Lowe's will slow down growth

The slowdown in the housing market is forcing a slowdown in growth for Lowe's:

Lowe's plans to open 75 to 85 stores in fiscal 2009, which translates to footage growth of about 5%, said the Mooresville, N.C., chain. That compares with this year's plan to open about 120 stores, or square-footage growth of as much as 8%.

It's not a good year for retailers in general, but things are especially bad in the home improvement arena, and it's likely to get worse, with Home Depot's plans to start a price war. Lowe's says in same-store sales will be roughly flat (a range of +1% to -3%)