Ahead of expectations

Lowe’s now expects the comparable store growth of five to six per cent forecast by the company for the current third quarter (to 31 October 2003) to be comfortably overtaken. An announcement to this effect was made at a recent adapter and investor conference. What is more, as chairman and CEO Robert L. Tillman said, “Our new metro market stores continue to exceed our expectations and lead the company in sales growth.” The intention is to achieve annual sales growth of approximately 17 per cent for the financial years 2004 and 2005, while at the same time expanding floorspace by 13 to 15 per cent per year through 140 to 150 new store openings.