Lowe’s to refocus on retail fundamentals

US home improvement chain Lowe’s has announced plans to bolster its customer service offering this year by hiring more than 65,000 associate, in what president and chief executive Marvin Ellison called a focus on retail fundamentals and a simplification of the business.

Approximately 6,000 full-time assistant store manager and department supervisor roles will be created in order to improve leadership within the business.

“We are investing in key leadership positions across our stores to enhance customer service while also creating jobs that will improve the availability of our most popular products, transform our technology infrastructure and provide more access for customers to the home improvement experience of our store associates,” Ellison said.

The hiring initiative will see more than 50,000 seasonal positions created to assist Lowe’s position itself as the go-to home improvement retailer for spring indoor and outdoor projects.

Additionally, approximately 10,000 permanent positions will be created as part of a merchandising service team focused on inventory management, in an effort to improve stock availability and allow service associates to focus more on serving customers.

The business noted its intentions to build its omnichannel capabilities in 2019, with 500 roles to be filled in 2019 by software engineers, data scientists and other digital positions, with a further 1500 to be created in future.

Late last year the  retailer noted its intention to wind down 51 stores across the US and Canada in an effort to focus further on its large-format stores.

“While decisions that impact our associates are never easy, the store closures are a necessary step in our strategic reassessment as we focus on building a stronger business,” Ellison said in a statement to the media.

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