Swot Analysis Of Lowes

Swot Analysis Of Lowes
Lowe's use their financial statements to show how their business strategy, operating decisions, and
their transactions reflect on the outcome of being profitable or not. The financial statements are to
help people determine if the company is worthy of investing in. Anyone who has an interest in a
company would find the Form 10–K useful in many different ways (Bethel University, 2017).
Lowe's began in 1921 in North Carolina by a man named Lucius Lowe. Lowe's has been publicly
held since around 1961. Lowe died in 1940 and the business was sold to his brother Jim Lowe. In
1943 Lucius Lowe's son in law, H. Carl Buchan became partners with Jim Lowe. Around 1952
Buchan became the sole business owner when Jim Lowe died. Buchan seen the potential the
business had and wanted to expand the ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
However, anyone that is in the home improvement industry is a threat. Do–it–yourself market, do–
it–for–me market, retail, or online is becoming threats. Lowes will need to continue improving to
stay in the home improvement industry market (Lowe's Companies, Inc. SWOT Analysis, 2017).
Lowe's has a variety of uniqueness that they should feel proud of. Lowe's is number fifty in the
famous fortune 500 list. Lowe's knows and understands what it takes to get their customers
involved. They have won eight energy stars in educating their customers about their energy
efficiency. They are also famous for providing excellent offers and discounts to customers on a
regular basis. Lowe's works to improve their customer service skills and needs to help better serve
their customers (Lowes Companies Success Story, 2017). Lowe's target market are people who have
an interest in the home improvement industry. Renters, homeowners, DIY, DIFM, construction
workers, maintenance, repair and operations are people that have the most interest in this company.
Lowe's has the strive and ability to meet the target market needs of people that have projects to
complete (L.,
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Internal Control and Home Improvement
Ethics in Corporations Lowe's Home Improvement is a chain of retail home improvement based in
the United States. It was founded in 1946 in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. Lowe's Home
Improvement has expanded internationally into Mexico, Canada, and joint venture with Woolworths
Limited in Australia. Lowe's Home Improvement ranked 54 in Fortune 500 for 2012, decreasing
four spots in 2011 ("Cnn money," 2012). Lowe's Home Improvement is the second largest retail
home improvement chain, behind The Home Depot. There are 1,724 Lowe's stores throughout
United States, Canada, Mexico operating with more than 234,000 employees ("Lowe 's home
improvement, 2012"). Stakeholders are individuals, groups, or organizations that have a stake in the
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Anything over $25,000 is distributed among the rest of the district. To make up $2500 in pure profit
is to sell roughly $6,000 when you calculate employee salary, utilities, and facility cost.
Marketing (Deceptive Advertising) The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) oversees any deceptive
claims of products or services. Recently, the FTC won a $40 million settlement against Sketchers'
toning shoes and apparel. Sketchers falsely represented clinic studies claiming their Shape–Ups,
Toners, Tone–Ups, and Resistance Runners would help people lose weight, and tone and strengthen
their butts, legs, and abdominal muscles. The most deceptive ad was used during Super Bowl
featuring Kim Kardashian firing her personal training for a pair of Shape–Ups. Sketchers truly
believed they would win the multiple lawsuits in different states, but choose to settle out for the ease
of the company and individuals (Bachman, 2012). Deceptive advertisement can negatively affect
internal and external stakeholders. Customer service is the most important aspect of any business.
Deceptive advertising can create a negative experience for customers, which directly affect
employees. A bad customer service experience can dramatically cost any business thousands of
dollars. The internet is the playground for anyone. This can create a bad reputation when individuals
post on their Facebook, Twitter, or other social media sites. If a business loses its customers base, it
cannot

Lowe's Case
MBAS831 Aug. 2012, Case Assignment, 10071193 1. Challenges faced by Simpson and his team:
Lowe's initiative called the next generation installed sales (NGIS) is a relatively new
effort by Lowe's to expand their service offerings to become an end to end solution provider for
customer's kitchen remodeling projects. The main challenges faced by Simpson were how to move
into kitchen remodeling business? and how to position Lowe in the market? Another challenge was
how to reach the customers. With NGIS there is a greater emphasis on customer interaction, this can
be achieved by creating an integrated marketing communications plan that would combine the
traditional as well as emerging marketing communications channel. The key challenge here ... Show
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This represents a unique opportunity for Lowe's as most of the competitors cater to the lower
income groups (Home Depot) or higher income group (Studio41/boutique stores). Also some
players do not have the capability to do complete installation will all the accessories (Menards,
Sears or Ikea). The entire middle range buyer with disposable income could be a segment that
Lowe's could essentially capture. Lowe's already had business that delivered the required products
for kitchen remodeling. The existing product of Lowe's targeted the middle range buyer, combining
this with installation services would be beneficial for Lowe's. Case Exhibit 1 reinforces the fact the
in the lower income group consists of mostly DIY customers and in the mid to high range customers
prefer outside services to install the kitchen. Case Exhibit 2 clearly shows that major remodel with
mid–range materials and upscale materials are growing. All the above said reasons make it a perfect
case for Lowe's to move into the kitchen remodeling space. It is a sensible decision by Lowe's to
move into the kitchen remodeling and installation services given the above facts. 2|Page
MBAS831 Aug. 2012, Case Assignment, 10071193 3. Customer Mapping and its effects on NGIS
marketing plan:

Free Essay Home Depot History and Business Case Analysis
Home Depot Business Case Analysis Letter to CEO
To: Robert L. Nardelli, – President and CEO of Home Depot, Inc.
Date: March, 04, 2004
First of all, I would like to thank you for giving me the honor to analyze your well organized and
developed company. In this memo, I am going to discuss the strategic factors facing Home Depot,
the strategies that the company has been following for the past years, and the distinctive competency
Home Depot attain. Also, I am going to give my recommendations and opinion.
Some of the strategic factors that Home Depot faces are related to product quality, price, advertising,
store capacity, competitors, and customer's independency and satisfaction. Most of these strategic
factors helped in the ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Even if, the company can afford to open all these stores, I do not think that the company should
open many stores in one area.
Another strategy that your company is following is focusing on customer service and satisfaction or
what is referred to "customer cultivation". Customer cultivation is the result of the provision of
highly qualified and helpful employees, professional clinics and in–store clinics. When the company
was faced with clogged aisles, endless checkout lines, and too few salespersons, it sought creative
ways to improve customer service. Workers were added to the sales floor, shelf stocking and price
tagging were shifted to nighttime, when the aisles were empty. Therefore, the availability of sales
personnel to attend to customer needs was one clear objective of the Home Depot customer service
strategy. It gave the DIY (Do It Yourself) customers the support and confidence that no home project
was beyond their capabilities. Home Depot attitude of complete customer satisfaction has led the
company to constantly seek ways to improve customer service. I think that this strategy is great and
was worth all the expenses because the employees were free to sell during the day and focus more
on the customers needs. It the good experience that brings the customer again and it's the word of
mouth that brings other new customers, therefore, customer satisfaction is the most important
strategy that any

Compare And Contrast Home Depot Vs Lowe's
Running head: THE HOME DEPOT VS. LOWE'S
The Home Depot vs. Lowe's
AIU Online
MGMT499–1302A–06
June 2, 2013
Abstract
This research paper will compare and contrast two organizations in the same industry. There will be
analysis on the two organizations' elements of business. This includes the basic legal, social, and
economic environment, the managerial, operational, and financial issues impacting the
organizations, and an analysis on the impact of potential change factors.
The two organizations in the same industry that will be compared and contrasted are The Home
Depot and Lowe's. The Home Depot and Lowe's are both clearly success stories, with 4,000 stores
between them. ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Lowe's also offers several development opportunities and resources through the company's
Generous Tuition Reimbursement Program, Certified CPE course offerings, Management
Development programs through the Lowe's Leadership Institute, and skill and competence
development courses ("Learning and Developing", n.d.). The Home Depot continues to give raises,
bonuses, and develop and promote employees with good work ethics. Home Depot typically
promotes from within the company.
Strategic Decisions Making When it comes to strategic decision making The Home Depot
management was criticized for its lack of progress under Bob Nardelli (previous CEO) ("Home
Depot tries", 2007). The company was criticized for paying Nardelli way too much as CEO and still
too much even after he left ("Home Depot tries", 2007).
Management Style and Leadership Style Frank Blake, CEO of Home Depot, has a participative
leadership style that increasingly wins support from business leaders ("Home Depot tries", 2007).
Blake is known for great motivators with reward policies and thank you notes which made him good
at both task orientation and people orientation in his management style. Robert Niblock, CEO of
Lowe's, has a balance of task orientation and people orientation with more employee participation
and engagement.
Use of SWOT Tool Both

Essay about Analysis of Lowe's Companies, Inc.
Analysis of Lowe's Companies, Inc.
Introduction
Lowe's Companies, Inc. is the fourteenth largest retailer in America, and overall the world's second
largest home improvement retailer. They are the 108th ranked corporation on the Fortune 500 top
corporations list. With an impressive in store stock of 40,000 home improvement items on hand,
ranging from lumber to Home décor items, plus an additional 400,000 home improvement items
available through a special order program. Lowe's provides a onetime stop for all home
improvement needs, for both the Do–It–Yourselfer, and the ever–expanding market of the
Commercial Business Customer.
Lowe's Companies, Inc. is averaging the opening of about two stores per week. This is part of ...
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(http://www.lowes.com)
In order to further strengthen its holdings on the home improvement market, Lowe's Companies,
Inc. has restructured the company's vision to conform to meet the ever–changing needs of its
customers. Lowe's extensive research has led it to include a well lit sales floor, informative in–store
displays, exclusive and proprietary brands, and an ingenious store layout just to name of the few
changes. This new vision is not only centered on the store itself, Do–It–Yourselfers and Commercial
Business Customers have many ways to satisfy their needs conveniently though stores nationwide
by placing orders over the phone, fax, or from the improved Lowe's web site.
(Annual Repot 2000)
Lowe's Companies, Inc. is now focusing on the expansion of its superstores in to the Northeast and,
Western United States, Florida, and urban markets. Lowe's is currently undergoing a five year two
billion dollar expansion plan. This expansion plan is combined with the merger and re–
merchandizing of Eagle Hardware & Garden, Inc. In 1999, Lowe's transformed forty–one Eagle
Hardware & Garden stores into Lowe's stores. Most of these stores were located in the Western
United States. Some might say that this aggressive expansion plan that Lowe's is undertaking, might
be overdoing it. That is nonsense; Lowe's and its largest competitor Home Depot,

Home Depot
Team Project #1
Home Depot, Inc. in the New Millennium
(HBS 9–101–117)
Question 1. Assess Home Depot's financial performance from 1986 to 1999. What explains the
decline in performance in 2000? (See Question #1 Exhibit)
The slowing economy in 2000 combined with Home Depot's aggressive expansion efforts was the
reason for Home Depot's poor financial performance. Between June 1999 and May 2000, the FED
had raised interest rates six times – or a total of 1.75 percentage points – in an effort to slow the
economy and economists had been noticing some softening of overall consumer demand.
From Exhibit 4 we see an average increase in sq. footage of 26% per year for period 1986 – 2000
while average sales growth fall from an ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
From this analysis, we see that Home Depot's CFFO – Investments is positive each year, they are
relying on its external cash flow in order to maintain sustainability. From their financials, we know
Home Depot's cash flows do not cover CAPEX, but cover PP&E meaning there is a growth problem
but enough cash flow from operating activities to cover capital expenditures required to replace
worn out equipment. The recommendation would be to curtail spending its growth by acquisition
strategy. Year Net Earnings Capital Expenditures Difference
1997 $ 937.00 $ 1,194.00 $ (257.00)
1998 $ 1,160.00 $ 1,420.00 $ (260.00)
1999 $ 1,614.00 $ 2,053.00 $ (439.00)
2000 $ 2,320.00 $ 2,581.00 $ (261.00)
1997 1998 1999 2000
Working Capital 2,469.85 2,344.47 1,601.61 1,376.89
Working Capital / sales 5.4% 6.1% 5.3% 5.7%
Sales 45,738 38,434 30,219 24,156
We can see based on the figures above that working capital is decreasing and not building up;
therefore we can infer that Home Depot does not have an operating problem.
Net income is

Home Depot V/S Lowe's Competitive Analysis
Running Head: Home Depot v/s Lowe 's
A Term Project Presented to Dr. Anthony Woods (Instructor)
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment
Of the Requirements of ECON 5020
Abstract
This paper gives the reader an insight into how a manager in a competitive industry in a two–firm
constant sum game makes decisions. The writer will be playing the role of a Home Depot, Inc.
manager, and the major competitor is Lowe's, Inc. Home Depot is the largest United States (U.S.)
home–improvement retailer while Lowe's is the second–largest U.S. home–improvement retailer.
This is significant because what one company does affects the other. To compare the two companies
their company profiles were reviewed. The latest news headlines on both companies were ... Show
Lowe 's is the world 's second largest home improvement retailer and the 14th largest retailer in the
U.S. Lowe 's is in the midst of an aggressive expansion plan, opening a new store on average every
three days. Lowe 's is an active supporter of the communities it serves. Through the Lowe 's Heroes
volunteer programs and the Home Safety Council, it provides help to civic groups with public safety
projects and share important home safety and fire prevention information with neighborhoods across
the country. Lowe 's has been a publicly held company since October 10, 1961. Its stock is listed on
the New York Stock Exchange, with shares trading under the ticker symbol LOW.Lowe's
Companies, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a home improvement retailer in the
United States and Canada. The company provides a range of products and services for home
decoration, maintenance, repair, remodeling, and property maintenance. It offers home improvement
products in various categories, such as appliances, lumber, paint, flooring, building materials,
millwork, lawn and landscape products, fashion plumbing, hardware, lighting, tools, seasonal living,
rough plumbing, outdoor power equipment, cabinets and countertops, nursery, rough electrical,
home environment, home organization, and windows and walls. The company's products also
include boards, panel products, irrigation pipes, vinyl sidings, and ladders. It serves

Swot Analysis For Lowe's
Lowe's is a hardware store that sell products from vacuum and dishwashers to wood and other
hardware equipment. Lowe's sell products for home improvement and construction. Lowe's was
originally founded in Wilkesboro, North Carolina in 1921 by Lucius Smith Lowe. His daughter Ruth
inherited the store in 1940 after Lucius passed away. She then sold the franchise to her brother Jim.
Jim partnered with Carl Buchan in 1949 under the management of Buchan. Jim and Carl had several
disagreements as far as the expansion and diversification so in 1954 the partners split making Carl
the sole owner. He successfully expanded the business to other cities in North Carolina. Then he
passed away in 1960 leaving the store to his executive team of five people. They made the company
public in 1961. The former headquarters for Lowe's was originally located in Wilkesboro, now
located in Mooresville, North Carolina. The once small town business has expanded to a well–
known name brand is currently located in several countries.
Lowe's corporation has expanded across the globe. They have since opened home improvement
stores across the United States, Canada and Mexico. There are 1805 stores open in the United States,
42 in Canada, and 10 ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Lowe's mission statement is "Home. For over 50 years, it's what Lowe's had been about". They have
stayed the course, from helping people in the stores to helping people in the community. They
continue proving they stay true to their vision statement by teaching people how to do their own
home improvement projects. As well as supplying them with quality products to make the
improvements. The mission statement holds true as well. Not only do they create opportunities for
customers to make a home but they also work with the community to build homes for the homeless.
Lowe's will continue to grow and prosper, because they have great customer service, as well as
phenomenal community

Home Depot vs. Lowe’s Analysis
Home Depot vs. Lowe's
Retail Home Improvement
Financial Analysis
Background
Introduction
The home improvement sector of the economy is large with two major players in the industry and
with many smaller local and regional competitors. These two major competitors are Home Depot
and Lowe's. These two companies account for over $110 billion in total sales each year. Even
though sales have gone down over the past few years due to the downturn in the economy they have
not gone down nearly as much as home sales and this is due to more people deciding to do more
home improvements to their own home then buying a new home. Both of these companies have
been able to keep up sales and increase them year over year by improving current ... Show more
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ROA | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | Home Depot | 9.50 | 5.62 | 6.41 | Lowe's | 9.10 | 6.73 | 5.40 |
ROA is considered the best overall indicator of the efficiency of assets used in a company. Home
Depot and Lowe's ROA ratio both moved down due to the downturn in the industry but Home Depot
was able to improve 2010.
ROE | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | Home Depot | 33.97 | 19.12 | 19.81 | Lowe's | 18.31 | 12.87 | 9.74 |
This ratio is similar to ROA except that it shows only the return on the resource contributed by the
shareholders. Home Depot maintained steady ratio the last two years while Lowe's has been
decreasing over the past three years.
Asset Turnover | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | Home Depot | 1.75 | 1.73 | 1.62 | Lowe's | 1.56 | 1.48 | 1.43 |
Asset turnover depicts investment efficiency, because it shows how many sales dollars are generated
for every dollar invested in the company's assets. Lowe's had relatively lower asset turnover ratios
than Home Depot because their recent investment in PP&E.
Current Ratio | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | Home Depot | 1.15 | 1.20 | 1.34 | Lowe's | 1.12 | 1.22 | 1.32 |
This ratio indicates a company's liquidity. It depicts how many dollars of current assets exist for

every dollar in current liabilities. The ratio is the higher, the better. Home Depot and Lowe's has
increasing current ratio while Home Depot has a slightly higher one.

What Are Home Depot's Competitors?
The divestiture of HD Supply (HDS) was a good decision for Home Depot. When it first began, it
only experience moderate success, which caused Home Depot retail stores to suffer. Thus, Home
Depot took HDS budget cuts. With the budget cuts, the retail stores were underperforming in their
market. Customers were also, not satisfied with the "warehouse" atmosphere. With the change of
Home Depot's, employees started to feel dissatisfied with their role of handing customers.
Furthermore, building supply market is very fragmented; many contractors contacted their regional
suppliers for assistance. However, the contactors regional suppliers offered trained sales staff and
specialized services, while HDS process was standard warehouse format. ... Show more content on
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Home Depot has more than 25 direct competitors, but their biggest competitors are Lowe's and
Menards. Lowe's and Home Depot both aim for low prices and high quality products making Lowe's
Home Depot's number one competitor. However, Lowe's differentiate their company by targeting the
individual customer, specifically women. For example, Lowe's offers exclusive private labels and
premium kitchen cabinets and stone countertops. Menards, being Home Depot's second largest
competitor, offers a unique customer shopping experience including upscale merchandise and wider
aisles with more convenient merchandise shelving. Home Depot is not only affected by these two
competitors strategies, but also thewithholding and upholding their relationships with suppliers.
Home Depot relies on 10,000–12,000 suppliers to keep its shelves stocked, creating a tremendous
challenge regarding logisticalCurrently, cost leadership is the business–level strategy most focused
on. Home Depot revolutionized the home improvement industry by offering a wide selection of
merchandise at low prices, and superior customer service through their warehouse atmosphere.With
Nardelli centralizing and consolidating Howe Depot, the company's efficiency increased as cost
leaders. However, the actions erased

Lowe's Case Study Essay examples
Executive Summary This general case study on Lowe's will convey the conclusions drawn by our
team along with our recommendations on how this company should proceed. As discussed in the
introduction (1 A/B) there is one key problem with Lowe's and that is the fact that they are not
number one. The introduction further outlines some areas of improvement within the Lowe's
company such as maintaining and improving current success, increasing market share, boosting
sales growth and offsetting increasing administrative expenses. Emphasis is placed on the
importance that Lowe's choose strategies that will meet its objectives of increasing market share and
revenues (Lowe's corporate home page, 2004). Beginning in section 2A, it is noted ... Show more
In order to maintain and improve upon current success by increase market share, boosting sales
growth and counteracting the increasing selling and administrative expenses Lowe's has set forth
some aggressive measures. Case in point, according to Lowe's website, the company has opened 130
stores in the 2003 fiscal year alone and has plans to open up 140 and 150 new stores in the 2004 and
2005 fiscal years, respectively (http://www.lowes.com).
According to a company profile produced by Datamonitor, Lowe's is second in the market to Home
Depot, has less sales per square foot than Home Depot, is not considered a to be a low–cost
producer when compared to other stores in its class and risks saturating the market (Lowe's
Companies, Inc., 2004). In order to combat these underlying causes of Lowe's problems, Lowe's will
be focusing on various demographic trends (generational considerations), maintaining the quality of
current store locations, opening up new stores, focusing on untapped markets and on expanding
popular yet profitable product lines (Lowe's Companies, Inc., 2004). To further discuss Lowe's, an
analysis of the internal capabilities and an evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of Lowe's has
been conducted. In addition, an analysis of the external environment has been taken into
consideration along with a SWOT analysis. Major

Home Depot Swot Analysis
The Home Depot Case Analysis
"The Home Depot NYSE: HD, headquartered in Vinings, Georgia, is a home improvement retailer
that aims for both the do–it–yourself consumer and the professional in home improvement and
construction. It is the second largest retailer in the United States, behind Wal–Mart; and the third
largest retailer in the world, behind Wal–Mart and French company Carrefour. The Home Depot
operates about 1,900 stores across North America. The company operates stores in the United States
(including the 50 states, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands), Canada, and Mexico. The
Home Depot also operates EXPO Design Center stores in select U.S. markets, providing high–end
home design products and services. Its 2004 sales ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Continuous experimenting and testing in technology and business strategies–A company can grow
and be successful only if it invests money and time on its future development.
Advertising–Home Depot maintained an aggressive campaign using various media for both price
and institutional policy. Also sponsored the Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, which can have a
great impact on the generation–X, and Y who are going to be future customers of HD.
Reacting with speed and catch trends early– This can assure a firm's success.
Merchandising Strategy–It provided excellent customer service, low prices, and wide variety of
products.
Workshops–Can attract more do–it–yourself customers.
No unions–The company has never suffered a work stoppage.
Foresee future problems–The year 2000 problem.
Strategic Planing–Planing in advance how many stores would be opening in the next four years and
how many employees they would be needing to keep the business going.
Weaknesses:
The strong management team of Home Depot has left very less space for weaknesses but has not
eliminated all of them. The greatest weakness that I noticed was the rapid expansion into unknown
territories. For example, when Home Depot moved to Houston and Detroit. Both these terrain were
less hospitable and the company lost money. I can say that this was not a well–studied move. Home
Depot repeated the same mistake when it bought the 9–store Bowater Warehouse chain, and also
when it

Compare And Contrast Lowe's And Home Depot
Abstract The intent of this paper is to do an in–depth analysis of two large, publicly traded
companies and determine based on that analysis which is a better investment. The companies I
selected for my analysis are Lowe's Company Inc. (Lowe's) and The Home Depot, Inc. (Home
Depot). In this analysis, I will study the industry in which Lowe's and Home Depot operate to
include, the ratios of these companies, and how those ratios affect the companies and their
approaches to earn a profit. I will also cover the history of each company, and their individual
corporate goals and strategies. Finally, I will then do a side–by–side evaluation of the companies'
financial health. Comparability The Home Improvement Stores in the US account for over $300
billion market cap while taking in over $217 Billion in revenue (Home Improvement Industry,
2017). The Home Depot (HD) is the clear front runner with Lowe's coming in second. Both
companies are of comparable size; although Home Depot is slightly larger with having 2,274 stores
compared to Lowe's having 1,840 stores. Both companies are public companies and listed on the
Fortune 500. Company Background and Strategy Lowe's Lowe's is currently ranked number two in
the Home Improvement Industry by revenues. In 20161, Lowe's generated $ 65,017 million in
revenues, which was an increase of 10.06% from the previous year. 1 Home Depot and Lowe's both
companies have fiscal year that end "on the Sunday nearest to January 31," which in

Lowe's Marketing Plan
Section3:
Lowe's plans in marketing are to use the visual elements of marketing to attract customers, such as
videos on social medias and commercials. Lowe's started a "Make Your Home Happy" campaign in
2016 to replace 2011s "How To" campaign. The goals for marketing are to grow around 6% from
2015's sales report. The strategies Lowe's is using for its marketing are a customer–focused culture,
humor, and various visual aids. Lowe's spent $315.4 million for media advertisement in the U.S.
from 2015–2016.
Plans for management are to have good relations between employees and customers. Employees are
encouraged to be helpful and resourceful, being able to clearly communicate Lowe's vision and
values to customers. The goals in its management department ... Show more content on
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As long as the housing market continues to grow so does the home improvement business. If home
values increase, so does the need for improvements. Thus, the need for tools and materials to do the
jobs increase as well. This industry will continue to grow as the housing market continues to grow.
The need to build and fix homes is a need that will always be around. If the housing market falls
again, it could cause Lowe's to hold inventory. Currently Lowe's inventory turnover is at 4.5 in
comparison to their closest competitor's inventory turnover at 5 this seems like a small difference
but if you take that over 365 days in the year it means that Lowe's takes 81.1 days to go through
their inventory to Home Depot's 73 day turnover. The turnover ratio means that in an accounting
period the whole inventory is replaced 4.5 times. (Thacher, White and Sutorius) Therefore, the
higher the ratio the better. Likewise, if the turnover rate is higher the company has less money tied
up in the inventory. Which also means less interest expense is being paid. All of that together gives
more buying power. This is part of the reason that Home Depot has the purchase power over Lowe's.
However, Lowe's, as you can see, is not far behind. So, to stay robust, there is a need to find the
latest and greatest products creating the ability to keep customers coming in and product moving

Value Line
VALUE LINE PUBLISHING,
OCTOBER 2002
Teaching Note
This case follows the performance–review and financial–statement–forecasting decisions of a Value
Line analyst for the retail–building–supply industry in October 2002. The case contrasts the strong
operating performance of Home Depot with the strong stock–market performance of Lowe's.
Students examine a financial–ratio analysis for Home Depot that acts as a template to generate a
comparable ratio analysis for Lowe's. The students' ratio analysis is designed to build intuition with
respect to interpreting individual ratios as well as ratio inter–relationships (e.g., the DuPont
framework). The historical–performance comparison suggests that investors are skeptical of the
ability ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
The students should come to realize that the return–on–capital figures should be evaluated relative
to a market–based benchmark, the weighted average cost of capital. Relative to the WACC
calculated in case Exhibit 2, Home Depot is beating its benchmark (12.3 percent), while Lowe's is
below its benchmark (11.6 percent). The class may comment on the justification for differences in
the cost–of–capital estimates for firms that appear so similar in their risk profiles.
Using a DuPont–type decomposition, the instructor can use the available ratio analysis to peel back
the differences in operating performance in margins and turnover. The instructor can also use this
time to build understanding of the economic content of financial ratios. The students should have
used the Home Depot analysis in case Exhibit 7 to build their own ratio analyses of Lowe's. Exhibit
TN1 provides a comparison of the 2001 figures for both companies, which can be the focus of the
discussion. Exhibit TN2 provides the entire five–year analysis for Lowe's as reference. The
discussion is likely to highlight that, across almost any dimension, Home Depot has outperformed
Lowe's on an operating basis in 2001.
This discussion can be contrasted with the stock–market performance. Over the past year, shares in
Lowe's have performed considerably better than those of Home Depot. The instructor can query the

Lowes
Accounting/Financial Analysis Of Lowe's Inc.
Lowe's is the world's second largest home improvement retailer and operated 952 stores in forty five
states at their fiscal year ending January 30, 2004. The company is currently in the midst of the most
aggressive expansion in its history with 130 new stores opened in 2003 and another 140 slated for
this year. Lowe's saw 2003 sales reach approximately $30.8 billion, due largely to their focus on the
retail customers and home–improvement projects.
Fifty eight years ago Lowe's began as North Wilkesboro Hardware Company, a neighborhood
hardware store fittingly named after the small town it was located in. Owned by partners H. Carl
Buchan and James Lowe, this concept was more than a living, it ... Show more content on
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A more tell tale sign is the quick ratio, or acid test, which has increased year after year. Debt to total
assets has decreased over 5% since 2001, indicating less financing of current and long term debt and
more company assets. Their cash debt coverage far surpasses the ideal 20%, indicating a high level
of solvency with sufficient funds and assets to satisfy all debtors. Asset turnover has more or less
maintained at right around 1.6, signifying a turnover rate of just less than 180 times per year.
Profitability and liquidity ratios are impressive and continue to reflect the company's ability to
succeed and compete with archrival and industry powerhouse Home Depot. The stock market ratios
have fluctuated throughout the period analyzed, largely due in part to world events beyond
management's scope of control and the American public's uncertainty in the market as a whole. All
in all Lowe's is forecasted to continue its growth and upward trend in all indicative areas and remain
a power in the retail hardware, special orders and home improvement market, trespassing on
territory once clearly dominated by Home Depot, the worlds largest hardware retailer. Lowe's is a
favorite amongst institutional investors as their holdings make up 80.80% of common stock issued.
While there may be some concern that interest rates might stifle growth as indicated by a slightly
depressed closing stock price last Friday, Lowe's business model

Essay about The Home Depot
The Home Depot
Introduction
Retailing building supply stores have become a popular retail industry sector due to increased public
awareness and the need of many homeowners for the home improvement products. Back in the
1970s, long before warehouse stores ruled home improvement land, do–it–yourselfers shopped at
"home centers." These 30,000 square foot stores offered cheaper prices and wider selection of
products, about 25,000 more than local hardware stores and eliminated the extra trip to the
lumberyard. The dependence of many of these retailers upon the homebuilding industry for much of
their business has also been reduced and the warehouse superstores, such as Home Depot, have
become more important. The smaller companies in the ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Much of the company's success has been attributed to its superior customer service, along with low
process and a broad selection of products.
In 1979, they opened three Home Depot outlets in the Atlanta area, adding fourth outlet in 1980. The
next year Home Depot when public, opened four stores in South Florida, and posted sales of $50
million. After opening two more stores and making sales of $100 million in 1982, the company was
named Retailer of the Year in the home building supply industry. The chain entered Louisiana and
Arizona next.
By 1983 sales were more than $250 million. The company also began installing computerized
checkout systems, and by 1984 inventory reordering was computerized. The same year the company
acquired nine Bowater Home Centers in Texas, Louisiana, and Alabama. Home Depot then entered
Southern California, Handy Dan's home turf, opening six stores. The Bowater acquisition and rapid
internal expansion caused Home Depot to falter and experienced the only dip in earnings in its
history. Back on track in 1986, sales exceeded $1 billion in the firm's 60 stores. Entering the
competitive northeastern market, the company bought three Modell's Shoppers World stores on
Long Island. In 1989 Home Depot added 22 Stores, primary in California, Florida, and New
England. Home Depot's sales rose during the 1990–1992 recession. They opened more

Lowe's Paper
Problem Statement Worksheet – Lowe's Companies, Inc. Sharon Manago CSU Global Strategy
Planning MGT 510 Dr. Janice Spangenburg October 2, 2012 Problem Statement Worksheet –
Lowe's Companies, Inc. Introduction | In 2008, Lowe's Companies, Inc. have failed to ensure a
sustainable safety environment, put in place a health program, and maintain adequate record keeping
on work–related injury and illnesses claims for certain locations in the state of Ohio. This employer
has been made aware of OSHA requirements for its industry and has been cited many times for
similar infractions. OSHA regulators have imposed stiff penalty fines that have cost Lowe's
Companies Inc. thousands of dollars. The record–keeping violations at the ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
The OSHA findings onsite when inspecting Lowe's Companies are a contradiction to Lowe's
recordkeeping. Lowe's Corporation agreement with OSHA was to hire a consultant to review
medical records over a three year span to determine which if any claims legally needs to be reported
to OSHA. The agency has mandated to report the details including whether accidents resulted in
death, injury, time off from work, or job transfers (Nolan, 2011). | Conclusion | Lowe's debates the
issue that there is a problem with their recordkeeping by maintaining adequate reports and
documenting employee injuries and illnesses. OSHA believes that there is a critical issue and Lowe's
continually fails to document viable information and report employee injuries. After several
inspections throughout the Ohio area and over a one year span OSHA has found significant
problems and violations, and cited Lowe's thousands of dollars in fines. To take corrective action,
Lowe's must hire a consultant to review medical records from 2008 to 2010 to determine if the
claims are to be legally reported to OSHA, they have until 2013 to complete the in–depth
review(Nolan, 2011). | References Lewis, F. (2011). Local Lowe's not cited in record–keeping
missteps. Retrieved from http://www.portsmouth–dailytimes.com/view/full_story/14779888/article–
Local–Lowe's Lowe's Home Centers Fined $110K for 'Continual' Recordkeeping Violations. (2010).
Retrieved from

Lowe's Companies, Inc.: Strategic Initiatives
Although times have changed since Lowe's first opened its doors in 1946, Lowe's values have not:
the company remains committed to offering quality home improvement products at the lowest
prices, while delivering superior customer service. Lowe's utilizes both strategic and financial
planning in order to further their business and to stay in the competition with other home
improvements stores for many years. Using strategic planning, the company has been able to make
changes that allowed saving money and improving customers' experience. As diligent as Lowe's has
been over the years, Lowe's reported a slight decrease in its sales and its earnings in its 2008 annual
report. For 2009, the company plans to increase its revenues by using a ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
Additional plans include installing self–checkout facilities in another 50 stores by the end of that
year. Today, the majority of all Lowe's stores utilize this feature. Lowe's still has a long way to go
before reaping all it can from EPM. Future plans include tracking the skills and hours of some non–
IT employees through the system so that the company can take a broader approach to resource
management and gain a clearer view of a project's overall region of interest (ROI). And only
recently has Lowe's begun to incorporate recruitment strategies into EPM by predicting the need for
business process experts to oversee new project launches. But one thing is for certain: With business
growing at a rate of 18 percent per year, EPM is Lowe's best chance for taking IT and non–IT
initiatives in the right direction.
Lowes is currently involved in all sorts of different initiatives in order to boost sales during this
current economic down turn. The first thing the company focuses on is the mindset of the average
consumer. Lowes has discovered through lots of research the people basically want five things:
balance, control, value, simplicity, and to shop for everything in one trip. In order to accomplish
these five things, Lowes has focused on improving its skills in the following three areas:
merchandising strategy, merchandise selection, marketing and advertising, and offering higher value
at lower prices in order

Lowe 's Home Improvement Analysis
Introduction Lowe's Home Improvement is one of the two largest home improvement stores in the
United States. The company initially began in 1946 in Willsboro, North Carolina, but has now
become international, with stores in Mexico and Canada (Lowe 's Companies, Inc., 2015; Flavelle,
2007). The store initially began as a small hometown hardware store until a new owner envisioned a
more focused product selection, home improvement, and eliminated wholesalers to deal with the
product manufactures directly. While that narrow product line has continued to be the focus of the
company you can now find over 40,000 products in the stores, the ability to order hundreds of
thousands more through special order or a Lowe's affiliate, and over 50 professional installation
services available (Lowe 's Companies, Inc., 2015). As of 2014 the company had over 1,800 store
and had revenues exceeding $56 million dollars (Lowe 's Companies, Inc., 2014).
Lowe's Mission and Business Focus Lowe's Home Improvement Stores have one mission, to
"provide customer–valued solutions with the best prices, products and services to make Lowe 's the
first choice for home improvement." Even though the company is no longer a small–town company,
it continues to focus on "exception customer service" and enhances its customer's lives. In an effort
to provide for its customers, the company also seeks to significantly provide for its employees by
treating them with respect and providing them with good benefits and

The Great Recession From 2007-2009
The market is a very fluid situation and this is becoming more and more apparent in the past ten
years with the Great Recession from 2007–2009. Therefore, businesses are operating in an economy
where the competition is high and the potential for failure has become significant. Those two aspects
have been and should be on the forefront of every organizations mind. Companies should have a
strong focus on examining and evaluating not only their financial standings, but the other
competitors in their market in order to boost sales and continue on the path to maturity. If a
company is successful in reaching this goal they will have the ability to hold the competitive edge
on their rivals. Major organizations such as Home Depot and Lowes are placing more focus on
increasing that edge, while contending with others in their pool, overall to increase, gain, and retain
a piece of the devoted consumer. In order to understand and conduct a complete financial analysis of
either organization, or any company for that matter, that desires to increase aspects of business, an
analysis becomes fundamental when defining the company's current standings in the market. This
can also be a great way in order to discover new ways for expansion of productivity and
development within the organization. Throughout the execution of a financial analysis of any
business, it is imperative to understand the background of the company and the products they
produce and sell. By understanding these

The Home Depot Mission Is Rooted Upon 8 Fundamental Values...
More savings. More doing. Now that's the power of Home Depot (homedepot.com). " The Home
Depot was founded in 1978 by Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank, along with investment banker Ken
Langone and merchandising guru Pat Farrah" (corporate.homedepot.com). The founders envisioned
a "one–stop shop" for the do–it–yourselfer. The first Home Depot opened June 22,1979 in Atlanta,
Georgia. The first stores had around 60,000 square feet that dwarfed the competition stocking over
25,000 SKUs much more than any other hardware store at the time (corporate.homedepot.com). As
a facade to look like there was an abundance of merchandise The Home Depot would stack empty
boxes on the shelves. Home Depot has come a long way since their humble beginnings. The Home
Depot mission is rooted upon 8 fundamental values. " The Home Depot is in the home improvement
business and our goal is to provide the highest level of service, the broadest selection of products
and the most competitive prices. We are a values–driven company and our eight core values include
taking care of our people, giving back to our communities, doing the right thing, excellent customer
service, creating shareholder value, building strong relationships, entrepreneurial spirit, and respect
for all people" (ir.homedepot.com). Financially, Home Depot has had a strong fiscal year with "
reported sales of $24.9 billion for the second quarter of fiscal 2015, a 4.3 percent increase from the
second quarter 2014" (The Home

Home Depot
Executive Summary –The Home Depot
The Home Depot (Ticker: HD) is the world's largest home–improvement retailer along with being
an American Fortune 50 company. The company operates 2,259 retail building supply/home
improvement "warehouse" type stores all across the United States, Canada and Mexico. The Home
Depot has over 340,000 team members and is based in Atlanta, Georgia. The average store size is
just over 100,000 square feet along with an additional 24,000 square feet set aside for seasonal
gardening.
Target Group
The Home Depot's two main customers are at home "do–it–yourselfers" and contractors. The main
products and services offered help solve the wants and needs of customers involved with home
construction and maintenance, ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Marvin Ellison, Executive Vice President, U.S. Stores, proposed the "FIRST Relaunch". The
program focuses on putting the customers first, by "Do(ing) the unexpected". The operational plan
focused on customer service, being in stock on all products and creating a better store appearance
(inside the physical store and within the community).
In efforts to focus on customer service, more employees were hired and trained. Upper management
also equipped each team member with more technology (PDA's, walkie talkies, etc). There was a
companywide initiative to integrate Hispanic merchandise, marketing and staffing.
Home Depot switched to a regional distribution system while upgrading their internal information
technology infrastructure to better keep stores' inventory stocked properly. This major overhaul
materialized into The Home Depot's stock outs dramatically decreasing.
To create a stronger public image, Home Depot created The Home Depot Foundation which helps
with community home building, disaster relief and veteran job placement assistance.
These initiatives have greatly improved customer satisfaction and recognition in the community by
increasing ratings from 55% to 75% (2008 to 2012).
Current Economic cycle
Home Depot has clearly set itself up to be successful in the recent upswing in the housing markets.
Their technology upgrade has proven to be successful in keeping stores stocked and employees
more engaged with helping the customers.

Home Depot And Lowes: A Comparative Analysis
Home Depot and Lowes have a few similarities in functional strategies, as well as a few key
differences. When analyzing marketing strategies, its often helpful to divide marketing efforts into
four categories that include price, promotion, products/services, and the means of distribution
(Parnell, 2014). Home Depot's and Lowe's marketing strategies are very similar. Home Depot and
Lowe's both make a low price guarantee, and both offer price matching plus beating the competitor's
price by 10% (The Home Depot, 2016; Lowe's; 2016). Both Lowe's and Home Depot appear to be
following what Porter's model would describe as a low–cost strategy and publicly compete on this
point. Lowe's and Home Depot have also increased the use of targeted digital advertising, ... Show
Badar and Sammidi (2013) found that information collection and utilization in supply chain
management is of vital importance. Badar & Sammidi (2013) also found that profits can be
maximized by increasing efficiencies in the supply chain. Societal and technological trends have led
to consumers who increasingly expect products and services to be quickly available (Parnell, 2014).
A just–in–time inventory system based on up–to–date data prediction models that allows for quicker
order fulfillment, and better in stock supplies when and where customers need the items, should
continue to bode well for Home Depot long term. It will be difficult for Home Depot to distinguish
itself from Lowe's in other meaningful ways which may force it to deviate functional strategies
away from the low–cost corporate strategy. Attempting to differentiate itself in other ways may
cause serious misalignments in its strategies and cause an unnecessary decline in

Home Depot Executive Summary
The company has overall performed better than the industry on key ratios which can be attributed to
good management decisions. However limited financial leverage of the company may affect its
ability to borrow and repay money. Home Depot's solvency position is limited due to the high Debt
to Equity ratio which indicates significant debt funding than equity. Limited solvency position
indicates utilization of higher financial leverage and its comparatively weaker equity position,
noting the lower creditworthiness of the company Strategy During 2002, under the management of
CEO, Robert Nardelli, Home Depot maintained its long–term objectives for continuous growth and
expansion. Investments were made in technology and store modernization as well as in sustaining its
control through its vertical growth strategy in its value chain. (Home Depot, 2014) The company
began to tap the residential home builders' market in 2002 by acquiring 3 of the top 10 turnkey
providers of installed flooring. However, due to his command and control style of leadership, in
addition to his failure to reignite the companies' sales, he was replaced by the present CEO, Francis
Blake (Lubin, 2007). Under Blake, Home ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
However, the sustainability of Home Depot's competitive advantage is based on its ability to keep
the costs low while offering premium products and quality services. Uncertainty in the economic
conditions, the ability to retain qualified associates, and strong competition that can affect the
demand for Home Depot's products and services remain deterrents to the sustainability of Home
Depot's competitive

Lowe S Home Improvement Strategic And O Essay
Lowe's Home Improvement Strategic and Operational Plan
MGT/521
date
Teacher
Lowe's Home Improvement Strategic and Operational Plan
This paper highlights the creation of Lowe's Home Improvement strategic plans utilizing the SWOT
analysis that are in alignment with the Lowe's mission and vision statements. The strategic plan
which is define as "plans cover a large span of time that is several years or decades" (Gabrielle
Brown, 2014), that covers plans that are in general manner that pertains to nonspecific and less–
detailed format. On the other hand, an operational plan usually covers one year and provides very
fine details on how the tasks are done daily (Gabrielle Brown, 2014).
Lowe's Home Improvement Strategic Plan Overview ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
At the event of any change to the company may it be negative or positive, profitable or non–
profitable their will be an adverse effect to the stakeholders. Such effects are as follows: increase on
overall sales of the company will yield increase on shares and earnings to either shareholders,
employees and business owners; which in–turn will create profit that could be use for company
expansion and purchasing of additional tools to use for improvement; that will lead in helping
increase customers service elevating the aid provided to our customers; and also by increasing sales
will also mean profit for Lowe's vendors and suppliers, and so on...
References
Farfan, B. (2014). Company Mission Statements – Complete List of World's Largest Retail
Missions. Retrieved October 13, 2014, from about money:
http://retailindustry.about.com/od/retailbestpractices/ig/Company–Mission–Statements/Lowe–s–
Mission–Statement.htm
Gabrielle Brown, D. M. (2014). Differences Between a Strategic Plan & an Operations Plan.
Retrieved from Chron Small Business: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/differences–between–
strategic–plan–operations–plan–10634.html
Lowe's Companies, Inc. SWOT Analysis. (2014, August 08). Retrieved from

Sprawl and Small Businesses Essay
Sprawl and Small Businesses
During the past 15 years, I have seen my once–rural hometown of Washington Township transform
into a maze of single–family housing developments and strip malls. This type of growth has not
been gentle on the local economy, especially small businesses. Stores such as the mom and pop
hardware store, a local mainstay for many decades, have been forced out of business by the
construction of two Home Depots and a Lowe's within a two–mile radius of the town's main street.
This negative aspect of sprawl has been a trend that has repeated itself nationwide in recent years.
Mega chain stores, or big boxes, are a phenomenon that has spread all over the country, and has
exploded in ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
They thrive on duplicating these qualities in every store regardless of location or demographics of
the area. This conditions consumers to shop at their stores because they know what they are going to
get and feel comfortable going there. For example, when a family who shopped at the Home Depot
in New York moves to Washington Township, they are probably going to shop at the Home Depot
there, rather than the local hardware store.
The conditioning, or "brainwashing" as some view it, of customers is evident in the effect on the
economy of Mercer County. The proprietor of the former hardware store in Washington Township
also owns several other stores in the neighboring towns of Hamilton and Trenton. These surrounding
communities have been developed long ago and haven't seen the recent inflow of new housing and
people that Washington has. Many of the people in those towns are working class and have roots in
their respective communities. These people continue to support the smaller hardware stores, and
business has not been affected after Home Depot and Lowe's moved in.
However, the store located in Washington Township was devastated by the construction of the mega
stores. After speaking to the owner of the store, it seems as if the store's demise was due to the
"brainwashing" of the younger generations. Many of the residents that have moved into Washington
Township during the past 10 years are young, upper–middle class

Home Depot Strategy Analysis
Muhammad Chughtai Daniel Tesler Home Depot Case Analysis Home Depot is a large U.S. based
company that competes in the low cost home improvement retail and service industry. Home Depot
is a global company because they also have consumers in Canada and Mexico, the potential to
expand their market to other areas globally and have a global supply chain. In the U.S. market, the
industry is concentrated and in the mature stage with Home Depot and Lowe's making up a duopoly
because they are the only two major players that compete at a similar retail volume nationwide.
With only two large companies in the industry, there are high entry barriers because of the high cost
necessary to obtain the key success factors to compete against these ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
Home Depot was more concerned with expanding into new markets than it was about ensuring that
they maintained their position as a low cost retailer. With Home Depot's rapid expansion, they
experienced the diseconomies of scale through decentralized purchasing, multiple suppliers for the
same goods and difficulty managing the number of stores, all items that Nardelli addressed. When
Nardelli took over, he shifted the strategy to integrated. He implemented methods to improve the
process efficiency of Home Depot to keep them as a cost leader with investments into IT and
logistics and the elimination of the cash return policy. He also moved to differentiate Home Depot
by adding services such as tool rentals and professional contractor services, making the stores more
appealing through layout changes and an emphasis on helping customers instead of restocking. The
major issue that faces Home Depot in 2005 is its lack of a clear strategy. Home Depot put resources
towards addressing process efficiency issues which are in line with cost leadership, but they also
invested heavily in obtaining a differentiated position. Although Home Depot appears to be trying to
obtain an integrated position, they are failing at both cost leadership and differentiation. Home
Depot made significant improvements in their processes by centralizing purchasing and switching to
automated inventory management to be a cost leader, but they

Case Study : Lowe 's Home Improvement
The company I have selected for the final project is Lowe's Home Improvement. I chose this
company because it is a well know fortune 500 company. Lowe's was founded in 1946 and has
grown from a small hardware store into the 2nd largest home improvement retailer worldwide, 2nd
to only Home Depot. Lowe's started as a single store in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina in 1921
by Lucius Smith Lowe. The company went public in 1961 and quickly grew in numbers. In the
1980s the company suffered due to market conditions and increasing competition, such as Home
Depot. Lowe's resisted adopting the mega–store format at first but once they changed their
perspective the company began to flourish again. It is considered the 8th largest retailer in ... Show
This could help ensure a quicker process during the install. Next we would focus on the delivery
aspect. As it is, Lowe's is flooded with delivery to where a new install job may not be on the top of
the priority list. Having a separate delivery team prepared to focus solely on these types of jobs
would help ensure a better system to rely on. Also, create a process that the installers could have
access to the product giving them the ability to deliver it if needed. Lastly, we would focus on the
current install process. When people want to renovate many have no intention of making in a month
or yearlong process. They want to start the project as soon as possible. Currently Lowes will require
you to go to the store, pay for a $35 detail, and then wait for the installer to contact you within 48
hours to set up a time to get measurements. After that is finally done the measurements go back to
the store so product and labor can be put together in a contract and the presented to the customer. If
the customer accepts they will pay and then wait for the installer to call again to set up a time to start
the install. Just getting it organized can turn into a two–week process which for many people could
be frustrating. Improving on this process will be the focus of this new service that Lowe's will
provide.

Lowe's Case Study
Lowe's also has a service called Lowebot. This innovative robotic device has been sent out to stores
in California. "For nearly two years, we've studied how robots in our San Jose Orchard Supply
Hardware store can help customers more effectively navigate the store to find products and assist
employees with inventory scanning," said Kyle Nel, executive director of Lowe's Innovation Labs
(Product). Lowebot can assist a customer looking for specific products as well as show them where
they are. The device can also scan for prices, and answer less complicated questions, therefore
leaving more time for employees to offer project expertise and personalized service. This device is
being tested in California and has been a great hit so far. The ever–growing ... Show more content
on Helpwriting.net ...
Home Depot, Sears, Lumber Liquidators, Menard, Harbor Freight just to name a few. However,
Home Depot is probably the biggest rivalry for Lowe's. Home Depot sells wood, tools, home
accessories, and even every day household supplies. Likewise, most people would go to Home
Depot for wood and things for their home. Next in the competition retail chain is Sears. Sears sells
similar merchandise to that of Lowe's. especially when it comes to appliances for the home. They
have appliances, tools, things for the house, even lawn mowers. Yet another competitor, but further
down the line, is Harbor Freight. Harbor Freight sells tools, lawn mowers, and generators like
Lowe's. However, Harbor freight seems to have lower pricing.
Lowe's gives 5% off everything in store, or 6 months special financing when customers use their
Lowe's Consumer Credit Card. Lowe's also has special weekly offers on various products
throughout the store. "We're focused on evolving our business to further drive trust and loyalty by
empowering customers throughout their project journey. Our customers take great pride in their
homes and we are equally proud to be the first stop for their home improvement projects,"
commented Robert A. Niblock, Lowe's chairman, president and

Home Depot vs. Lowes Essay
Home Depot vs. Lowes
The Home Depot Company
Introduction
Home Depot company offer a wide range of merchandise and services, and serve three primary
customer groups: do–it–yourself customers, do–it–for–me customers and professional customers. A
classic Home Depot store stocks approximately 40,000 to 50,000 product items, including variations
in color and size. Major product groups include building materials, lumber plumbing, electrical and
kitchen; hardware and seasonal, and paint, flooring and wall coverings. To balance the national
brand name products it offers, the Company has formed strategic associations with vendor partners
to market products under brand names that are only offered through The Home Depot. "As of fiscal
... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Home Depot's company stated vision is described in the case as "to be one of the most successful
retailers in the next millennium" which is further defined by Home Depot's management as "the
most successful retailers... will be those, among other things, can effectively profitability extend
their reach to global markets". ("The Home Depot", 2004) Management at Home Depot also states
that they plan to take the existing success in areas where they have a base business and use this base
to expand into other markets.
Strategy, Products and Market Overview
I believe that Home Depot has done an excellent job at reaching its goals in the past ten years. They
have been able to expand their market by aggressively opening several store locations and using a
clustering strategy. In doing this they have become a market leader and they have also been able to
keep their SG&A expenses down by eliminating redundant expenses by spreading them out between
stores close in proximity to each other. Home Depot is facing a few problems in order to continue
reaching its stated goal(s) of becoming a global leader and expanding their existing market. There
are a few established business that are in direct competition with Home Depot such as Lowe's, their
number one competitor, and other companies such as Eagle Hardware & Garden of Seattle, who has
been preparing for the intense competition

Home Depot Swot Analysis Paper
Strengths– High Quality Service Home Depot strives to provide the highest quality service to its
customers. Home Depot achieves this by hiring professionals such as, carpenters, plumbers, and
paint specialists. These experts are invaluable resources for less knowledgeable customers looking
for a certain product or working on a new project. The Home Depot staff can help customers pick
out larger and more difficult items such as showers, vinyl siding, carpet, appliances, and plumbing.
After the purchase, Home Depot will have the items delivered and installed in the customer's home.
Home Depot's focus on "product authority" is one of the main and drivers for the company's high
quality service. Strengths– High Productivity Home Depot is also known for its high productivity.
The company likes to maximize the efficiency of the space it uses. International Home Depot stores
in 2014 averaged $297 earned per square foot. Lowe's international stores only averaged $280 per
square foot (Trefis Team, 2015). The growth of Home Depot's e–commerce sales is another
testament for its productivity. Home Depot's had online sales of 500 million in 2009. E–commerce
sales have grown to over 5 billion (Birkner, 2017). In 2007, the company's store were in charge of
stocking and replenishing inventory. The staff spent as much as 60% of their time working with
inventory instead of working with customers. To solve this problem the company created algorithms
that autonomously kept track of the inventory for the management (Bond, 2017). The company also
created 18 rapid deployment centers from 2007 to 2015. These centers move products between
stores in a more efficient rate utilizing a for just–in–time replenishment model. Lowes also has rapid
deployment centers, but has only built 15 in the same amount of time. The high productivity of
Home Depot is one of the reasons it continues to outperform its competition. Strengths– Market
Leadership Home Depot is one of the most recognizable brands in Home Improvement. It also holds
the largest market value in its industry. In 2017 Home Depot's market value was over 206 billion
dollars, its closest competitor, Lowe's, held only 69 billion in market value (Net Advantage, 2017).
During the

Code of Ethics Comparison: Lowe's vs. Home Depot Essay...
Established as the older company of the two, Lowe's ranks forty–second as a Fortune 500 company.
Established in 1946 as a small hardware business, Lowe's has grown into a 40,000 product, global
market enterprise that consist of 1,710 stores nationwide expanding into the countries of Canada,
Mexico and Australia (Lowe's Internal, 2010) Home Depot, founded in 1978, is the fastest growing
retailer in the United States. Ranked twenty–ninth as a Fortune 500 company, Home Depot
continues to remain the number one do–it–yourself retail store in America. These two companies
may sell products of the same nature, but comparing their Code of Ethics is their way of setting
themselves apart. (Home Depot Internal, 2009)
Lowe's begins their manual with ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Therefore, every employee, while acting on behalf of the company, shall comply with all domestic
or foreign government laws that are not consistent with the ethical principles' to which Lowe's
subscribes. (Lowe's Internal, 2010)
Home Depot compiles advertising, antitrust and confidentiality in policy of Compliance with Laws,
Regulations, Policies, and Standard Operating Procedures. Advertising is to be provided to
consumers with accurate, fair, and lawful information that is intended to help them make informed
decisions. Antitrust laws in the United States and other countries are intended to preserve a free and
competitive market place. Confidentiality is extremely important, as internal information is not to be
shared with any outside venders, competition, or family members. This is to provide a guide for
employees', as Home Depot seeks competitive advantage. (Home Depot Internal, 2008)
Lowe's and Home Depot maintain their competitive advantages by "warning" employees not to give
away information that cause unfair balance while attempting to gain an edge. Both companies feel
that free market is up to each individual company to strive for innovative ideas that separate the two.
Though confidentiality is listed in different sections of the manuals', both feel that the integrity

Business Case Study : Lowe 's Company
Business Case Study The company that I have chosen for this assignment and project is Lowe 's
Companies, Inc. Lowes strongly focuses on the mission statement "helping the customers to
improve their homes". The company started in 1921 as a small store in North Carolina. Great
success and high demand of Lowe's products led to an increase in the number of stores. By 1955,
there were five more functional stores. Rapid growth took place around 1960s. Carl Buchan was one
of the founders of Lowe's, who died in year 1960. Exactly a year later in 1961, the company went
public. This was the time when Lowe's was given its name. Initially it was called North Wilkesboro
Hardware Company. By 1979, Lowe's established more than 50 stores in the United ... Show more
Lowe's has a robust vision and branding. In 2011, Lowe's completely changed its branding by
adding the new slogan "Never Stop Improving". It is more than just a tag line. It is a branding
strategy to attract more customers and offer them products at low prices. The slogan clearly explains
that customers are in the right hands when they shop at Lowe's and they have everything available
they need in order to build their houses – from planning to execution. Lowe's serve DIY customers
and also provides installation services and other services such as electricians, painters, plumbers and
landscapers. Average Lowe's has two kinds of stores, a 117,000 square–foot and the other one is a
94,000 square –foot. This remodeling of the stores layout was done in 1980s, after the arrival and
success of the biggest rival "Home Depot". A typical Lowe's store carries approximately 40,000
items. These items include other brands too such as allen + roth, Kobalt and Utilitech. Lowe's
product line includes products for home decoration, house maintenance, repairing, remodeling &
redesigning, and constructing a new house or office. Items that may not be available in the stores are
still available to customers by placing special orders. The installation services of Lowe's are
available for more than 40 product categories. Installation services contribute to the net sale too with
the greatest sales coming in flooring, millwork, and

Home Depot Vs. Lowe's Functional Strategies
To compare and contrast the Home Depot and Lowe's functional strategy would be very similar to
comparing night to day. Making a comparison of 2 companies that are leaders in an industry. Most
of the things that the companies share are very close in kind. Competition and bottom line will be
the distinguishing difference in store image to the customer. There is clearly a marketing difference
between the two stores. Lowe's first stared its business and opened up its doors in 1946. The
company has 1840 stores with some in other countries. All brick and mortar have had their
challenge of staying in business. The company has 15 distribution centers that are strategy located
within the United States. This company is clearly an innovator in the

Lowe's Business Activities Essay
General business activities Lowe's is a chain of home improvement and appliance retailers, with
over 1,800 stores in North America. They employ over 265,000 people and serve 16 million
customers a week, both professional and retail. Lowe's grew from a small hardware store opened in
1960 to a successful retail chain and Fortune 500 company, providing a huge range of home items
and home improvement products. 30% of their sales are to professional construction and
maintenance customers. Lowe's offers a variety of interior and exterior installation services,
including flooring, appliances, blinds and repair services. They also offer credit financing and
protection plans. Careers at Lowe's range from retail to corporate, with opportunities for ... Show
Fit Friendly Companies Innovation Award for encouraging health and exercise. Vision and values
Lowe's take great pride in their 60 year history, and work hard to promote a culture of customer
service excellence. They aim to maintain high standards, exceed customer expectations and treat
employees with respect. The Lowe's Charitable and Educational Foundation provides benefits to
local communities with education and improvement projects, awarding grants for a variety of
organisations. Career development Lowe's is committed to offering a range of diverse careers
opportunities to their employees, helping staff to develop their talents and advance in their own
careers. They offer on the job training with both eLearning courses and instructors,as well as 90 day
Onbarding Programs that acclimate new hires and immerse them in the Lowe's corporate culture.
Their careers development services offers tuition reimbursement packages, training courses,
management development programmes and competence

Essay on Lowes’ Porter's Five Forces Competitive Analysis
Lowes' Porter's Five Forces Competitive Analysis Michael Porter's Five Forces analyze the external
and internal environment of a company to increase the awareness of threats and structure of the
industry that company competes within. Thus, the Five Forces is an ideal tool which can help
companies to maintain their competitiveness with a higher profitability. Porter's Five Forces is
defined as threats of new entrants, bargaining power of suppliers, power of buyers, the threat of
substitutes and rivalry among existing competitors. New entrants into the industry aim to gain
market share from rivals, so the intensity of competition may require to make changes on current
strategy of marketing to maintain existing market share. The bargaining ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
High level, intense rivalry may result with profit lost for the company. In most cases, new entrant
barriers are high due to the intensity of rivalry (Porter, 2008). Lowes' Porter's Five Forces
Competitive Analysis As relevant to these competitive forces, the common and mutual goal of
companies can be explained as better profitability with a greater market share against their rivals.
Therefore, implementing Michael Porter's Five Forces can help the companies determine the issues
that may impact the company's profitability in the long term. Lowes Company Inc. has grown out of
a small hardware store which was located in North Carolina in 1946. The founder and owner Carl
Buchan had a vision of chain home–improvement stores at that time. One of the best strategies that
Buchan did was working directly with manufacturers instead of wholesalers. This let Lowes come
over the power of wholesalers. The company made a big reputation with low prices strategy. In
addition, Lowes owns and operates stores in Mexico and Canada as well as United States (About
Lowe's, 2014). The company's goal is offering the best quality product with a low price and
exceptional customer service. According to Lowes and financial data, they are second biggest global
home–improvement retail company after Home Depot (Yahoo Finance, 2014). The company is
focused on home and business improvement products which customer can make or build themselves
at home. As of today, Lowes owns 1,825

Swot Analysis Of Lowes

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