(Ian Ritter is national online editor for GlobeSt.com/RETAIL.)

NEW YORK CITY-Even though home-improvement retailer Lowe's has nearly 1,300 stores across the country, there are still some major markets the company has not yet penetrated. Long Island is one of those, and the company has plans to open "several" stores there next year said Robert Niblock, Lowe's chairman, president and chief executive officer here at the Goldman Sachs Thirteenth Annual Global Retail Conference.

Mooresville, NC-based Lowe's has three units on Long Island and plans to open a fourth by the end of the year. Niblock called the company's current presence in the area "way under stored."

He also mentioned the Metro Miami market as another area where Lowe's needs more units. The chain currently has no stores in that city's limits. The company is looking north of the border as well. It plans to open 10 stores in the Toronto area next year, and Niblock said that Canada could support about 100 units eventually.