TORONTO--Lowe's Cos. Canada has opened its first three of more than 18 planned Canadian stores, marking the home improvement retailer's first international expansion.
Three stores opened in the greater Toronto area, in South Brampton, Brantford and Hamilton. Three additional stores are slated to open Feb. 1, and a seventh is planned to open shortly thereafter. Lowe's opened its Canadian headquarters in Toronto in 2006, and now has more than 700 Canadian employees in the office and its stores. The retailer, with fiscal-year 2006 sales of $46.9 billion, has more than 1,475 home improvement stores in North America.