First Lowe's store in Vancouver proper opens today

Lowe’s Canada celebrates the opening of the second new model Lowe’s store in British Columbia

Boucherville, QC – May 17, 2018 — Lowe’s Canada opened today its first Lowe’s store in Vancouver proper under the new store model which offers an enhanced shopping experience. The store, located at 2727 E 12th Avenue in Vancouver, was converted from the former RONA Home and Garden. It was designed by taking the best of Lowe’s and RONA’s offering to become the second new model Lowe’s store to open in British Columbia.

"We are thrilled to introduce to the Vancouver community this new model Lowe’s store, which combines the best of what RONA and Lowe’s have to offer across the country," says Guy Beaumier, Executive Vice-President, Big Box at Lowe’s Canada. "The Lowe’s banner is on a steep growth curve and, in the months to come, we will offer our enhanced shopping experience, which includes brand new features to better serve our commercial clientele, to even more Canadian customers."

The store underwent an extensive 16-week physical transformation from the former RONA which involved construction, departmental sequencing of new racking and re-merchandizing, branding and IT conversion, as well as a significant investment in our people with exhaustive training focused on new product knowledge and customer service.

New Retail Experience
The new Vancouver Lowe’s will offer an enhanced retail experience, including:

  • A wider assortment of seasonal products such as patios, Halloween and items for the Holiday season including the latest fashion trends.
  • The introduction of entirely new product categories including appliances, Lowe’s private labels, and top brands such as John Deere, Husqvarna, and Cub Cadet.
  • A broader selection of fashion plumbing products such as tubs, showers, toilets, vanities, sinks and faucets with the introduction of high-profile brands such as Kohler and Grohe.
  • Floor displays featuring the latest fashions in wood flooring and tiles with larger displays at eye level allowing customers to better visualize their projects and better experience the texture of flooring products.
  • Access to more than 100,000 products on Lowes.ca

Enhanced Contractor Experience
The new Vancouver location offers an enhanced shopping experience for pros and commercial customers, including:

  • The introduction of the Contractor Rewards Program (i.e. loyalty and pricing program);
  • Charge accounts that will allow commercial customers to shop at any RONA corporate store and new model Lowe’s store in Canada and receive a single monthly invoice;
  • Corporately owned and operated delivery trucks to provide a more personalized level of service for deliveries to contractors, and;
  • Enhanced assortment in key contractor categories including lumber, building materials, millwork, tools, hardware, etc.

The new Vancouver Lowe’s marks the company’s 65 th store in Canada under the Lowe’s banner. The store represents a local investment in excess of $4 million and created 50 new jobs – in total, the store has 135 permanent positions and approximately 40 seasonal roles.

The store offers about 40,000 products in stock to meet customers’ home improvement needs, and features retail offering space totalling more than 111,000 square feet with an adjacent garden centre of 20,000 square feet.

Today, local dignitaries and Lowe’s executives joined employees from the store to celebrate the grand opening through an official board cutting ceremony and community grant presentation. Lowe’s Canada donated $5,000 to the BC Children’s Hospital Foundation to support the Excellence in Child Health Fund with the purpose to conduct innovative research, purchase lifesaving equipment and train future leaders in paediatric care, among other things.

Grand Opening Events
Grand opening activities for the new store, where retail and professional customers can enjoy free sessions, giveaways and contests, will continue until May 28. These include:

  • Children’s Workshop for families on Saturday, May 19 at 10 a.m.
  • Live in-store radio remote with 103.5 CHQM on Saturday, May 19, with a draw for a $250 Lowe’s gift card and a small appliance.
  • Giveaways including: 14 kg SG Lawn Fertilizer (first 100 customers, Thursday only); Sylvania A19 LED 60-watt light bulb (first 1,000 customers, Friday only); $25 Lowe’s gift card (first 150 customers, Saturday only) and Lowe’s White Water Bottle (first 100 customers, Sunday only).
  • Customers can also enter to win 1 of 4 grand prizes.
  • Contractor exclusive VIP event on Monday, May 28 from 12 to 2 p.m. There will be a draw to win 1 of 3 $250 Lowe’s gift cards and contractors can fill out a ballot to win 1 of 5 tool prizes. To register, contractors can call the store at 604.253.2822 and ask to speak with the Contractor Specialist to request an invite.

About Lowe's Canada
Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE: LOW) is a FORTUNE® 50 home improvement company serving more than 18 million customers a week in the United States, Canada and Mexico. With fiscal year 2017 sales of $68.6 billion, Lowe’s and its related businesses operate or service more than 2,390 home improvement and hardware stores and employ over 310,000 people. Based in Boucherville, Quebec, Lowe’s Canadian business, together with its wholly owned subsidiary, RONA inc., operates or services more than 630 corporate and independent affiliate dealer stores in a number of complementary formats under different banners. These include Lowe’s, RONA, Réno-Dépôt, Dick’s Lumber, Contractor First, and Ace. In Canada, the companies have more than 28,000 employees, in addition to nearly 5,000 employees in the stores of RONA’s independent affiliate dealers.