It has been a year of transformation for Lowe’s, whose new CEO has taken major steps to improve the company’s financial health, from closing stores to replacing executives. Now Marvin Ellison, who took over the home-improvement retailer in July, says more change is coming, including growing its headquarters in Mooresville, N.C.

In an Observer interview on Thursday after the opening of a new shipping center in Tennessee, Ellison said that in the next year Lowe’s will be rolling out a new training program for store employees, improving its online capabilities and closing and opening stores.

Ellison has been under pressure to boost the company’s financial performance, which has lagged its rival Home Depot. In recent years, Lowe’s has looked to cut costs by laying off workers in its stores and at the corporate level.

Ellison pointed to the 1.1 million-square-foot facility in Coopertown, Tenn., as an example of the company’s commitment to innovation and modernization. The center, which is about 30 miles northwest of Nashville, will ship purchases directly to the homes of customers who order online, as well as to stores.

Even as it upgrades its online and delivery capabilities, Lowe’s will always need to invest in its brick-and-mortar stores, unlike many other retailers, said Ellison, former CEO of J.C. Penney Co.

“I don’t anticipate that online business will become such a big part of our business that our stores will become obsolete,” he said.