Lowe's Grows from North Wilkesboro Shop to National Chain
Over and over‚ small-town America continues to crank out various renditions of the American dream. But‚ light-years away from “hometown boy makes good‚” North Wilkesboro’s dream-come-true story seems never-ending.
The story begins in the mid-1940s. That’s when a young World War II veteran named Carl Buchan returned home to take his place as half-owner of North Wilkesboro Hardware‚ a store his wife’s father had incorporated in 1921.
A few years later‚ Buchan bought out partner and brother-in-law James Lowe’s share of the store, enabling Buchan’s dream of creating a chain of hardware stores that eventually gave birth to Lowe’s.
Previously‚ the little hardware store had offered customers a variety of goods including produce‚ groceries‚ notions‚ harnesses, horse collars and even snuff. But Buchan cleared the new Lowe’s store of excess stock and concentrated on materials for the post-World War II building boom. In those early days‚ Buchan instituted Lowe’s reputation for low prices by cutting out wholesalers and dealing directly with manufacturers.
Over 1700 superstores later‚ the story of Lowe’s Companies Inc.‚ a home improvement chain that stretches across 50 states and locations in Canada and Mexico‚ is still on the best-sellers list.
Currently‚ Lowe’s offers its customers a comprehensive level of one-stop shopping‚ which includes almost anything a homeowner could need‚ from kitchen cabinets to Oriental rugs‚ tools and VCRs. On-site services include free computerized kitchen planning‚ custom glass and lumber cutting‚ and daily home delivery.
Superstores extend to include garden centers‚ where customers can buy exotic orchids‚ common houseplants‚ reflecting pools and bubbling fountains.
Lowe’s Companies, Inc. serves almost 14 million customers each week, and is still expanding. Proclomations of new store-openings all over North America issue from Lowe's headquarters in Mooresville, N.C., just one county south of its historic home.
Yet‚ in spite of Lowe’s phenomenal success and its rank as the second-largest home improvement retailer in the United States‚ Lowe’s remains a down-home company with its general office still based in rural North Wilkesboro‚ N.C.
Early on‚ Lowe’s hometown values extended to its employees. Carl Buchan’s original vision of company ownership included an employee profit-sharing plan and trust‚ which eventually became one of the nation’s most esteemed Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs). So it comes as no surprise that Lowe’s has been cited as one of the “100 Best Companies to Work for in America” by Fortune magazine and other publications.
Lowe’s is equally committed to being a good neighbor in each community it calls home. Neighborliness‚ Lowe’s-style‚ includes designing pleasing store sites that are environmentally responsible‚ sponsoring sports teams and community events‚ and returning millions of dollars to the towns it serves through Lowe’s Charitable and Educational Foundation.
Although Carl Buchan died in 1960 at age 44‚ his legacy lives on. From employee profit sharing to a national chain of home improvement stores offering each customer the highest quality at the best price‚ his vision is unending.
“It takes big plans to do big things‚” Buchan was fond of saying. And after all‚ is there a better definition of the American dream than this?
