Las Vegas, NV, May 27--Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse will continue its phenomenal growth nationwide as the company continues to go after market share and as it changes to fit the demographics of the country, the company's chief executive said in Las Vegas on Tuesday.
According to a report in the Las Vegas Sun, Robert Tillman, Lowe's CEO and chairman, was the keynote speaker Tuesday at the International Council of Shopping Centers Spring convention, which attracted more than 35,700 real estate developers and retailers this year. The convention ends today.
"Many people ask how many stores will we open," Tillman told a crowd of about 5,000 attendees. "We haven't even come close to storing half of America today."
As an example, Tillman said if Lowe's opened 30 stores a year for 10 years in California, the market would still be underserved.
Lowe's has made a name for itself as an aggressive retailer, opening multiple locations in markets where a year prior none existed, often targeting areas where a Wal-Mart or Home Depot are already open.
Nationwide, Lowe's opened 130 stores in fiscal year 2003 and has more than 975 stores -- a far cry from the 289 stores it had in 1989. The company is set to open another 140 stores in fiscal year 2004 and 150 stores in fiscal year 2005.
The average age of a Lowe's store nationwide is about five years.
"Our real estate group is working on 2012 in terms of real estate strategies moving forward," Tillman said.
In a statement that hinted that Lowe's might be interested in anchoring malls for its future locations, Tillman said mall owners need to think differently about their anchors -- considering people visit a Wal-Mart five times more often during a year than a mall.
Tillman also said mall owners and developers need to think "outside the box" when it comes to mall anchors.
"Anchors of today are not necessarily the anchors of tomorrow," he said.
Tillman cautioned the crowd that the driver of a successful retail store is no longer "location, location, location."
He said instead, it will be "demographics, demographics, demographics."
Retailers must watch and respond to economic trends and drivers, such as the growth of the Hispanic population, otherwise they will be put out of business, he said.
Lowe's most notably has gone after a market long ignored by home improvement retailers: women. In 1989, women comprised only 8 percent of Lowe's customer base. Today women total about 58 percent of Lowe's customers.
Tillman said increasing homeownership rates -- reaching 68 percent with the average age of a home at 30 years -- leave room for growth in what he called a fragmented market that continues to grow.
"People will put off fixing a car, but not a leaking roof," he said.
Trends such as second homeownership, gardening surpassing walking as the number one leisure activity, people turning their homes into "five star hotels" with marble floors, granite countertops and media rooms, and "serial remodelers," people who continue to upgrade and improve their home before items wear out, all are helping driving the home improvement industry, Tillman said.
