Lowe's 2006 Annual Report Download - page 15

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er 100 New Places A Year
BAY SHORE, NY
In 2006, we opened our fourth store in Long Island, NY. This store
is one of the top performers in our Customer Focused program,
consistently working to fulll our customer service expectations.
WAVELAND, MS
In response to the tremendous need for aordable housing in the Gulf Coast following the
destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina, Lowe’s is oering the Lowe’s Katrina Cottage series. We
constructed one of these aordable, attractive, high-quality homes that are designed to with-
stand wind gusts up to 140 mph at our Waveland, MS store. www.Lowes.com/katrinacottage.
11
Although Lowe’s reach has long
expanded beyond the Southeast,
we continue to see additional
opportunities to become more
convenient to customers. In 2006,
we expanded our reach, opening
155 stores, ending the year with
1,385 stores in 49 states, enabling
us to better serve customers.
At year-end, 28% of our stores were in the nation’s top
25 markets and approximately 55% were located in the top
100 markets. With each new store we open, we raise the
awareness of the Lowe’s brand and gain new customers.
We are condent there are considerable opportunities
to continue to add protable stores across the United
States. We believe we can extend our reach in North
America to more than 2,000 Lowe’s stores. As we expand
into new markets, we will continue to use our 117,000-
square-foot (117K) and 94,000-square-foot (94K)
store prototypes as well as evaluate additional store
prototypes that can be used in a variety of settings
adjusting for physical constraints. In fiscal 2007, we
plan to open 150 to 160 new stores with a primary
focus toward the top 100 markets, which represent
approximately 67% of home improvement revenue.
We will balance our metro expansion with the opportu-
nities presented in smaller markets.
We have many years of protable growth ahead of us.
Our store expansion pipeline is healthy, and, of the more
than 400 future store locations approved by the Lowe’s real
estate committee, approximately 40% are in the top 25
markets and 70% in the top 100 markets.