8/1981
Lowe’s Inc introduces its Tidy Cat brand to the Canadian market.
1/1/1963
Lowe’s acquires Petpak, a Milwaukee-based pet products firm, which included a bird bell operation. Two years later it moves manufacturing and packaging operations to Cassopolis, Mich.
10/1/1953
Ed forms a new company, Happy Day Products Inc., to overcome pricing problems and profit demands between the pet store market and the grocery industry. A few months later, Happy Day Products introduces Tidy Cat to sell in supermarkets.
10/1980
Lowe’s Inc. implements a corporate-wide program to encourage wellness and good health.
8/1/1968
The company opens the Mr. Friendly Pet Store in South Bend, Ind. Although the concept didn’t take off, Ed envisions a chain of franchised pet stores.
1/27/1954
Kitty Litter ads appear in numerous magazines, including Better Homes and Gardens, Cats, American Family, Sunset, American Home, McCall’s, House Beautiful, Ebony, Modern Romances and Parents’.
1/1/1969
Lowe’s uses six semi tractor trailers to advertise Kitty Litter and Tidy Cat brands while transporting products throughout Illinois, Tennessee, Indiana, Ohio and Michigan. Estimated audience impression is 14 million people per year.
7/28/1954
Ed changes the name of his company from Lowe & Lowe to Lowe’s Inc. The new entity handles all pet items, including its flagship product, Kitty Litter. Offices are established in a house at the southwest corner of York and O’Keefe streets in Cassopolis, Mich.