Lowe's 2013 Annual Report Download - page 3

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YOUR COMPANY DELIVERED SOLID PERFORMANCE IN 2013. WE SUBSTANTIALLY
COMPLETED OUR INITIATIVES TO ENHANCE RETAIL RELEVANCE, INCLUDING
VALUE IMPROVEMENT, PRODUCT DIFFERENTIATION AND OUR STORE LABOR
INVESTMENT. THESE INITIATIVES, COMBINED WITH IMPROVED EXECUTION
AND CROSS-FUNCTIONAL COLLABORATION ENABLED BY OUR ENHANCED
SALES & OPERATIONS PLANNING PROCESS, ALLOWED US TO MORE FULLY
CAPITALIZE ON MARKET GROWTH. AS A RESULT, WE EXCEEDED OUR PLAN
FOR THE YEAR AND RECORDED OUR HIGHEST ANNUAL COMPARABLE SALES
INCREASE SINCE 2005.
LETTER TO SHAREHOLDERS
We leveraged this sales growth to increase Net
Earnings by 16.7%, Earnings Per Share by 26.6%
and Return on Invested Capital by 217 basis points to
11.5%. While we continue to enhance our business,
I think it’s appropriate to pause and thank our cus-
tomers for their continued loyalty, our employees
for their resilience through significant change,
and you, our shareholders, for your confidence
and support through the recession and into our
transformation.
In 2014, we will capitalize on opportunities within
an improving economy. We will use our enhanced
Sales & Operations Planning process to address
micro-seasons by market, and we will improve our
product and service offering for the professional
customer. We will also focus on driving more of our
revenue growth to the bottom line through expense
control and disciplined execution of our plans.
ROBERT A. NIBLOCK
Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer
LOWE’S COMPANIES, INC. 2013 ANNUAL REPORT 1