An overview of Lowe’s market is that it is a Fortune 500 company. That is has a chain of big-box retail home improvement stores. Lowe’s is the second largest home improvement stores, behind Home depot and with Menards right behind it. Lowe’s was founded 72 years ago in North Carolina, geographic boundaries are Mexico, Canada and USA. They sell lumber, home improvement materials and appliances, through internet sales and in store sales. In the 80’s Lowe’s was not considered big-box yet and started to suffer with chains like Home Depot, this is when Lowe’s changed the format to the big-box look. Additionally Lowe’s has do-it-for-me installation services for customers who would like products installed, including all of the indoor and outdoor …show more content…
Lowe’s customer base is homeowners, landscapers, painters, plumbers, electricians and professional contractors. Home improvement is a growing market and makes it competitive with low costs and high quality. The growth correlates with managers using past industry growth rates to forecast future sales and growth, by expanding into new cities and markets. Managers believe by cutting out middle man and buying direct from manufactures they can keep costs low, and they pass this on to their customer base. The two leading retailers offer similar items and services but what sets them apart is the inside appearance; Home Depot has orange and black scheme with tall shelves that only forklifts can access, gearing more toward professional customers, Lowe’s has a blue and white scheme, more elaborate floor displays, leaving the impression of a less intimidating experience for the home improvement customers (Home Depot vs Lowes, 2015). Sources of market power can be the economy of scale, where they reduce costs per item because of increased total output of the product. Additionally there superiority of technology to help the …show more content…
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