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While meeting with analysts and investors, Lowe’s is solidifying its company priorities and financial goals, the company states in a press release.
Describing a “complex retail environment,” Lowe’s president and CEO Marvin R. Ellison says the company is taking steps to “enable Lowe’s associates to better focus on serving customers and capture significant market opportunities.”
Those steps include plans to “engage customers, drive merchandising excellence and deliver a seamless omnichannel experience while maximizing operational efficiency.”
As part of these plans, Lowe’s executive vice president and CFO David M. Denton says the company will embrace an “expense-reduction culture” and a $10 billion common stock repurchase program.
The program has no expiration date and adds to a previously announced buyback of $4.5 billion.
“We are committed to investing in the business while also returning excess cash to shareholders, and strongly believe we can deliver substantial value to all stakeholders,” Denton says.
In addition, the company made amendments to its 2018 fiscal year outlook. The company states total sales are expected to increase approximately 4 percent, and comparable sales are expected to grow 2.5 percent. Lowe’s also plans to open eight additional locations in the fiscal year.
New Opportunities in Nashville
In a separate press release, Lowe’s announced the opening of a new direct fulfillment center just outside Nashville, Tennessee.
The new fulfillment center measures 1.1 million square feet, and the company says it will enable it to serve more customers quicker than ever. Once the center reaches peak efficiency, it will be able to “deliver product to customers in 75 percent of the country in two days or less” and ship up to 100,000 packages per day.
The company says it selected the Nashville-adjacent location because of its close proximity to shipping hubs, interstate highways and skilled workers.
“This facility gives us the ability to create 600 jobs in this local area, with a state-of-the-art facility that we’re very proud of,” Ellison says. “The facility just intensifies our presence and gives us the ability to centralize the number of jobs we can create in this location.”
