Lowe’s Cos. Inc. (Mooresville, N.C.) said it plans to open 25 to 30 new stores this year, while rival The Home Depot (Atlanta) said it expects to open 10 additional outlets during the period. The Home Depot is the largest home-improvement retailer, with a total of about 2,250 stores, while Lowe’s is the No. 2 competitor in the field, with about 1,725 locations.
Both chains unveiled their 2011 store-opening plans in their year-end 2010 financial results. For that period, The Home Depot reported sales of $68 billion, a 2.9 percent increase from a year earlier, while Lowe’s said its 2010 revenues came in at just under $49 billion, a 3.4 percent rise.