Lowe's 2009 Annual Report Download - page 4

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complete a few of the more discretionary
projects on their to-do lists as they
gain confi dence that home prices are
approaching a bottom and unemploy-
ment is likely near its peak.
We know that providing great
service is key to driving profi table sales
and market share growth, and I feel our
commitment to delivering great service
has Lowe’s uniquely positioned to
capitalize on the markedly diff erent
competitive landscape we will experience
as the economy bottoms and home
improvement demand improves. Over
the past three-and-a-half years, the
competitive landscape has evolved as
many local and regional competitors
closed or consolidated operations. As
demand returns, we will benefi t from
our commitment to service through
the downturn, but we are also making
additional investments to better position
Lowe’s to fi ll the void created by the
changing competitive landscape. One
example is our new Project Specialist –
Exteriors (PSE) position.  is in-home
consultative sales position enables us to
better compete in product categories, like
roofi ng, siding, fencing and windows,
that lend themselves to an in-home
sales approach. We rolled out this
position late in 2009, and initial results
have been encouraging.
Turning to the commercial side
of our business, we added a District
Commercial Account Specialist (DCAS)
position in 125 markets in 2009.  is
fi eld-based specialist reaches out to
commercial customers at their work-
place or jobsite to build and enhance
relationships by providing a convenient
and competitive off ering of products
and services for these time-crunched
customers. Again, we’re in the early stages
of this program, but we’re seeing exciting
results with both new commercial
accounts and increased sales to existing
Lowe’s customers.
We’ve also added or enhanced other
tools to grow our relationship with
commercial customers including an
expanded credit off ering with the
launch of our new Lowe’s Business
Rewards card with American Express.
Additionally, while in place for many
years, we expanded our Quote Support
Program.  is program drives sales
and improves service to commercial
customers by quickly providing them
competitive quotes for large purchases.
In the end, our commitment to
providing value-added solutions to
home improvement consumers has
not wavered. We are confi dent we’re
making the right investments that
position us to continue to profi tably
grow sales and gain market share.
In closing, in recent years homeowners
and Lowe’s faced many of the same
challenges and have been forced to make
similar tradeoff s. Even in tough times,
there is an understanding that you must
invest to sustain what has been built
over time. Homeowners know if they
delay needed home maintenance, they
could face bigger and more expensive
repairs in the future. For Lowe’s, our
primary investment has been in service
to ensure we maintain standards and
protect the customer franchise we’ve
worked to build over the past six decades.
In my mind, it’s those commitments that
ensure both homeowners and Lowe’s
have a solid foundation on which to build
as signs of an improving economy begin
to appear.
I’d like to thank our more than 238,000
customer-focused employees for their
teamwork and dedication in providing
the great customer service that diff erenti-
ates Lowe’s from the competition. As we
have been for the past 64 years, Lowe’s is
ready for the opportunities that lie ahead.
We’ll continue to anticipate consumers’
needs, operate great stores and off er
quality products, services and solutions
that help consumers successfully complete
the home improvement projects on their
to-do list.
Robert A. Niblock
Chairman of the Board and
Chief Executive Offi cer
We are confi dent we’re
making the right
investments that
position us to continue
to profi tably grow sales
and gain market share.