Piscataway, N.J

Home Channel News, Dec 11, 2000 by Julie Ritzer Ross

Talk about customer loyalty.

Newlyweds Gloria and Tyrone Bennett of Deer Park, N.Y., were en route home from celebrating Tyrone's birthday at a hotel when they noticed the Lowe's outlet here, one of three the chain operates in the Garden State. The couple was "so excited," Gloria recalled, that they headed straight for the store instead of stopping for lunch as planned. Picking up circulars at the entrance, they spotted district manager Bill Valentine and, after introducing themselves, informed him that they would travel any distance to shop at Lowe's over any of its competitors. A desire to avoid getting caught in late weekend traffic prevented the couple from actually perusing the store's merchan disc, but they told Valentine they would return a few weeks later for a "real shopping spree."

Deer Park is about a two-hour drive from Piscataway, but that's nothing when you consider that the Bennetts once came close to renting a truck so they could shop at Lowe's store in Laurel, Miss., which they discovered during a visit to relatives living nearby. Although the couple eventually abandoned that plan, they did wake up at around 5 a.m. one fall Saturday morning for a four-hour trip to Lowe's Scranton, Pa, store. They returned home with almost $400 worth of lighting fixtures, paint and miscellaneous decorative accessories -- "just the tip of the iceberg for our total house makeover," Tyrone stated. "Now that we know about Piscataway, we'll come here, but if we had to, we'd head to Pennsylvania again."

The Bennetts were among the 12 customers NHCN interviewed while they shopped Lowe's Piscataway store on Sunday, Nov. 12, between 12:30 p.m. and 3:15 p.m. Based on the comments of individuals questioned, it is clear that while Lowe's has just a handful of stores in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania, it has already built a strong customer following from within and beyond its immediate market area. Customer feedback also demonstrated the viability of the chain's plans to make a bigger expansion push next year into the Northeast, opening in Boston, and North Bergen, N.J., in early 2001. While customers said they would have gone to Home Depot had they not frequented Lowe's that weekend, 75 percent of those polled expressed an intention to favor Lowe's exclusively in the future because it offers what they perceive as a better overall shopping experience as well as an above-average merchandise selection and high-caliber product at fair prices.

Variety is praised

At 40,000 skus in stock, Lowe's has been faulted for carrying a smaller assortment than other warehouse operators. However, shoppers here considered its selection to be one of the store's key attractions. Gabrielle Genaro, who like the Bennetts traveled a considerable distance to shop this store, said, "there are more types of products here than at any other home center I know." The Lyndhurst, N.J., resident pushed through the store a cart containing eight rolls of Christmas wrapping paper, several boxes of Christmas tree ornaments, a jumbo plastic storage box, a tree-watering implement and a replacement key for her car. "Lyndhurst is 25 to 30 miles from Piscataway, so I can't drop by once a week, but every two or three months I just have to see what's new."

Valentine, the district manager, wasn't surprised to hear all this. "We're trying to go heavier into categories like Christmas and storage; it definitely helps to set us apart from competitors," he noted. Lowe's offers more than 400,000 special-order items, including the pale yellow paint and ceramic tile that Charles Thanez and his wife, Jaqualine Craft, attempted to purchase as they headed home from Charles' aunt's apartment in Clifton, N.J. The couple is remodeling a half-bath in their new house in Tobyhanna, Pa., 85 miles from Piscataway, as well as decorating a nursery for their first child, due in January.

"We usually head to our 'neighborhood' Lowe's in West Hazelton, Pa; we had good luck there with special-order blinds for our living room and dining room," Jaqualine said. "But we were passing by and decided we could use a rest stop." That rest stop resulted in a $241 purchase of a toilet, bathroom sink and hanging shelf unit. The Piscataway outlet did not have the sink the couple wanted, but "there were enough options that it didn't matter" and the store associate' 'was extremely helpful in pointing out other [models] we might like," Charles observed.

Some people who actually live in Piscataway shop in this store, too, like Fred Villaverde, who resides two miles away and comes here about three times a month. Villaverde had a specific reason for his visit that afternoon: He was gutting and refurbishing his father's bedroom. Accompanied by his pre-teen cousin, Alan, he sought and found a wood closet door with glass panels, a closet organizer system, track lighting and door handles. His total tab: $407.12.

Villaverde had been in the store the previous week to buy a toilet. tile flooring and mirrors for the adjoining bathroom. "My budget for the whole re-do is $2,000, and all of it is going to Lowe's;' he stated. "I know I can get what I want, plus everything is super-easy to find because of the clean layout?'