and leverage nearby stores and its distribution network to ensure it meets customer needs for products and resources. In addition, the company’ s In-Home Sales program is available in the majority of its stores to discuss various exterior projects such as windows, doors, roofing, siding, and deck projects, whose characteristics lend themselves to an in-home consultative sales approach.

Contact Centers

Lowe’s operates contact centers in a virtual workplace. These contact centers help Lowe’s enable an omnichannel customer experience by providing the ability to tender sales, assist with order management, coordinate deliveries, manage after-sale installations, and answer general customer questions via phone, mail, e-mail, live chat, and social media.

Products

Product Selection

To meet customers’ varying needs, the company offers a complete line of products for construction, maintenance, repair, remodeling, and decorating. The company offers home improvement products in the following categories: Appliances, Seasonal & Outdoor Living, Lawn & Garden, Lumber, Kitchens & Bath, Tools, Paint, Millwork, Hardware, Flooring, Rough Plumbing, Building Materials, Decor, and Electrical. A typical Lowe’s-branded home improvement store stocks approximately 40,000 items, with over two million additional items available through the company’s online selling channels. The company’s product assortments offered in-store are tailored to meet the needs of the local market.

The company is committed to offering a wide selection of national brand-name merchandise complemented by its selection of high-value private brands. In fiscal 2022, the company extended its STAINMASTER brand to include additional flooring categories outside of carpet like laminate, vinyl, and tile. The company offers STAINMASTER paint as its first private paint brand. In addition, the company is dedicated to ensuring the products it sells are sourced in a socially responsible, efficient, and cost-effective manner.

Services

Installed Sales

The company offers installation services through independent contractors in many of its product categories, with Flooring, Kitchens & Bath, Millwork, Appliances, and Lumber accounting for the majority of installed sales. The company’s Installed Sales model, which separates selling and project administration tasks, allows its sales associates to focus on project selling, while project managers ensure that the details related to installing the products are efficiently executed.

Lowe’s Protection Plans and Repair Services

The company offers extended protection plans for certain products within the Appliances, Kitchens & Bath, Decor, Millwork, Rough Plumbing, Electrical, Seasonal & Outdoor Living, Tools, and Hardware categories. These protection plans provide customers with product protection that enhances the coverage offered by the manufacturer’s warranty and provide additional benefits and repair services that extend beyond the manufacturer’s warranty.

Dispositions

On February 3, 2023, Lowe’s completed the sale of its Canadian retail business.

Seasonality

The retail business in general is subject to seasonal influences, and the company’s business is, to some extent, seasonal. Historically, the company has realized the highest volume of sales during its second fiscal quarter (May, June, and July) and the lowest volume of sales during its fourth fiscal quarter (year ended February 3, 2023) (November, December, and January).

Intellectual Property

The name Lowe’s is a registered service mark of one of the company’s wholly-owned subsidiaries. The company considers this mark and logo and the accompanying goodwill and name recognition to be valuable to its business. This subsidiary owns and maintains various additional registered and unregistered trademarks, service marks and trade names, including private brand product names, such as, Kobalt, STAINMASTER and allen+roth.

History

Lowe's Companies, Inc. was founded in 1921. The company was incorporated in 1952.