Lowe's opens six stores in western U.S - Brief Article

Home Channel News, Feb 7, 2000

WILKESBORO, N.C. -- Lowe's is quickly making its name known in the western United States. The retailer, based here, opened six stores in Southern California and Nevada over the last six weeks. Five are new buildings, and the sixth is a converted Eagle Hardware & Garden.

California's first Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse opened in Bakersfield late in December. Then on Jan. 9, after more than three months of remodeling, the former Eagle store in Norwalk, Calif., reopened as a Lowe's unit. Lowe's spokeswoman, Suzanne McCoy, said it carries the same brands and is configured the same way as Lowe's stores in the east.

"We're continuing to evaluate opportunities for some of the brands that Eagle carries which Lowe's doesn't," said McCoy. She said there are currently no Eagle brands in Lowe's stores. Lowe's intends to convert all Eagle units in California and Nevada into the Lowe's format this year, but the company has not yet announced its plans for the Eagle stores in other states.

On Jan. 23, Lowe's opened stores in the Southern California towns of Palmdale, Long Beach and Temecula. The company entered Nevada that same day with a new store in the Summerlin district of Las Vegas, less than 15 miles from the Strip.

Elsewhere in the west, Lowe's will break ground on its first store in New Mexico in March. The retailer paid $15 million for a 150,000-square-foot building on 31 acres in Albuquerque, N.M., on the corner of Interstate 25 and Paseo del Norte. Real estate broker Bob Feinberg, president of First Commercial Real Estate Services, told the Albuquerque Journal that Lowe's intends to market about half of the property since it needs less than 15 acres. Lowe's hired Feinberg to look for other potential sites in and around Albuquerque.

McCoy said Lowe's could open as many as five stores in the Albuquerque market, with the first one slated to open in the spring. Albuquerque is home to three Home Depots, two HomeBase stores, local dealer Hacienda Home Centers and a handful of independents.

As of late January, Lowe's operated more than 550 stores in 37 states.