Lowe's Companies, Inc.
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Lowe's Companies, Inc. ( ) is an American
retail Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is the sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholes ...
company specializing in
home improvement The concept of home improvement, home renovation or remodeling is the process of renovating, making improvements or making additions to one's home. Home improvement can consist of projects that upgrade an existing home interior (such as electr ...
. Headquartered in
Mooresville, North Carolina Mooresville is a town located in the southwestern section of Iredell County, North Carolina, United States, and is a part of the fast-growing Charlotte metropolitan area. The population was 50,193 at the 2020 census, making it the most populo ...
, the company operates a chain of retail stores in the United States. As of October 28, 2022, Lowe's and its related businesses operated 2,181 home improvement and hardware stores in North America. Lowe's is the second-largest hardware chain in the United States (previously the largest in the U.S. until surpassed by
Home Depot The Home Depot, Inc., often referred to as Home Depot, is an American multinational corporation, multinational home improvement retail corporation that sells tools, construction products, appliances, and services, including fuel and transportat ...
in 1989) behind rival the Home Depot and ahead of
Menards Menard, Inc., doing business as Menards, ( ) is an American big-box home improvement retail chain headquartered in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. It is the third-largest home improvement retailer in the United States (behind Lowe's and Home Depot), wit ...
. It is also the second-largest hardware chain in the world, also behind the Home Depot, but ahead of European retailers
Leroy Merlin Leroy Merlin () is a French-headquartered home improvement and gardening retailer serving several countries in Europe, Asia, South America, and Africa. Leroy Merlin is owned by the Mulliez family, which also owns Auchan. History In 1923, ...
, B&Q, and OBI. The company previously operated in Australia through the
Masters Home Improvement Masters Home Improvement was an Australian home improvement chain operated by two retailers; Woolworths and Lowe's. It was established as a way for Woolworths to enter the hardware retail market, which has been historically dominated by Bunning ...
joint venture until 2016, in Mexico until 2019, and in Canada until selling its operations (which will be consolidated under the Rona brand) to
Sycamore Partners Sycamore Partners is an American private equity firm based in New York specializing in retail and consumer investments. The firm has approximately $10 billion in aggregate committed capital. History Founding Sycamore Partners was founded in 2 ...
in 2023.


History

The first Lowe's store, Mr. L.S. Lowe's North Wilkesboro Hardware, opened in
North Wilkesboro, North Carolina North Wilkesboro is a town in Wilkes County, North Carolina, Wilkes County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 4,131 at the 2020 US Census. North Wilkesboro is the birthplace and original home of Lowe's, Lowe's Home Improvement, whi ...
, in 1921 by Lucius Smith Lowe. After Lowe died in 1940, the business was inherited by his daughter, Ruth Buchan, who sold the company to her brother, James Lowe, for $4,200, that same year. James took on his brother-in-law H. Carl Buchan as a partner in 1943. Buchan anticipated the dramatic increase in construction after
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, and under his management, the store focused on hardware and building materials. Before then, the product mix had also included notions, dry goods,
horse tack Tack is equipment or accessories equipped on horses and other equines in the course of their use as domestication of the horse, domesticated animals. This equipment includes such items as Saddle, saddles, Stirrup, stirrups, Bridle, bridles, Halter, ...
, snuff, produce, and groceries. Buchan and Lowe started the concept of procuring large quantities of products directly from manufacturers, which eliminated the wholesaler and allowed them to offer customers lower prices. The company opened its second store in Sparta, North Carolina, in 1949. In 1952, Buchan became the sole owner of Lowe's, and the company was incorporated as Lowe's North Wilkesboro Hardware. In 1954, Jim Lowe started the
Lowes Foods Lowes Foods is an American supermarket chain based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The chain initially grew in the mountains of North Carolina and rural areas of Virginia, but, starting in the late 1990s, it expanded in metropolitan areas of ...
grocery store chain. In 1960, Buchan died of a
heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...
at age 44. His five-man executive team, which included Robert Strickland and Leonard Herring, took the company public in 1961 under the name Lowe's Companies Inc. By 1962, Lowe's operated 21 stores and reported annual revenues of $32 million. Lowe's began trading on the
New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is the List of stock exchanges, largest stock excha ...
in 1979. By 1970s, Lowe's revenue reached more than $150 million and, in 1980, to nearly $900 million. Lowe's has since grown nationally, as it was aided by the purchase of the
Renton, Washington Renton is a city in King County, Washington, United States, and an inner-ring suburb of Seattle. Situated southeast of downtown Seattle, Renton straddles the southeast shore of Lake Washington, at the mouth of the Cedar River. As of the 202 ...
–based Eagle Hardware & Garden company in 1999. The first store outside the United States was in
Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a 2021 Canadian census, population of 569,353 (2021), and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which encompasses ...
, Canada. According to its website, Lowe's has operated/serviced more than 2,355 locations in the United States, Canada, and Mexico alone, although the Mexican stores were closed in the late 2010s. Lowe's formerly operated in Mexico with 14 locations: 8 in Monterrey, Nuevo León, 1 in Saltillo, Coahuila, 1 in Hermosillo, Sonora, 1 in Chihuahua, Chihuahua, 1 in Culiacán, Sinaloa, 1 in Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes and 1 in León, Guanajuato. Lowe's Mexico closed all its stores on April 10, 2019. In 2023, Lowe's sold its Canadian retail business, based in
Boucherville Boucherville () is a city in the Montérégie region in Quebec, Canada. It is a suburb of Montreal on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River. Boucherville is part of both the urban agglomeration of Longueuil and the Montreal Metropolitan ...
, Quebec, to
Sycamore Partners Sycamore Partners is an American private equity firm based in New York specializing in retail and consumer investments. The firm has approximately $10 billion in aggregate committed capital. History Founding Sycamore Partners was founded in 2 ...
for $400 million in cash. They will all be consolidated into Rona stores.


Finances

In 2020, for the May–July yearly quarter, the company reported sales of $27.3 billion; in 2019, for the same period, the firm had reported sales of $21 billion. The digital sales for the same period also were up to 135%. The sales surges were a result of consumers switching their buying habits as a result of the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. Seventy five percent of the company's revenue comes from do it yourself consumers.


Historical data

For the fiscal year 2019 (2/1/2019-1/31/2020), Lowe's reported earnings of US$4.281 billion, with an annual revenue of US$72.148 billion, an increase of 1.17% over the previous fiscal cycle. Lowe's shares traded at over $116 per share, and its market capitalization was valued at over US$90.32 billion in January 2020. Lowe's ranked No. 42 on the 201
Fortune 500
list. Lowes announced a $10 billion stock buyback at the end of 2018 to begin in 2019, while trimming jobs. For the fiscal year 2018, Lowe's reported earnings of US$2.314 billion, with an annual revenue of US$71.309 billion, an increase of 3.92% over the previous fiscal cycle. Lowe's shares traded at over $96 per share, and its market capitalization was valued at over US$75.8 billion in October 2018. Lowe's ranked No. 40 on the 2018
Fortune 500 The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by ''Fortune (magazine), Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States Joint-stock company#Closely held corporations and publicly traded corporations, corporations by ...
list of the largest United States corporations by total revenue.


Headquarters

In 1998, Lowe's purchased the Wilkes Mall in
Wilkesboro, North Carolina Wilkesboro is a town in and the county seat of Wilkes County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 3,687 at the 2020 census. The town is located along the south bank of the Yadkin River, directly opposite the town of North Wilkesbor ...
, to serve as the company's headquarters. In 2002, Lowe's acquired full control over the building after the 10 remaining mall tenants vacated the property. A year later, Lowe's constructed and relocated the corporate headquarters to a new, 350-acre campus in
Mooresville, North Carolina Mooresville is a town located in the southwestern section of Iredell County, North Carolina, United States, and is a part of the fast-growing Charlotte metropolitan area. The population was 50,193 at the 2020 census, making it the most populo ...
. The new facility contains a five-story and two seven-story buildings. The building has a central atrium and two office wings; the atrium houses a food court, a five-story spiral staircase, and meeting and reception rooms. A lake flows underneath the headquarters building. Lowe's maintained its former headquarters in Wilkesboro, where it employed over 2,400 people until 2019. In 2011, Lowe's invested $10 million in improvements and renovations in the property, including a full-service food court, coffee shop, and health center, as well as gating the entire property with an addition of a guardhouse. All positions have since been relocated and the former Wilkes corporate office is vacant, although still owned by Lowe's. In addition to Wilkesboro, Lowe's formerly operated a customer contact center in
Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...
,
New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...
, both of which quietly closed in 2023. Currently, customer contact centers remain in
Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...
,
Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...
and
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
. On June 27, 2019, Lowe's announced the construction of a $153 million, 23-story tower in Charlotte's fast-growing South End neighborhood, which will be completed by 2020 and eventually house 2000 employees, 400 of whom will move from the headquarters. The new tower will house a "global technology hub" for Lowe's. The state of North Carolina is providing $54 million in incentives provided Lowe's meets certain goals.


Environmental record

Lowe's won eight consecutive
Energy Star Energy Star (trademarked ENERGY STAR) is an Efficient energy use, energy-efficiency program established in 1992. It is administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The EPA ...
awards from 2003 to 2010, including four Energy Star Partner of the Year awards for educating consumers about the benefits of energy efficiency. On March 1, 2010, Lowe's also became the first winner of the Energy Star Sustained Excellence Award in Retail, to recognize its contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by promoting energy-efficient products and educating consumers and employees on the value of the Energy Star program. In 2000, Lowe's released a policy promising that all wood products sold would not be sourced from rainforests. However, according to a 2006 report released by the Environmental Investigation Agency, wood used in flooring by Armstrong Flooring that Lowe's was selling had been coming from the forests of
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
's remote Papua Province, where some
logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidder, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or trunk (botany), logs onto logging truck, trucks As of 2022, this is the largest RRP violation to ever occur. In the words of the EPA, ""This settlement will ensure that not only children in southern Illinois, but children throughout the United States will be better protected from the known hazards associated with lead exposure". On March 6, 2020, Lowe's paid a $1,600,000 fine for violating California's air quality regulations. This includes violations in
NOx In atmospheric chemistry, is shorthand for nitric oxide () and nitrogen dioxide (), the nitrogen oxides that are most relevant for air pollution. These gases contribute to the formation of smog and acid rain, as well as affecting tro ...
emissions from ovens and
asbestos Asbestos ( ) is a group of naturally occurring, Toxicity, toxic, carcinogenic and fibrous silicate minerals. There are six types, all of which are composed of long and thin fibrous Crystal habit, crystals, each fibre (particulate with length su ...
from demolition/renovation activities.


Carbon footprint

Lowe's reported Total CO2e emissions (Direct + Indirect) for the 12 months ending December 31, 2020, at 1,971 Kt (-138 /-6.5% y-o-y).Alt URL
/ref> Lowe's plans to reduce emissions 40% by 2025 from a 2016 base year.


Labor relations

In April 2019, a
National Labor Relations Board The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States that enforces United States labor law, U.S. labor law in relation to collect ...
(NLRB) judge found that Lowe's had violated the
National Labor Relations Act The National Labor Relations Act of 1935, also known as the Wagner Act, is a foundational statute of United States labor law that guarantees the right of private sector employees to organize into trade unions, engage in collective bargaining, an ...
by illegally forbidding workers from discussing their pay. In August 2022, Lowe's announced that it was awarding $55 million in bonus income to front-line workers, and that it was offering staff discounts on common household and cleaning items in light of recent inflationary pressures. In October 2022, a group of 172 workers at a Lowe's store in
New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
, Louisiana, organizing under the banner of Lowe's Workers United and led by a worker at the store named Felix Allen, filed for a union election with the NLRB. In June 2023, Felix Allen was fired, leading to multiple
unfair labor practice An unfair labor practice (ULP) in United States labor law refers to certain actions taken by employers or unions that violate the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 (49 Stat. 449) (also known as the NLRA and the Wagner Act after NY Senator ...
charges being filed with the NLRB against Lowe's, accusing the company of multiple violations of labor law in response to the
unionization Unionization is the creation and growth of modern trade unions. Trade unions were often seen as a Left-wing politics, left-wing, Socialism, socialist concept, whose popularity has increased during the 19th century when a rise in industrial capit ...
drive at the New Orleans store, including surveillance, interrogation of employees, and retaliating against union organizers.


Advertising and sponsorships

In January 2019, Lowes became the official home improvement sponsor of the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
. In April 2024, Lowes launched a partnership with
Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...
's
Inter Miami CF Club Internacional de Fútbol Miami (), commonly referred to as Inter Miami, is an American professional soccer club based in the Miami metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (M ...
,
Lionel Messi Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi (; born 24 June 1987) is an Argentine professional Association football, footballer who plays as a forward (association football), forward for and Captain (association football), captains both Major League Soccer ...
, and the
2024 Copa América The 2024 Copa América was the 48th edition of the Copa América, the quadrennial international men's association football, soccer championship organized by South America's football ruling body CONMEBOL. The tournament was held in the United Sta ...
.


Racing sponsorships

Lowe's purchased
naming rights Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization where a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event (most often sports venues), typical ...
to
Charlotte Motor Speedway Charlotte Motor Speedway (known as Lowe's Motor Speedway from 1999 to 2009 due to sponsorship reasons) is a quad-oval Oval track racing#Intermediate, intermediate speedway in Concord, North Carolina. It has hosted various major races since it ...
in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 1998, and the speedway changed names to Lowe's Motor Speedway. After the 10-year naming rights expired, Lowe's extended naming rights by one year. After the one-year extension expired, Lowe's discontinued naming rights, and as of the 2010 racing season, the racetrack returned to its original name. The corporation was the primary sponsor for seven-time
NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...
Sprint Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), the most prestigious stock car racing series in the United States. The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, ...
champion
Jimmie Johnson Jimmie Kenneth Johnson (born September 17, 1975) is an American professional auto racing driver. He currently competes part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 84 Toyota Camry XSE for Legacy Motor Club. Johnson has won seven Cup ch ...
in the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 and it was a part-time sponsor of the former No. 5
Nationwide Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...
car; both teams are owned by
Hendrick Motorsports Hendrick Motorsports is an American professional auto racing organization that competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team was founded in 1984 as All-Star Racing by Rick Hendrick. Hendrick Motorsports has won a NASCAR-record 316 Cup Series ra ...
. Prior to the current sponsorship deal with Hendrick Motorsports, Lowe's was the sponsor of the No. 31
Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ) is an American automobile division of the manufacturer General Motors (GM). In North America, Chevrolet produces and sells a wide range of vehicles, from subcompact automobiles to medium-duty commercial trucks. Due to the promi ...
for
Richard Childress Racing Richard Childress Racing (RCR) is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The team is based in Welcome, North Carolina, and is owned and operated by Richard C ...
driven by Mike Skinner and
Robby Gordon Robert Wesley Gordon (born January 2, 1969) is an American semi-retired auto racing driver. He has raced in NASCAR, Championship Auto Racing Teams, CART, the IndyCar Series, the Trans-Am Series, International Motor Sports Association, IMSA, Inter ...
from 1997 to 2001. Prior to the RCR deal, Lowe's was the primary sponsor of the No. 11 Ford driven by
Brett Bodine Brett Elias Bodine III (born January 11, 1959) is an American former stock car racing driver, former driver of the pace car in Cup Series events, and current NASCAR employee. Brett is the younger brother of 1986 Daytona 500 winner Geoff Bodine a ...
for
Junior Johnson & Associates Junior Johnson & Associates (formerly Johnson Hodgdon Racing) was a NASCAR team that ran in the Winston Cup Series from 1953 to 1995. The team was run by former driver Junior Johnson and was best known for fielding cars for legendary talents such ...
and later his own team, Brett Bodine Racing (after Bodine bought the No. 11 from Johnson). One of the company's earliest forays into racing sponsorship was in 1979, when it sponsored the No. 2
Buick Buick () is a division (business), division of the Automotive industry in the United States, American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Started by automotive pioneer David Dunbar Buick in 1899, it was among the first American automobil ...
of the
Rod Osterlund Rodney W Osterlund (November 19, 1934-) was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series car owner spanning from 1977–1981, and then again from 1989–1991. He earned his money off rental property in California. Osterlund's first race as a car owner was at the ...
team in what was then known the Winston Cup Series, for the Talladega 500. The car was driven in that race by
David Pearson David or Dave Pearson may refer to: * David Pearson (librarian) (born 1955), British librarian and scholar * David Pearson (racing driver) (1934–2018), American car racing champion * David Pearson (geologist) (born 1942), Canadian scientist, acad ...
, substituting for injured rookie
Dale Earnhardt Ralph Dale Earnhardt (; April 29, 1951February 18, 2001) was an American professional Stock car racing, stock car driver and racing team owner, who raced from 1975 to 2001 in the former NASCAR Winston Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Serie ...
. Lowe's continued with sporadic car sponsorship throughout the next two decades until the aforementioned Bodine sponsorship in 1995. On March 14, 2018, Lowe's announced it would end sponsorship of the No. 48 car after the 2018 season, thereby ending all involvement in motorsports. Lowe's also sponsored Fernandez Racing in the
American Le Mans Series The American Le Mans Series (ALMS) was a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada. It consisted of a series of Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance and sprint races, and was created in the spirit of the 24 Hours of Le M ...
and previously sponsored the team in the
Rolex Sports Car Series The Rolex Sports Car Series was the premier series run by the Grand American Road Racing Association. It was a North American-based sports car series founded in 2000 under the name Grand American Road Racing Championship to replace the failed ...
; in that series, Lowe's sponsored the No. 99 Gainsco Stallings Racing Pontiac in events where Johnson was driving. In 2006, Lowe's contracted designer
Marianne Cusato Marianne Cusato is a designer, educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role o ...
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 Katrina Cottages or FEMA Cottages are small residential shelters designed and marketed in the United States in the wake of Hurricane Katrina (August 2005). They were designed as a response to the inadequacies of the trailers issued to flood victi ...
. 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 discontinued the Katrina Cottage line in 2011. 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. Before 2010, when he was replaced by Ben Yannette,
Gene Hackman Eugene Allen Hackman (January 30, 1930 – ) was an American actor. Hackman made his credited film debut in the drama ''Lilith (film), Lilith'' (1964). He later won two Academy Awards, his first for Academy Award for Best Actor, Best Actor for ...
's voice could be heard on many commercial advertisements for Lowe's.


''All-American Muslim'' advertising controversy

Lowe's withdrew its advertising from the
TLC TLC may refer to: Arts and entertainment Television * ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2 * TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network ** TLC (Asia), an A ...
reality television show '' All-American Muslim'' in December 2011. A spokesperson for Lowe's said, "we understand the program raised concerns, complaints, or issues from multiple sides of the viewer spectrum, which we found after doing research of news articles and blogs covering the show". Lowe's faced a backlash from several quarters, including Muslim-American and Arab-American organizations. The
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) states that it is "the largest Arab American grassroots civil rights organization in the United States." According to its webpage, it is open to people of all backgrounds, faiths and ethnicitie ...
called upon members to contact Lowe's to urge it to reverse its position. The
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations met to consider possible actions, including
boycott A boycott is an act of nonviolent resistance, nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organisation, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for Morality, moral, society, social, politics, political, or Environmenta ...
s and protests. Several celebrities also called for a boycott. California State Senator
Ted Lieu Ted Win-Ping Lieu ( ; born March 29, 1969) is an American lawyer and politician. He is a member of the Democratic Party and has represented California's 36th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives since 2023. He re ...
called Lowe's decision "naked religious bigotry" and said he would consider legislative action if Lowe's did not apologize to Muslim Americans and reinstate the ads. Abraham Foxman of the Anti-Defamation League expressed similar views.
Keith Ellison Keith Maurice Ellison (born August 4, 1963) is an American politician and lawyer serving since 2019 as the 30th attorney general of Minnesota. A member of the Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), Ellison was the U.S. representative for fr ...
, the first Muslim elected to the
United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...
, criticized Lowe's decision to "uphold the beliefs of a fringe
hate group A hate group is a social group that advocates and practices hatred, hostility, or violence towards members of a race, ethnicity, nation, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or any other designated sector of society. Acc ...
and not the creed of the
First Amendment First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...
". Representative
John Conyers John James Conyers Jr. (May 16, 1929October 27, 2019) was an American politician of the Democratic Party who served as a U.S. representative from Michigan from 1965 to 2017. Conyers was the sixth-longest serving member of Congress and the lo ...
of
Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
called on Lowe's to apologize. Michigan state representative
Rashida Tlaib Rashida Harbi Tlaib ( ; born July 24, 1976) is an American lawyer and politician serving as a U.S. representative from Michigan since 2019, representing the state's 12th congressional district since 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, sh ...
contacted the company's corporate headquarters, reporting that Lowe's declined to change its decision.


Associated brands

* Kobalt tools * allen+roth


Canada

Lowe's opened its first three stores in Canada on December 10, 2007, in
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...
,
Brampton Brampton is a city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario, and the regional seat of the Regional Municipality of Peel. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a List of municipalities in Ontario#L ...
, and
Brantford Brantford ( 2021 population: 104,688) is a city in Ontario, Canada, founded on the Grand River in Southwestern Ontario. It is surrounded by Brant County but is politically separate with a municipal government of its own that is fully indep ...
. On February 1, 2008, they opened three more stores in
Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
,
East Gwillimbury East Gwillimbury is a town (lower-tier municipality) on the East Holland River in the upper-tier municipality the Regional Municipality of York. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area of southern Ontario, in Canada. It was formed by the amalgama ...
, and a second store in Brampton, as well as a new location in Maple (Vaughan). Lowe's also expanded into western Canada, starting with three new stores in
Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...
,
Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...
. One of the three locations opened in late September 2010. The other two opened in early 2011. In February 2013, Lowe's Canada hired former
Walmart Canada Walmart Canada is a Canadian retail corporation, discount retailer and the Canadian subsidiary of the U.S.-based multinational retail conglomerate Walmart. Headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario and Edmonton, Alberta, it was founded on March 17, ...
and
Loblaw Companies Loblaw Companies Limited is a Canadian retailer encompassing corporate and franchise supermarkets operating under 22 regional and market-segment banners (including Loblaws), as well as pharmacies, banking and apparel. Loblaw operates a private ...
executive Sylvain Prud'homme as CEO. On May 11, 2015, Lowe's Canada announced that it would acquire the leases of 13 former
Target Canada Target Canada Co. was a short-lived Canadian subsidiary of the Target Corporation, the eighth-largest retailer in the United States. Formerly headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario, the subsidiary formed with the acquisition of Zellers store lea ...
stores, as well as an Ontario distribution centre, for $151 million. In 2012, Lowe's attempted to buy Rona, Inc., a Quebec-based hardware chain. However, the deal was met with objections from RONA shareholders (particularly the
Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (, CDPQ; ) is an institutional investor that manages several public and parapublic pension plans and insurance programs in the Canadian province of Quebec. It was established in 1965 by an act of the ...
) and operators of its franchised locations over concerns that the company could centralize its supply operations in the United States, and was eventually called off. On February 3, 2016, Rona announced that it had accepted an offer to be acquired by Lowe's for CDN$3.2 billion, pending regulatory and shareholder approval. The division would remain under the leadership of Sylvain Prud'homme, but would be operated out of Rona's headquarters in
Boucherville Boucherville () is a city in the Montérégie region in Quebec, Canada. It is a suburb of Montreal on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River. Boucherville is part of both the urban agglomeration of Longueuil and the Montreal Metropolitan ...
. Lowe's maintained Rona's retail banners, "key" executives, and the "vast majority of its current employees" after the acquisition. In February 2020, Lowe's closed 34 low-performance stores, 26 that were under the Rona brand, six Lowe's stores, and two Réno-Dépôt stores. In November 2022, Lowe's agreed to sell its Canadian operations to the private equity firm
Sycamore Partners Sycamore Partners is an American private equity firm based in New York specializing in retail and consumer investments. The firm has approximately $10 billion in aggregate committed capital. History Founding Sycamore Partners was founded in 2 ...
for $400 million. with the Lowe's stores expected to be rebranded under the Rona brand in the future. The sale was completed on February 3, 2023. In July 2023, Rona announced that it would begin to replace Lowe's with the new banner Rona+, beginning with 10 locations in Ontario.


Australia

Trading as Masters Home Improvement, the first store opened in
Braybrook, Victoria Braybrook is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, west of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City of Maribyrnong Local government areas of Victoria ...
, to
tradesmen A tradesperson or tradesman/tradeswoman is a skilled worker that specialises in a particular trade. Tradespeople (tradesmen/women) usually gain their skills through work experience, on-the-job training, an apprenticeship program or formal educat ...
on August 31, 2011, and later to the general public. Masters was a
joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...
between Lowe's and Woolworths to compete against
Bunnings Bunnings Group Limited, trading as Bunnings Warehouse or Bunnings, is an Australian hardware and garden centre chain. The chain has been owned by Wesfarmers since 1994, and has stores in Australia and New Zealand. Bunnings was founded in Per ...
, which operates in the large bigbox format similar to Lowe's and Home Depot. In January 2016, Woolworths announced that it intended to either sell or wind up all its home improvement areas, including the Masters hardware chain. Chairman Gordon Cairns said that it would take years to become profitable and that the ongoing losses could not be sustained. The windup involved Woolworths buying back a 33.3 per cent interest in the venture, held by the Lowe's subsidiary WDR Delaware Corporation. The last stores closed in December 2016.


Lawsuits

Lowe's was involved in a small cluster of
class action lawsuit A class action A class action is a form of lawsuit. Class Action may also refer to: * ''Class Action'' (film), 1991, starring Gene Hackman and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio * Class Action (band), a garage house band * "Class Action" (''Teenage R ...
s that revolved around the employee payment system. The cases focused on a pay practice known as "variable rate overtime". Variable-rate overtime has the effect of paying a decreasing overtime rate the more hours a person works in a week. The suits alleged that salaried managers who worked 40 to 50 hours per week were improperly compensated for that time. The variable rate overtime ended in the first quarter of 2006. The first case was filed in October 2002 by employees of the Lowe's store in
Shawnee, Kansas Shawnee is a city in Johnson County, Kansas, United States. It is the seventh-most populous municipality in the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 67,311. History Territory of Kansas Befor ...
. In September 2005, the cases were certified as a class action. Four similar briefs were filed in
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
,
Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...
,
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
, and
Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
. The lawsuits for New York, Indiana, and Kansas resulted in an out-of-court settlement on September 22, 2006. 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. Lowe's faced multiple lawsuits from its Loss Prevention Managers citing that they were classified as exempt employees and therefore denied
overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society) ...
pay. The managers asserted that they were forced to work a minimum of 48 hours per week which saved Lowe's and its investors millions of dollars every year. Lawsuits have been settled for $2.95 million i
California
and $6.2 million in Texas. In 2014, Lowe's faced a class-action lawsuit from former and current Human Resource Managers. Similarly to the lawsuit regarding its Loss Prevention Managers, the lawsuit stated that the HR Managers were improperly, and illegally, classified as exempt employees and were, therefore, denied overtime even though they were required to work 48-hour weeks.


See also

* *


References


External links

* {{Authority control Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange Companies in the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats Companies based in Charlotte, North Carolina Iredell County, North Carolina American companies established in 1921 Retail companies established in 1921 Hardware stores of the United States Hardware stores of Canada Home improvement retailers of the United States 1921 establishments in North Carolina Hardware stores of Mexico 1970s initial public offerings Garden centres