Lowe's Plans Expansion in Northeast

Tuesday, February 6th 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

WILKESBORO, N.C. (AP) â€” Home improvement retailer Lowe's Cos. Inc. plans to build more than 75 stores from Philadelphia to Maine over the next five years, including 25 in the Boston area.

The $1.3 billion expansion annouinced Tuesday begins Feb. 24 with the opening of Lowe's in Danvers, Mass., a suburb of Boston. A second store in Brockton is under construction and expected to open later this year. Also under construction in Massachusetts are Lowe's stores in Worcester and North Attleboro.

Lowe's will open its first store in the New York City area this spring in North Bergen, N.J. It's also beefing up its presence in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh and plans to open its first store in the Providence, R.I. market in Woonsocket later this year.

Each location will employ about 175 people, creating more than 13,000 jobs throughout the Northeast.

Lowe's is in the midst of the most aggressive expansion plan in the company's 55-year history. In 2000, the retailer opened 100 stores and it plans to add an additional 115 to 125 in 2001.

Lowe's, which has its headquarters in Wilkesboro, employs 100,000 people at more than 650 stories in 40 states.

In morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange, Lowe's shares were down 10 cents at $53.

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On the Net:

Lowe's site: http://www.lowes.com