Rising to New Lowe's

Lowe's (Wilkesboro, N.C.), one of the country's Big Two home improvement retailers, announced plans to build 75 new stores in the Northeast in the next five years, in an area stretching from Philadelphia to Maine. The $1.3 billion expansion will begin this month with a new store in Danvers, Mass., north of Boston. A second Massachusetts store, in Brockton, is expected to open later this year, and construction is underway for stores in North Attleboro and Worcester, Mass.

In the spring, Lowe's will open a store in North Bergen, N.J., its first store in the New York metropolitan area. Later in the year, it will open its first store in the Providence, R.I., area. New stores in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh will increase its presence in those metropolitan areas.

Both Lowe's and its prime competitor, Atlanta-based Home Depot, announced troubled fourth quarters last year as retail sales dropped, new home-building slowed down, lumber prices rose and winter storms ravaged much of the country throughout December. Home Depot shocked analysts by announcing in mid-November that same-store sales were off in the third quarter and that it expected a similarly poor performance in the fourth quarter.

Lowe's has more than 600 superstores in around 40 states. It also added nearly 40 smaller stores in the West when it purchased Eagle Hardware & Garden last year.