God, family, groceries are guiding force

Core values run deep in Texas chain

by Eric Pereira / content creator

As a Christian-based and family-owned organization, these two values are at the core of Lowe’s Market.

The Christian and family values helped drive one of the company’s internal logos – GFG, which stands for God, family and groceries.

The letters are listed in order – God is first priority, family is second and the grocery business third.

These three pillars have been preached for years by Roger Lowe Sr., president and chairman of the board. And about 10 years ago, the company formalized it by developing the GFG internal logo.

“It’s his heart and his motto. He started our God Family Groceries – it’s how we run our company. Dad started that and he truly believes that,” said Roger Lowe Jr., CEO and VP. “And his heart is for people to know it is a ministry…it’s more than just a career or making money for him. It’s about the people and how we can minister to them.”

Lowe Jr. then stated the importance of teammates being able to enjoy the quality time with their families.

“[My father] believes in God first and then he believes in family. He believes in telling people we all work, but if your kid has got a game, you need to be at that game. Family has to be above the business,” Lowe Jr. said.

For his employees, those values really resonate with them.

“When this company says they put God, family and business in that order, they truly walk the talk,” said Duane Brown, director of management awareness, loss prevention, training and special events.

Lowe Sr. is known for saying, “If your Bible is falling apart, your life probably isn’t.”

Many employees fondly recalled times that Lowe Sr. has encouraged them by making sure they were spending quality time with their family.

One can sense the family atmosphere when walking around the headquarters in Littlefield, Texas. People work together, pray together, go to church together and many live in the same neighborhood.

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Many also told of Lowe Sr.’s passion for feeding a community.

“It breaks Mr. Lowe’s heart, because he’ll say, ‘Where are my senior citizens going to shop?’” Brown said of when Lowe’s has to close a store.

Alan Buxkemper, area manager, remembered Lowe Sr. expressing a similar feeling to him.

“The worst thing we can do is leave a community without a grocery store,” Buxkemper said. “[Lowe Sr.] says, ‘A community without a grocery store is no longer a community.’”

Added Lowe Jr., “At the end of the day, it’s all about the neighborhood we serve.” This ties into the company’s strategy of not being “cookie cutter” – no two stores are alike and they serve communities of all demographics and income levels.