Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE: LOW) is a U.S.-based chain of retail home improvement and appliance stores. Founded in 1946 in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, the chain now serves over 14+ million customers a week in its 1,616 stores in the United States and Canada. With the opening of the South Burlington, Vermont location, Lowe's now operates stores in all 50 states. Expansion into Canada began in 2007, with the opening of a store in Hamilton, Ontario. Lowe's Companies, Inc. is 48 on the Fortune 500 list. As of 2008, the chain is based in Mooresville, North Carolina, about 30 minutes north of uptown Charlotte. Lowe's is the second-largest hardware chain in the U.S. behind The Home Depot and ahead of Menards. Globally, Lowe's is the world's second-largest hardware chain, again behind The Home Depot and ahead of Germany's OBI.

Lucius S. Lowe opened Lowe's North Wilkesboro Hardware in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina in 1921. The business was inherited by his daughter, Ruth, when Lucius died in 1940. She sold the company to her brother, Jim, that same year. Jim Lowe and Ruth's husband, Carl Buchan, both served in World War II, and during the war, the store was run by Ruth and her mother. Jim took on Carl (honorably discharged after receiving an injury) as a partner in 1943.

Under Buchan's management, the store focused on hardware and building materials. Before then, the product mix had also included notions, dry goods, horse tack, snuff, produce, and groceries. The company bought a second store in Sparta, North Carolina, in 1949.

Carl Buchan and Jim Lowe differed on expanding the company to new areas, and they split in 1952, with Buchan taking control of the hardware and building supply business, and Lowe taking other joint ventures the two controlled, including a car dealership. Buchan became the sole owner of Lowe's. Lowe started the Lowes Foods grocery store chain in 1954.

We are the world's largest home improvement specialty retailer with stores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, 10 Canadian provinces, Mexico and China.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Gift Card Programs

In life it is best to know the pros and cons of a situation before committing yourself in it. Same is true with gift giving. The comparison may be slightly drastic but in truth, before you buy anything to give to your loved ones, it is best that you know the advantages and disadvantages of that item. A popular choice during gift giving season are gift cards, may they be bank issued gift cards or retail gift cards. These Home Depot gift cards programs have their advantages and their disadvantages.

Disadvantages

• Retail gift cards can only be used in only one merchant store.
• Most gift cards have no expiration dates as the law requires it but there are some rare cases that gift cards have expiration dates. Check with your sales personnel first before buying the card.
• Some cards, if not used for a long period of time, decrease in value. Again, check with your sales associate if your chosen card has this provision

Advantages

• With a gift card, your recipient will get to choose a gift item that he or she really needs or wants.
• Some merchants have a one retail gift card that they all accept.
• Gift cards are timeless gifts that everyone enjoys receiving.  Home Depot Gift Card
• Some gift cards will offer a certain percentage off on items your recipient will buy, giving him or her more purchasing power.
• For merchants, the advantages are endless. One such advantage is that these gift cards programs draw new customers.

Ace Hardware Corp., based in Oak Brook, Illinois, United States, is a hardware cooperative that was created in 1924 by Richard Hesse, E. Gunnard Lindquist, Frank Burke and Oscar Fisher in Chicago, Illinois.

The company, which was founded to provide a centralized purchasing organization to supply the founders' stores and others, was incorporated in 1928 as Ace Stores Inc. Its retail network expanded to hundreds of dealers by 1949, when annual sales reached about $10 million.

After Hesse retired in 1973, Ace was sold to its retailers, becoming a cooperative, and the headquarters moved to suburban Oak Brook. Independent owners became dealer-owners and shareholders in the company. Because it's a co-op and not a franchise, each Ace store looks different. Ace has placed a focus on Ace stores exhibiting some similar characteristics, such as signaled and core product lines. The Vision 21 program, as this is called, is aimed to make all stores look recognizable as an Ace Hardware.

As of 2005, the $13 billion retail hardware cooperative is made up of more than 4,600 independent stores in all 50 states of the United States and in 70 different countries. Ace Hardware was named after the Ace fighter pilots of World War I, who were able to overcome all odds.

Their long-time slogan; The helpful hardware place; has been replaced by The helpful place. Another change came when their longtime jingle — "Ace is the place with the helpful hardware man" — was modified with the more gender-neutral "folks" replacing "man." Much of their advertising since 1987 features John Madden, a former NFL coach and announcer.

Prior to John Madden, Suzanne Somers was a spokesperson for Ace Hardware but was dropped because of a previously issued topless poster for Maheraja water skis. Home improvement expert Lou Manfredini currently serves as ACE's "Helpful Hardware Man" and media spokesperson.

Ray Griffith currently serves as the President and CEO of ACE Hardware Corporation and has served in that position since taking over for Dave Hodnik in 2005. Hodnik had served as ACE's leader since 1996. David Ziegler serves as Chairman of the Board. ACE Hardware Corporation now does over $3 billion in hardline sales annually and had $12.5 billion in retail sales during 2007.