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Lowe's: Lowe's Companies, Inc. is an American chain of retail home improvement and appliance stores that has retail stores in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Founded in 1946 in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, the chain now serves more than 14 million customers a week in its 1,714 stores in the United States and 31 in Canada. Expansion into Canada began in 2007, with the opening of a store in Hamilton, Ontario, in early 2008. Lowe's started the construction of two stores in the Mexican city of Monterrey officially entering the Mexican market.[4] In 2011 Lowe's released plans to build over 150 stores in Australia over the next five years, hoping to compete with the A$46 billion industry. Lowe's Companies, Inc. is 43rd on the Fortune 500 list.[5] As of 2010, the chain is based in Mooresville, North Carolina. Lowe's is the second-largest hardware chain[6] in the United States, behind The Home Depot and ahead of Menards. Globally, Lowe's is also the second-largest hardware chain, again, behind The Home Depot and ahead of the European stores B&Q and OBI.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lowe's

Home Depot:

The Home Depot (NYSE: HD) is an American retailer of home improvement and construction products and services.

It operates many big-box format stores across the United States (including all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islandsand Guam), all ten provinces of Canada, Mexico and China. The company is headquartered at the Atlanta Store Support Center in Cobb County, Georgia, in Greater Atlanta.

In terms of overall revenue reported to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the company is the largest home improvement retailer in the United States, ahead of rival Lowe's. The store operates out of large warehouse-style buildings averaging 105,000 ft² (9,755 m²) with mega stores operating in larger facilities (the company's largest store, located in Union, New Jersey is 225,000 ft²).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Home_Depot