Home Centers

Lowe's is taking a big step into the future with the launch of the Lowe's Holoroom, a life-size, 20-ft.-by-20-ft. virtual room that uses augmented reality and 3-D technology to create simulations of home interiors.

If we didn't know better, we'd say Father's Day and the home improvement industry were practically made for each other. No other industry -- aside from maybe the neck-tie market -- has as much to offer during mid-June.

As it so happens, a few home channel brands are already warming up for the holiday with Father's Day products and marketing campaigns.

A Lowe’s spokeswoman told HCN that various blogs covering the story about a Lowe’s data breach inaccurately implied that consumers were affected. 

That’s not the case, said Karen Cobb, manager of corporate public relations for the Mooresville, North Carolina-based retail giant.

“This situation affected only documentation of employees approved to drive Lowe’s-owned vehicles and in no way contained any customer data,” she said.

Bad weather for retail dampened sales at Lowe's, but earnings surged well into the double digits for the first quarter, the company announced Wednesday morning.

Lowe's sales increased 2.4% in the first quarter, rising to $13.4 billion. Comparable-store sales increased 0.9%.

The Mooresville, North Carolina-based retail giant reported a net earnings surge of 15.6% to $624 million for the quarter ended May 2.

Stormy weather around the country had something to do with Home Depot's third-quarter sales gain of 2.9%. So did strength in core categories.

The world's largest home improvement retailer posted a 4.2% comp-store sales gain for the quarter ended Oct. 30. Total sales increased 2.9% to $17.326 billion. And even bigger growth came in the net earnings column, where Home Depot reported a 13.0% increase and net earnings of $934 million.

Mooresville, N.C.-based Lowe’s will unveil the next wave of products and services for Iris, its cloud-based smart home solution, at the 2013 International Consumer Electronics Show. 

Iris enables homeowners to monitor and control their homes from anywhere via smartphone, tablet or computer with a free basic level of service. Lowe’s will showcase more than 15 new Iris devices and services developed since the smart home solution’s launch in 2012 at the show.

The Home Depot has launched a nationwide campaign to bring water conservation savvy to the masses, especially those in drought-affected areas.

On April 26, the retailer will hold free Water Conservation Workshops at all 1,977 of its U.S. locations, where attendees can learn ten different strategies for saving water.

These projects include converting to a dual-flush toilet, switching to EPA WaterSense labeled showerheads and faucets, installing drip irrigation and rotary nozzle or dual spray sprinklers and more.

Some shoppers at HomeDepot.com received an unexpected bargain on Dec. 13 when a software snafu resulted in free or deeply discounted purchases. According to an article in the Atlanta Journal Constitution, an online promotion for $101 off a specific appliance was mistakenly applied to every order placed on the retailer’s website. If the shopping cart totaled $101 or less, e-customers didn’t have to pay for their order.