Who is Lowe’s Companies, Inc.?
Lowe’s Companies, Inc., also known as Lowe’s is an American retailer whose core business involves home improvements and homeware. Its headquarters is located in Mooresville, North Carolina. Lowe’s has a large chain of retail stores located in the United States of America and Canada. It was the year 1946 when H. Carl Buchan founded Lowe’s Companies, Inc. Initially, a small hardware store, Lowe’s made to the Fortune’s Top 50 All-Star list of the ‘‘World’s Most Admired Companies” ranking No.47. It is the second-largest hardware chain in the United States as well as in the world. It has a huge customer base, serving approximately twenty million customers every week in the United States and Canada. Lowe’s offers to create safe and affordable houses and also to develop competitive skilled personnel.
Who are the shareholders of Lowe’s?
In 1961, Lowe’s became a Public Company i.e., a company whose shares are listed and traded on a stock exchange. Lowe’s was listed on the New York Stock Exchange and began trading in 1979. A majority shareholder possesses more than 50% of a company’s stock share, giving them controlling rights over the corporation.
The top ten shareholders of Lowe’s included The Vanguard Group, Inc is the largest owner of Lowe’s with a stake of 8.24%, followed by BlackRock Fund Advisors (4.47%), SSgA Funds Management, Inc. (4.35%), Fidelity Management & Research Co. (3.17%), JPMorgan Investment Management Incorporation (2.10%), Geode Capital Management LLC (1.68%), Pershing Square Capital Management (1.54%), Wells Fargo Clearing Services LLC (1.36%), Northern Trust Investments, Inc. (1.24%), Norges Bank Investment Management (1.02%).
What is a Walmart?
Walmart is an American multinational retail corporation operating a chain of hypermarkets, discount department stores, and grocery stores. It was founded by Sam Walton. His primary focus was to achieve economies of scale i.e., as the volume of the goods produced increases, the per-unit cost of production decreases, thereby the price of products can be set at a lower level, which by itself is a selling point and thus helps in achieving a large volume of sales. Walmart has expanded with mammoth growth with 5,250 stores outside of the United States of America as of 30 April 2022, spread across Argentina, Brazil, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
Who are the major shareholders of Walmart?
The Walton family who was the founder of Walmart retains its ownership as of today by owning 50.1% of the common stock and thus has majority ownership and thereby control over Walmart and its subsidiaries. The top three institutional investors include Walton Enterprises LLC holding 35% of the total outstanding shares, Walton Family Holdings Trust holding 15% of the total outstanding shares, and The Vanguard Group Inc. holding 4.37% of the total outstanding shares.
Do Walmart and Lowe’s sell the same range of products and services?
Walmart sells a wide range of items ranging from grocery to non-grocery items, baked goods, frozen goods, fresh seafood, meat and poultry, cleaning products, pet supplies, general merchandise, home improvements and homeware, electronics, books, pharmaceutical products, appliances, and more. Lowe’s focuses on home improvements and homeware which is just a segment of Walmart. although Walmart sells fewer products and services specializing in home improvements and homeware in comparison to Lowe’s. Thus, Walmart targets a broad market owned whereas Lowe’s caters to a narrow, focused market i.e., home improvements and homeware.
Do Lowe’s and Walmart offer the same services when it comes to home improvements and homeware?
Lowe’s offers services related to home improvements such as flooring, fencing, renovation, remodelling, furniture, appliances, tools, outdoor power equipment, patio furniture, ceiling fans, lighting, grills, bathroom-related equipment, etc., such services are not offered by Walmart. Customers can purchase homeware such as cabinets, countertops, etc, and Lowe’s ensures their installation. Thus, Walmart sells fewer products and services specializing in home improvements and homeware in comparison to Lowe’s.
Conclusion:
Does Walmart own Lowe’s?
Both, Walmart and Lowe’s are retailers, with Walmart offering a wider range of products and services for different segments and unrelated products, and products that are similar to or are substitutes of the products offered by Lowe’s, the latter offers more specialized products and services when it comes to home improvements and homeware.
To conclude, though Walmart does own a large number of companies, it does not owned Lowe’s Companies, Inc. Moreover, Lowe’s is a Public Company and does not have anyone holding more than 50% of the total share capital, giving them the controlling rights over the Company. In fact, when it comes to home improvements and homeware products and services, Lowe’s and Walmart are considered to be competitors of each other.
