With over two decades of experience at Target, John Storms brought a wealth of knowledge to Lowe’s when he joined as senior director and head of client services in 2022.
That experience spans both retailers and advertisers. At Target, Storms started in inventory planning and climbed up through the ranks through a traditional merchandising path before shifting to ecommerce.
Storms formally started leading Lowe’s ad business, called Lowe’s Media Network, in April. This month, Lowe’s rebranded its ad business, previously called Lowe’s One Roof Media Network, to reflect how it is selling new ad formats like email, in-store audio, paid search, and direct mail to advertisers.
Lowe’s claims that its ad business reaches more than 120 million unique customers and works with more than 300 advertisers.
Roughly 11% of Lowe’s sales are made online, showing how much of the retailer’s ad business is focused on helping brands drive in-store sales after people first look at online ads.
ADWEEK caught up with Storms to talk through his vision for the rebranded ad business, how Lowe’s is differentiating itself from competitors, and why it’s challenging to stand up an ad business.
Lowe’s did not share revenue numbers for its ad business.
This conversation has been edited for clarity and brevity.
How is retail media driving revenue for Lowe’s?
We’re three-and-a-half years into this, so we’re a newer entry, but we’re seeing ad revenue growth make an impact at Lowe’s. We’ve all heard about where the business can be by 2027 — $100 billion.
One piece that is critical as we continue to be more connected to our merchandising and marketing strategies, is the real impact that the media network is going to have on driving sales and our bigger marketing initiatives. The media network is going to continue to play a role in amplifying innovation, promotions, and loyalty, which are critical to getting our customer base onto our site and into our stores.
We’ve heard a lot about the internal challenges that retailers face when building out a retail media business because the goals of the RMN can sometimes conflict with—and overlap with—the merchandising and sales teams. How is Lowe’s navigating those organizational challenges?
