Lowe's Ramps up Inventory Ahead of Holidays

Lowe’s says its inventory in the third quarter was up 5.2 percent year-over-year and the home improvement retailer is “more aggressively ramping up for winter.”

The Mooresville, N.C.-based company expects “year-end inventories to be 2 percent to 3 percent above last year” because of strong demand for holiday products, demand for winter-related items and improved forecasting.

Lowe’s profit plummeted 44 percent to $336 million in the third quarter, as the cost of closing 20 underperforming stores offset a 2.3 percent year-over-year increase in sales.

Rick Damron, the company’s vice president of store operations, said the demand for winter-related items outpaced supply “so we are more aggressively ramping up for winter,” according to a Seeking Alpha transcript of the company’s earnings call.

The company is also increasing its online sales arm and expects to have more than 260,000 items available online by the end of the year.

-- Contact Mark Szakonyi at mszakonyi@joc.com. Follow him on Twitter @Szakonyi_JOC