Lowe's Completes Acquisition to Help its Contractor Business
Lowe’s announced that it has completed its $512 million purchase of Maintenance Supply Headquarters, which will help improve its offerings for its growing and lucrative base of professional customers, such as contractors. Maintenance Supply Headquarters, based in Houston, distributes products designed to maintain and renovate multifamily buildings, including appliances, plumbing, HVAC and lighting. The company employs roughly 550 people.
Total Retail's Take: While the intense battle between Amazon.com and Wal-Mart has gotten most of the attention in the retail industry as of late, there are another set of retail behemoths that have been going toe-to-toe: Lowe's and Home Depot. The perennial underdog in its fight with Home Depot, Lowe's is using acquisitions to help it gain market share in the home improvement sector. With its acquisition of Maintenance Supply Headquarters, Lowe's has targeted "pro" customers (i.e., contractors), who frequently place larger orders than the average customer buying products for do-it-yourself home projects. Lowe's acquisition of Maintenance Supply Headquarters follows its purchase last November of Central Wholesalers, a Maryland-based company that distributes supplies for multifamily buildings. Clearly Lowe's is going after contractors as it tries to keep up with Home Depot.
