Founded in 1946, Lowe’s has grown from a small hardware store in North Carolina to the second largest home improvement retailer worldwide and the 9th largest retailer in the U.S.

The Lowe's story began in North Carolina when H. Carl Buchan, part owner of the North Wilkesboro Hardware Company, envisioned creating a chain of hardware stores. At the time, Lowe’s was a typical, small town hardware store selling everything from overalls and snuff to wash tubs, work boots and even horse collars.

The company went public in 1961, and began trading on the New York Stock Exchange in 1979 (NYSE: LOW). During this time, U.S. housing starts soared and professional builders became Lowe's loyal customers, accounting for the majority of Lowe’s business. In 1982, Lowe’s had its first billion-dollar sales year, earning a record profit of $25 million. Lowe’s stores then reported serving a new type of customer: do-it-yourself homeowners seeking to improve the value of their properties.

Anticipating their needs while still accommodating contractors, Lowe’s began to enlarge its stores and expanded its merchandise offerings. The modern Lowe’s began in 1994, when our new store expansion consisted of only large stores, which we define as stores with greater than 85,000 square feet of selling space. In 2006, our expansion continues, opening a new store on average every three days with our 117,000-square-foot (117K) stores in the nation’s larger metro markets and our newer 94,000-square-foot (94K) stores in the nation’s small to mid-sized markets. Lowe's opened its first stores in Canada in December 2007 and plans to open its first stores in Mexico in 2009.

Although times have changed since Lowe's first opened its doors in 1946, Lowe’s values have not – the company remains committed to offering quality home improvement products at the lowest prices, while delivering superior customer service.