Lowe’s has identified 3 priority areas of social distancing in its stores, including the garden
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Lowe’s Cos. Inc. has explored in depth where customers spend their time shopping in their stores and has identified three areas to focus on for social distancing: payment, the outdoor garden and the paint counter.
Like all retailers, Lowe’s
LOW,
It implements protocols to better protect workers and customers from the spread of coronavirus. Among the many common measures, retailers put shields on registers, add posters reminding customers not to touch each other, and distribute hand sanitizers, masks and gloves.
Lowe’s has taken a closer look at its stores to develop its policies and has made adjustments in all three areas.
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“To develop our social distancing security procedures, our team has taken a strategic, data-driven approach, following historical traffic patterns and identifying areas where customers tend to congregate,” said the CEO. de Lowe, Marvin Ellison, on appeal. Most recent earnings, based on a FactSet transcript.
Lowe’s stores average 144,000 square feet, including garden centers, said Ellison.
As a key retailer, Lowe stores were opened throughout the pandemic. In order to encourage social distancing, access to painting and garden areas has been limited, among other measures. These limits have affected sales, said Ellison.
However, Lowe reported profits and sales that exceeded expectations.
In landscaped areas, Lowe’s has removed shelves and products to make more space, and traffic has been limited to a one-way flow.
Stores closed three hours earlier at 7 p.m. to allow more time for cleaning. But Ellison noted that it is important to stay open as long as possible so that customers have enough time to extend their visits.
“Our store team has been so effective in implementing and enforcing the enhanced security guidelines that our customer service scores increased 200 basis points year-over-year in the first quarter,” said Ellison.
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Lowe’s also benefited from an increase in DIY projects as customers stayed at home and worked on things that had been delayed.
“Quarter after quarter, skeptics point to Lowe’s performance gaps,” wrote analysts at UBS. This time it’s really hard to cheat. It is true that Lowe’s over-indicates the DIY segment, the smallest professionals and rural / suburban geographic areas. These segments performed better in Q1 “.
UBS values the purchase of Lowe shares with a target price of $ 140, above $ 130.
Stifel analysts say Lowe’s as a whole is operating at a high level, with triage areas, for example, which are “well maintained”.
“In the long term, we are seeing improvements to the portfolio house, and Lowe could benefit from having more rural stores if the trend of working from home continues and the desire to be in town decreases,” wrote Stifel.
Stifel is evaluating the purchase of Lowe’s shares and has increased its target price to $ 149 instead of $ 94.
Lowe’s stocks gained 6% this week and 23.2% last year. The S&P 500 index
SPX
It has increased 3.2% in the past year.