Lowe’s Companies Inc. (LOW) is an American home retailing company that provides customers with an extensive range of home improvement products, including items used for home decorating, repair, remodeling, property maintenance, and installation services. Lowe’s offers its products and services to both retail and wholesale customers. Lowe’s reported fourth-quarter earnings in February 2021. The home retailing company reported $978 million in net earnings compared to $509 million in the fourth quarter of 2019. Total sales for the fourth quarter were $20.3 billion compared to $16 billion in the fourth quarter of 2019.
Lowe’s saw its same-store sales climb 28.1%, as consumers spent more on home projects during the pandemic. However, the company expects that its sales could head downward as people start to return to offices, and more people receive vaccines and start spending more time away from home.
The retailer has also undertaken turnaround initiatives to boost sales such as redesigning its website, investing in its supply chain, improving its stores, and gaining business from contractors and electricians.
Lowe’s is committed to the belief that a diverse portfolio of products better meets customer needs. Most of Lowe’s 7,000 vendors are located within the United States, but the company also has suppliers based in South Korea, Canada, China, and Taiwan. Here are the company’s four largest suppliers of Lowe’s as of July 2021, based on valuation and according to CSI Market.
Key Takeaways
- Lowe’s Companies, a giant retailer of home improvement goods, has 7,000 vendors and suppliers.
- Avery Dennison, a manufacturer of labeling, fastening, and RFID systems, is one of Lowe’s largest suppliers.
- Illinois Tool Works supplies Lowe’s with cleaning goods and supplies.
- Stanley Black & Decker supplies Lowe’s with power tools and parts.
- Deere & Company supplies Lowe’s with a variety of lawn care products and parts.
1. Avery Dennison Corporation (AVY)
Avery Dennison (AVY) is a global materials science company specializing in the design and manufacture of a wide variety of labeling and functional materials. Typical products include pressure-sensitive materials for labels and graphic applications; industrial, medical, and retail tapes and bonding materials; and tags, labels, and embellishments for apparel; and radio frequency identification (RFID) systems for retailers.
The company also manufactures and sells a variety of consumer and converted products and other items not involving pressure-sensitive components, such as notebooks, markers, fasteners, business forms, and reflective highway safety products.
The company’s headquarters are in Glendale, Calif. It employs more than 32,000 employees in more than 50 countries. The company reported sales in 2020 of $7 billion and had a market cap of nearly 17.7 billion as of September 2021.
2. Illinois Tool Works Incorporated (ITW)
Illinois Tool Works Inc. (ITW) is an American Fortune 200 company, founded in 1912. It produces engineered fasteners and components, equipment and consumable systems, and specialty products. It mainly supplies Lowe’s with cleaning supplies from trash bags to brooms to laundry detergent.
Based in Glenview, Ill., the company employs approximately 43,000 people in seven different business segments across 52 countries. It reported $12.6 billion in total revenues in 2020 and had a market cap of $67.55 billion as of Sept. 2021.
35.65%
The year-over-year increase in net income for Lowe’s suppliers in Q2 2021.
3. Stanley Black & Decker Corporation (SWK)
Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) engages in the provision of power and hand tools, and related accessories, products, services, and equipment. Created in 2010, it represents the merger of two historic companies: Stanley Works (founded 1843) and Black & Decker (founded 1910). Since 2018, it’s supplied Lowe’s with Craftsman tools, a line it bought from struggling retailer Sears.
Based in New Britain, Conn., Stanley Black & Decker has 53,000 employees. As of September 2021, had a market cap of $29.5 billion and reported revenues of $14.5 billion in 2020.
4. Deere & Company (DE)
Deere & Company (DE) is the corporate name of John Deere, the venerable (founded 1837) maker and distributor of agricultural, construction, forestry, and turf machinery, tools, and equipment. (Though John Deere is the most famous, the company has 25 brands in total.) Deere supplies Lowe’s with a variety of lawn care products and parts. While Deere is seen as one of those quintessential American companies, almost half (47%) of its sales and revenues come from outside the U.S.
Deere is headquartered in Moline, Ill; its 69,000 employees operate in more than 70 countries around the world. It reported that net sales and revenues were $35.54 billion for 2020, and net income was $2.75 billion, the sixth-best in company history. As of September 2021, it had a market cap of $110 billion.
Who Owns Lowe’s?
Lowe’s was originally owned by its founder, L.S. Lowe, who opened his first store in 1921. His son Jim took over in 1940, and brought his brother-in-law, Carl Buchan, into the company. Buchan focused the business on home improvement and became sole owner in 1952. Lowe’s went public in 1961.
What Is Lowe’s Private Brand?
Lowe’s has several private brands. They include allen + roth, Project Source, and Harbor Breeze. The most recent to join the ranks is carpet maker Stainmaster, acquired in April 2021.
What’s the Difference Between Lowes and Home Depot?
As the world’s first and second-largest home improvement retailers, respectively, Home Depot (HD) and Lowe’s share many similarities. Both are big box stores that appeal to both DIY-ers and DIFM-ers. But Home Depot has more of an industrial look and seems more geared towards home improvement professionals; Lowe’s seems more consumer-oriented, with colorful displays. Behind the scenes, Home Depot has a more decentralized supply-chain model.