Product Knowledge

Highlights from the first ever LBM Finance & Development mixer

Product: Social Distancing Tape

Marvin Ellison shares his playbook, and his background

Manufacturer: Intertape Polymer Group

Knowledge: Indoor marking tape (blue and orange) is designed to adhere to hard indoor surfaces and maintain clean removability. Outdoor marking tape (red and yellow) is durable enough to withstand foot traffic and resist the elements. Products are made in USA, with U.S. and globally sourced materials.

Quote: “Social distancing is proving to become a lasting effect from the global pandemic and will continue to be practiced even while restrictions are being lifted,” said Nick Park, IPG’s VP of consumer sales. Lowe’s infrastructure has come a long way in two years, says CEO Marvin Ellison. But the corporate accomplishment that sparks the most pride in the Lowe’s CEO, he said, is the way the Mooresville, N.C.-based company has supported communities and employees during a difficult 2020.

Speaking during a virtual presentation at the National Retail Federation’s virtual Big Show in January, Ellison hit on at least a half-dozen keys to retail success in less than a half hour. And it all began by comparing retail operations with home construction.

“It starts with a really stable and solid foundation,” he said. “If you don’t have a robust labor management system, if you don’t have a strong stable IT infrastructure, if you don’t have an eCommerce platform that gives you agility, if you don’t have products that speak to customers from a value and quality perspective, it’s really difficult to be effective in retail — whether its 2021 or 1921.”

The CEO said that when he came to Lowe’s (from J.C. Penny, and before that from Home Depot), he knew that he was arriving at a company with a strong balance sheet and a great brand. But he was surprised by some of the things Lowe’s couldn’t do.

“Two years ago we couldn’t even offer a customer an eReceipt,” he said. “Two years ago, it was virtually impossible for us to have an associates’ schedule in a store that basically fit customers’ shopping and demand patterns, much less the associate’s lifestyle. We had schedules literally being templated at the corporate office for every store in the company, and just pushed them down to the field.

“And as recently as last year, our eCommerce platform was on a decadeold infrastructure. So think about your computer today vs. your computer 10 years ago, and that’s the equivalent of what a multi-billion dollar eCommerce platform was sitting on.”

In an interview with NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay, Ellison celebrated his family background that helped shape his management style. Ellison grew up in a working class, family in rural West Tennessee. And that environment, he says, has given him a perspective on the needs of the frontline employees.

“One of the things I’m most proud of is that in probably the most challenging year both professionally and personally that many of us have lived through, in 2020 as a company we wanted to make a difference,” Ellison said. “I’m proud to say that we’ve dedicated and committed over $1.1 billion in assistance to our associates, to our communities to first responders, to small businesses with grants, and a litany of other constituencies, because we believe it’s just the right thing to do.

“Big companies have the ability to step in and help out where they can,” Ellison continued. “We definitely can’t solve all the problems. But I’m proud we took enormous steps to make sure we played a role in making this very difficult year a much better one for people who need it the most.”