Lowes Department Stores

Lowe's Companies (main competitor of Home Depot, Inc) is a United States home improvement retail chain, with over 1,700 stores in the US & Canada. 

Lowe's entered the Canadian market in 2007.  It is #43 on the Fortune 500 list of America's largest companies.  In 2008, Lowes also entered the Mexican market as well.  The first staore was opened in 1921, by founder Lucius S Low in North Wilkesboro. 

In the 1980's Lowe's struggled to compete against Home Depot.  It regained it's foothold by adopting the big box store format.  Lowe has won 8 straight Energy Star awards from 2003-2010.  Lowe's actively promotes sustainability. 

Lowe's offers its full time employees 2 weeks of vacation after one year of service.  Corporate (salaried employees) do not have to wait a full year before vacation begins to accrue.  Similar to Home Depot, Lowe's employs experts whenever it can by targeting contractors and those with remodeling experience.

Lowe's offers their employees a variable pay structure (base plus commission).  Employees are all offered direct deposit and those without bank accounts receive Chase Bank payroll cards.

Lowes has approximately 150,000 + employees and generated approximately 47 billion in revenue for the year ending 2010.

Lowes has a gross profit margin of approximately 30%, which is similar to Home Depot. 

Both companies offer similar product lines, however Lowe's has a greater selection of high end appliances from European brands such as Bosch. Home Depot closed their stores which specifically targeted high end merchandise due to the last US recession.

If you are shopping primarily for construction materials you are better off shopping at Home Depot.  Lowes however, has a much better selection of finished goods and home furnishings.