I think you can probably tell from my last post that I am pretty much pro-Lowe’s.  This has not always been the case.  I used to be very “shop local” (ok, I still try to shop local when I can, but sometime I have to shop in the places that are kinder on my wallet) but Lowe’s has won me over from the smaller, independent hardware stores that Memphis has to offer (not that there are many).

Lowe’s has competitive prices (even offer a low price guarantee), helpful associates, locations that are centralized around neighborhoods, more products than I ever imagined existed in the “home improvement world”, and perhaps what is most important to me, they have the things I need, when I need them and in logical places.  Plungers near toilets you say?  What a novel idea!

Christmas tree stand?  Lowe’s has got it covered from October to early January.  Potting Soil?  Yep, more kinds than I can count, any time of the year.  Any shrub, flower or tree I might decide is a must have for my yard?  They’ve got it, they will tell me how to plant it, sell me everything I need to get the job done, and even offer to come plant it for me (at an extra cost of course). 

Could I go to Wal~Mart and get the things I just described above?  Yep, sure could.  But then I would have to walk through the grocery department, past the teeny boppers shopping for makeup, around the mom with 3 screaming snot-nosed children to the very back of the store and search for someone who may or may not be able to help me find what I am looking for.  No. Thank. You.

What about Home Depot?  I guess I could, but Lowe’s, to me any way, is a place for homeowners such as myself, whereas in my mind, Home Depot is a place for builders and contractors and people who love the color orange, none of which is me.

So does Lowe’s have rivals?  Of course they do, this day in age, it’s hard to think of any industry or company that doesn’t.  But Lowe’s concentrates on taking care of the home owner, and they do it exceptionally well.