Editing Lowe's (section)

==History==

[[Image:Loweswarehouse.jpg|thumb|right|A typical Lowe's storefront in [[Santa Clara, California]]]]

The first Lowe's store, '''Mr. L.S. Lowe's North Wilkesboro Hardware''', opened in [[North Wilkesboro, North Carolina]], in 1921 by Lucius Smith Lowe.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Crandall |first1=Richard E. |title=Principles of Supply Chain Management |last2=Crandall |first2=William R. |last3=Chen |first3=Charlie C. |publisher=CRC Press |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-4200-9108-3 |location=Boca Raton, FL |pages=208 |language=en}}</ref> After Lowe died in 1940, the business was inherited by his daughter, Ruth Buchan, who sold the company to her brother, James Lowe, for $4,200,<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Bass |first1=Misty |title=Wilkes County |last2=Earp |first2=Christy |last3=Pena |first3=Jennifer L. |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-7385-5308-5 |location=Charleston, SC |pages=92 |language=en}}</ref> that same year. James took on his brother-in-law [[H. Carl Buchan]] as a partner in 1943.<ref name="Williams">{{cite web |last=Williams |first=Shane |url=http://northcarolinahistory.org/encyclopedia/lowes-companies/ |title=Lowe's Companies |work=North Carolina History - |date=March 7, 2016 |publisher=North Carolina History Project |access-date=August 25, 2019}}</ref>

Buchan anticipated the dramatic increase in construction after [[World War II]], and under his management, the store focused on [[Household hardware|hardware]] and building materials.<ref name="auto">{{cite web |url=http://careers.lowes.com/media/39421/loweshistory.pdf |title=History |website=Lowe's}}</ref> Before then, the product mix had also included [[Notions (sewing)|notions]], [[dry good]]s, [[horse tack]], [[Snuff (tobacco)|snuff]], produce, and groceries. Buchan and Lowe started the concept of procuring large quantities of products directly from manufacturers, which eliminated the wholesaler and allowed them to offer customers lower prices.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Alcorn County, Mississippi: 1870-2002 |publisher=Turner Publishing Company |year=2002 |isbn=978-1-56311-821-0 |pages=218 |language=en}}</ref> The company opened its second store in [[Sparta, North Carolina]], in 1949.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.marshallnewsmessenger.com/business/chamber-means-business/article_84f78376-aa9e-5b50-b4ce-763c0a4c3a25.html|title=Chamber Means Business|website=Marshall News Messenger|date=January 19, 2013 |language=en|access-date=August 27, 2019}}</ref>

In 1952, Buchan became the sole owner of Lowe's, and the company was incorporated as Lowe's North Wilkesboro Hardware. In 1954, Jim Lowe started the [[Lowes Foods]] grocery store chain.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.lowesfoods.com/About-Us/Company-History|title=Company History|website=www.lowesfoods.com|access-date=August 27, 2019}}</ref>

In 1960, Buchan died of a [[heart attack]] at age 44.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.forbes.com/forbes/2003/0120/052sidebar.html |title=Work and Buy and Hold |journal=Forbes |date=January 20, 2003 |first=Bruce |last=Upbin}}</ref> His five-man executive team, which included Robert Strickland and Leonard Herring, took the company public in 1961 under the name Lowe's Companies Inc.<ref name="auto"/> By 1962, Lowe's operated 21 stores and reported annual revenues of $32&nbsp;million.<ref>"Carolinas FYI: About Lowe's and Lowes", ''The Charlotte Observer'', March 16, 2003.</ref> Lowe's began trading on the [[New York Stock Exchange]] in 1979.<ref name="Williams"/> By 1970s, Lowe's revenue reached more than $150 million and, in 1980, to nearly $900 million.<ref>{{Cite book |last=III |first=Edgar Wachenheim |title=Common Stocks and Common Sense: The Strategies, Analyses, Decisions, and Emotions of a Particularly Successful Value Investor |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |year=2022 |isbn=978-1-119-91325-2 |location=Hoboken, NJ |pages=101 |language=en}}</ref>

Lowe's has since grown nationally, as it was aided by the purchase of the [[Renton, Washington]]–based '''Eagle Hardware & Garden''' company in 1999.<ref name=lndeag>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=iWNWAAAAIBAJ&pg=4704%2C3492712 |work=Spokesman-Review |location=(Spokane, Washington) |last=Staley |first=Oliver |title=Home products chain lands Eagle in $1 billion deal |date=November 24, 1998 |page=A1}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Company News; Lowe's to Acquire Eagle Hardware and Garden |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/11/24/business/company-news-lowe-s-to-acquire-eagle-hardware-and-garden.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=November 24, 1998 |agency=[[Associated Press]] |page=C4}}</ref> The first store outside the United States was in [[Hamilton, Ontario]], Canada.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theladders.com/company/lowes-jobs|title=Jobs at|website=www.theladders.com|language=en|access-date=September 18, 2019}}</ref> According to its website, Lowe's has operated/serviced more than 2,355 locations in the United States, Canada, and Mexico alone,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://media.lowes.com/about-lowes// |title=About Lowe's |work=Lowes Newsroom |publisher=Lowe's}}</ref> although the Mexican stores were closed in the late 2010s.<ref>{{cite news |title=Lowe's closing Mexico operations |url=https://www.retaildive.com/news/lowes-closing-mexico-operations/542688/ |last=Howland |first=Daphne |date=November 20, 2018 |journal=Retail Dive}}</ref>

Lowe's formerly operated in Mexico with 14 locations: 8 in Monterrey, Nuevo León, 1 in Saltillo, Coahuila, 1 in Hermosillo, Sonora, 1 in Chihuahua, Chihuahua, 1 in Culiacán, Sinaloa, 1 in Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes and 1 in León, Guanajuato. Lowe's Mexico closed all its stores on April 10, 2019.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.elfinanciero.com.mx/monterrey/cierra-lowes-en-mexico-y-despide-a-su-personal|title=Lowe's dice adiós a México|language=es|work=El Financiero|date=April 10, 2019|access-date=March 1, 2021|first=Sonia|last=Coronado}}</ref>

In 2023, Lowe's sold its Canadian retail business, based in [[Boucherville]], Quebec, to [[Sycamore Partners]] for $400 million in cash. They will all be consolidated into Rona stores.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.globest.com/2022/11/10/lowes-sells-canada-retail-business-to-sycamore-for-400m/|title=Lowe's Sells Canada Retail Business to Sycamore for $400M|first1=Jack Rogers |last1=November 10|first2=2022 at 05:17|last2=PM|website=GlobeSt}}</ref>