Content about Lowe's

Cool weather affected sales at Lowe's for the first quarter ended May 3. 

Lowe’s saw net earnings of $540 million for the quarter, a 2.5% increase over the same period a year ago. Sales for the quarter decreased 0.5% to $13.1 billion from $13.2 billion in the year-ago quarter, while comparable-store sales decreased 0.7%. 

The world’s second largest home improvement retailer reported its results a day after rival Home Depot announced first-quarter sales of $19.1 billion, up 7.4%.

BOUCHERVILLE, Quebec — Canadian hardware retailer and one-time Lowe’s buyout prospect Rona has appointed Alain Brisebois the company’s new EVP and chief commercial officer.

Brisebois will seek to improve operational efficiency and synergy among the company's purchasing, merchandising, procurement and marketing activities.

Lowe's has released its Corporate Social Responsibility Report Card, which covers education, environment and more. 

“To achieve greater progress for our communities and our company, we continue to build on our commitment to never stop improving,” said Robert Niblock, Lowe’s chairman, president and CEO. “We’re focused on carrying out those responsibilities every day with the help of our 245,000 employees across North America.” 

MINNEAPOLIS — Lowe's has teamed up with Valspar to launch an expanded paint program to serve the  needs of the professional painter. The program includes a comprehensive lineup of Valspar-branded professional grade products in multiple formulations and finishes that simplifies paint selection while delivering on the durability and performance requirements of professional painters.

Lowe’s is competing in the price wars -- especially with Internet retailers -- by using the merchant mind-set of “dead net pricing.” 

Speaking at the UBS Global Consumer Conference Wednesday, Lowe’s CEO Robert Niblock described his company’s improvements in the price wars.

MOORESVILLE, N.C. — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has named Lowe’s winner of the Energy Star Partner of the Year – Sustained Excellence Award for the fourth consecutive year. The 2013 award recognizes Lowe’s long-standing leadership as a retailer of energy-efficient appliances and products. Lowe’s will receive the EPA’s most prestigious honor at a ceremony in Washington, D.C., on March 26.

MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Lowe’s announced that Lara Lee will join the company as SVP customer experience design, effective Feb 25. Lee will report to Robert J. (Bob) Gfeller, customer experience design executive.

Lee will be responsible for translating business strategies into integrated, multi-channel experiences that deliver value to home improvement consumers. Named a “Master of Innovation” by BusinessWeek in 2006, Lee has driven customer-centric business transformation for more than 20 years.

Rebuilding Together has teamed up with Lowe's through its Community Partners program to provide free home repairs to four low-income homeowners and to support the Friendly House in the Central City neighborhood of Phoenix on Feb. 20 and 21.

In its six years of partnering with Rebuilding Together, Lowe's has donated $7 million and completed 958 projects across the country.

More than 100 Lowe's Heroes employee volunteers from area Lowe's stores will team with Rebuilding Together Valley of the Sun.

Amazon, which gained attention for its expanded Kindle line and growing e-commerce footprint, captured the second spot on BrandIndex's list of most buzzed about U.S. brands for 2012.

Lowe's and Target were the only traditional retailers to make the top 10. Lowe's moved up one spot to the number five position, thanks to the launch of MyLowes.com and better-equipped staff. Target captured the number seven spot with the help of its remodeling program and year-round exclusives.

Other retailers in the top 25 include Walgreens (13), Home Depot (18) and Kohl's (25).

MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Lowe’s is gearing up for increased demand this spring, by hiring approximately 45,000 seasonal employees at its stores in the United States. The company will also add 9,000 permanent part-time employees.

Seasonal jobs available are focused on customer support and include cashiers, lawn and garden specialists, loaders, and stockers. The number of hours worked per week will vary based on the needs of individual stores, but, on average, seasonal employees could work an estimated 20 to 25 hours per week.

MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Lowe’s will unveil the next wave of products and services for Iris, its cloud-based smart home solution, at the 2013 International Consumer Electronics Show.

Iris enables homeowners to monitor and control their homes from anywhere via smart phone, tablet or computer with a free basic level of service. Lowe’s will showcase more than 15 new Iris devices and services developed since the smart home solution’s launch in 2012 at the show.

Moorsville, N.C.-based Lowe’s is telling investors and analysts that changes are in the works, a message it has delivered steadily over the last several quarters.