LESCO opens 300th service center

Cleveland – LESCO, Inc. opened its 300th service center location. The newest service center is located in Concord, Calif., and is the 26th service center to open in 2005.

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. LESCO believes there are opportunities for more than 500 service centers over the long-term and 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,” says Jeffrey Rutherford, LESCO’s president and chief executive officer. “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.

“We appreciate the hard work and dedication of all our sales associates in helping us achieve this tremendous milestone,” he 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.”