Lowe's to open first three stores in Canada this December

TORONTO Lowe's today announced that it plans to open its first three stores in Canada the week of Dec. 10, with a total of six stores to be opened during fiscal 2007. The stores are slated to open in Brantford, Hamilton and Brampton. The company also announced that a Toronto store is slated to open in late January and that it has 18 additional sites in the pipeline.

"Lowe's Toronto management team has been working hard for nearly two years to open the first of many stores we plan for Canada," said Don Stallings, president of Lowe's of Canada. "These first openings illustrate our steadfast focus on delivering an outstanding shopping experience, including the best prices, products and service to our new Canadian customers."

In 2005, Lowe's said that it planned to open up to 10 stores in the Toronto area in fiscal 2007, with as many as 100 stores in Canada over time. The company opened its Toronto office in 2006 and has more than 100 employees in the office. According to the company, each new store will create up to 175 local jobs and represents an average investment of more than $18.9 million CDN ($18.5 million USD).