Mooresville, NC, Apr. 10--Lowe’s said Thursday it expects to open three flatbed distribution centers in the year ending Jan. 28, 2005, according to its annual report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The home improvement retailer said it currently has nine flatbed regional distribution centers for warehousing and distributing long-length products like lumber, plywood, ladders, and pipe. It said delivering these products on flatbed trucks allows employees at the stores to off-load them quickly.
Lowe's Cos. also reiterated in the filing that it expects capital expenditures of $3.4 billion for fiscal 2005, compared with $2.4 billion in the year ended Jan. 30.
The company said it expects to open a regional distribution center in Poinciana, FL in its third quarter ending Oct. 29. It said it plans to begin construction in an additional regional distribution center in Plainfield, CT in fiscal 2006.
The filing said Lowe's currently has nine automated regional distribution centers to maintain appropriate inventory levels in stores and to improve distribution efficiencies.
Elsewhere in the annual report, Lowe's reiterated it expects sales for fiscal 2005 to increase 17% from the previous year. In fiscal 2004 it had sales of $30.8 billion.
The company also reiterated that it expects comparable store sales to increase 5% to 6% from the year-ago period and diluted earnings of $2.63 a share to $2.66 a share.
