Lowe’s realigns senior leadership team

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Lowe’s has announced a realignment of its leadership team to “more sharply focus the company on strategies to create and deliver seamless customer experiences.” Seamless retail across the brick and mortar and digital channels is a major focus of the retailer’s strategy.

The retailer moved its executives into two teams: the Customer Experience organization, which will create customer experiences to differentiate Lowe’s from competitors, and the Operations organization, focused on delivering the customer experience.

Read the article (as reported by Home Channel News)

Costco makes plans for boosting its online sales

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Costco.com already sells about $2 billion worth of goods, but it lags far behind Amazon and Wal-Mart in online sales. The Issaquah-based chain plans to introduce new mobile apps this month in an effort to significantly expand its online business.

It’s a curiosity of how the Internet works that a shopper using a search engine to find a flat-screen TV probably will not turn up Costco Wholesale, a major television vendor and the country’s largest retailer after Wal-Mart.

Costco.com is not built to attract online hits, but it does decent business — about $2 billion in sales a year. It does so by offering everything from caskets to an 18.88-carat diamond, while attracting customers even more affluent than the average shopper at its warehouses.

Now the chain based in Issaquah, less than 20 miles from the offices of online Bigfoot Amazon.com, wants to up its game online — and experts say it’s about time.

Read the rest of the article (as reported in The Seattle Times)

Home Depot Opens Big-Format Store

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Home Depot has opened a 211,000-sq.-ft. “superstore” in Anaheim Hills, Calif., which it describes as “almost twice the size of [a] regular Home Depot.” The unit, situated in an affluent area of Orange County, is an existing store that was remodeled. Among the changes are:

• Expanded bath fixture showroom, including a “shower gallery;”
• More kitchen cabinet options;
• Weber grill showroom;
• Year-round outdoor living showroom;
• Expanded appliance showroom with lifestyle vignettes;
• Expanded hard surface flooring and rug selection;
• Expanded decor showroom; and
• Expanded hardware department

(As reported by Home Channel News) Read the article

Lowe’s Lays out Plan to Boost Sales, Eyes Acquisitions

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After trailing larger rival Home Depot Inc (HD.N) in same-store sales for 11 straight quarters, Lowe’s is now investing in everything from in-store technology to its online business to win back shoppers from the industry leader.

“We recognized that a lot of our ills aren’t just housing-related or macro-related, just some things we needed to fix ourselves,” Robert Hull, who has served as Lowe’s chief financial officer since March 2003, told Reuters on Tuesday.

(As reported by Reuters.com) Read the article

Inside the “Costco Craze”

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Maybe you’ve never pondered what a weird business Costco is, when you’re navigating your boat-like cart toward a gallon tub of mayonnaise in one of its crowded, cavernous warehouses. But CNBC did.

(As reported by SeattlePI.com) Read the article

Sears set to spin off Orchard Supply stock on Friday

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Stock in Orchard Supply Hardware Corp.    will be distributed on Friday to Sears Holdings Corp.    shareholders as the venerable chain becomes independent once more.

Regular trading will begin Tuesday in the Class A common stock and Series A preferred stock shares of Orchard, an 89-store retail hardware chain based in San Jose, which will be on the Nasdaq stock market under the “OSH” ticker symbol.

Read the rest of the article, click here

(as reported by Silicon Valley Business Journal)

Lowe’s Buys Online Retailer ATG Stores

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In a move that reflects the increased importance of online shopping in the home-improvement market, Mooresville-based Lowe’s Inc. announced Thursday it has purchased ATG Stores, an online retailer of home improvement and lifestyle products. The Kirkland, Wash.-based ATG has more than 500 websites offering 3.5 million products from more than 3,300 name-brand manufacturers. It also has two retail locations in Washington state, according to its website.
(as reported by The Charlotte Observer)

Home Depot builds on pros

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Here’s the compelling math behind The Home Depot’s effort to embrace the pro customer: Pros account for 4% of total Home Depot customers and 30% of total Home Depot sales.

Clearly, these are customers that the world’s largest home improvement retailer wants to impress. The Home Depot has known for years the importance of its pro customer, but something’s different at Home Depot these days, and the difference begins with three little words: “First for Pro.”

Read the rest of the article (as reported by Home Channel News)

Costco executive ready to take helm as CEO

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A major reason Jim Sinegal is retiring as CEO of Costco Wholesale on New Year’s Eve, one day before he turns 76, is his complete faith in his successor, Craig Jelinek. “He understands this business backwards,” Sinegal said. “He understands it better than I do. He’s hardworking, he’s intelligent, he’s well-liked, he’s respected, he’s fair — all the things you want from a manager.”

Jelinek’s background also resembles Sinegal’s. Both attended San Diego State University and spent years working for Sol Price at Fed-Mart; Jelinek joined Costco just months after Sinegal and Jeff Brotman opened it in 1983.

Read the rest of interview (as reported by The Seattle Times)

Retiring CEO of Costco takes a look back on his legacy

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On New Year’s Eve, Costco Wholesale co-founder Jim Sinegal will step down as CEO. He will hand off the job he loves and his open-walled office to Craig Jelinek, a veteran Costco executive whom Sinegal considers “almost a founder.” He will turn 76 on New Year’s Day and stay for a yearlong transition before retiring to just the board of directors.

As Sinegal’s days of wearing the silver ID badge reserved for 25-year employees wane, he talks about how it all started, companies staying true to themselves and why he was willing to spend $19 million to kick the state out of the liquor business.

Read the rest of his interview (as posted by The Seattle Times)