LESCO Opens 300th Service Center

CLEVELAND, Ohio – LESCO ended the month of November with a milestone for its Service Center segment. The professional turf care and pest control products supplier this week announced the opening of its 300th Service Center location. The Service Center is located in Concord, Calif.

In 2003, after five years of no store expansion, the Company embarked on a campaign to resume opening new Service Centers and has since added 74 locations to its portfolio. While LESCO tells Lawn & Landscape that there is no significance to the location or timing of the 300th Service Center, the company says it’s meeting its growth goals in the segment. “As for our pace for this year, our goal entering 2005 was to open 25 to 35 new Service Centers and the Concord, Calif., location was our 26th,” says Director of Marketing Bob West. “Plus, we hope to open a few more before the end of the year, so this growth initiative continues progressing very well for us.

LESCO believes there are opportunities for a total 500 or more Service Centers over the long-term and, as previously communicated, intends to increase its store base by 10 to 15 percent annually.

“LESCO is one of the most recognizable brands in the professional green industry, providing quality products and agronomic expertise to more than 130,000 lawn care, landscape, golf course and pest control professionals across the country. We look forward to helping more of these businesses grow in the years to come, as we expand into the roughly 50 percent of the market that we have not yet penetrated,” notes Jeffrey Rutherford, LESCO’s president and chief executive officer.
 
“We appreciate the hard work and dedication of all our sales associates in helping us achieve this tremendous milestone,” Rutherford adds. “Most importantly, the traction we have gained with our newer Service Centers demonstrates that we are using our capital wisely and making progress towards our goal of generating a return on invested capital above 10 percent.”