Lowe's 1999 Annual Report Download - page 6

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Paint is a major component of home
improvement projects and Lowe’s
compelling presentation allows
customers to explore all possibilites.
Lowe’s bright, spacious home décor department, staffed
by knowledgeable sales associates, allows customers to
coordinate the latest fashions in flooring, window
treatments and wall coverings.
Improving Home
Improvement
A Commitment From Lowe’s
As the new millennium dawns, it is inspiring to
reflect upon the enormous transformation Lowe’s has
undergone during the last decade as we completely
repositioned our company for future success. However,
that’s only the beginning. Our dedication to customer
satisfaction mandates that we continually change in
order to continue Improving Home Improvement in
this new era.
There’s a saying at Lowe’s: The best way to
predict the future is to create it. Rather than reacting
to opportunities as they arise, Lowe’s is committed to
proactively creating new opportunities. We are doing
so by analyzing our research to identify patterns and
trends that will impact our industry in the coming
years. Most trends are related to the rapidly changing
demographic picture in the United States.
We have witnessed the emergence of the BIY
(“ Buy It Yourself” ) customer in addition to the DIY
(“ Do It Yourself” ) customer. Maturing Baby-Boomers
typically have more money than time and, rather than
tackling projects themselves, are more inclined to have
someone else do the work. They do not mind spending
a few dollars more for higher-quality products that
add convenience to their lives. Lowe’s views these
factors as prime reasons to expand and improve our
Installed Sales, Special Order Sales, and Commercial
Business Customer programs in anticipation of greater
sales potential. In addition to growing sales, these
three sales initiatives focus on higher gross margin
categories within the store.
We are challenging and refining our offerings to
move our product mix “ up the continuum,” editing
our good product lines to improve our offering of the
better and even premium lines that our customers
desire. Understanding that time is a precious
commodity, we’ve improved our in-store features and
benefits information displays to better differentiate
between merchandise price points and to assist
customers with their buying decisions. In addition to
our extensive line of national brands, we’re partnering
with our vendors to offer preferred brands —
exclusive to Lowe’s — such as Laura Ashley, Sta-
Green, Troy-Bilt and more. In categories where
preferred brands are not available, we’ve developed
and created our own high quality brands, such as
Product orders, such as electrical cable,
can be customized for smaller projects
or sold in larger quantities to Lowe’s
commercial business customers.