Lowe’s embraces farm and ranch

Lowe’s is injecting a farm-and-ranch flavor into some 300 Lowe’s stores by the end of the year.

The Mooresville, North Carolina-based retailer announced a new one-stop shop concept designed to bring customers located in rural areas everything needed for farm and home with a wider offering of farm, ranch and outdoor products.

The convenient one-shop concept is rolling out among selected stores, primarily in the South, Midwest and Northeast, throughout the summer.

In these rural Lowe's locations, customers can expect to find broader product offerings in categories such as pet, livestock, trailers, fencing, utility vehicles, and specialized hardware -- plus new Carhartt apparel in select stores and the expansion of Wrangler. in all rural stores.

These merchandising moves are designed to meet the unique needs and preferences of rural homeowners who work and play outdoors. The company also plans to add more national apparel brands to its rural assortment in coming months.

“Our goal with this product expansion is to grow our relationship with the consumer who is already looking to Lowe's for their interiors solutions, but also has a need for top-of-the-line, best value products for outdoor, rural or farm living,” said Bill Boltz, Lowe’s executive vice president of merchandising. “Given our rural store footprint and longstanding relationships in these communities, this expansion will simplify the shopping experience for these very valuable customers and help us continue to grow market share through our Total Home strategy.”