| The Home Depot, Inc. |
|
| Type |
Public (NYSE: HD) |
| Founded |
1978 (Atlanta, Georgia, USA) |
| Headquarters |
Vinings, Georgia, USA |
| Key people |
Frank Blake, CEO & Chairman |
| Industry |
Retail (Home Improvement) |
| Products |
Home improvement products such as appliances, tools, hardware, and garden supplies & plants. |
| Revenue |
$81.5 billion USD (2005) |
| Employees |
355,000 |
| Slogan |
"You Can Do It, We Can Help." |
| Website |
www.homedepot.com |
The Home Depot (NYSE: HD) is an American retailer of home improvement and construction products. Headquartered in Vinings just outside Atlanta, Georgia, it is the largest retailer of home improvement products in the world, providing a wide range of goods and services for both professionals and do-it-yourself consumers. The Home Depot employs more than 355,000 people and operates 2,114 big-box format stores across the United States (including the 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands), Canada (ten provinces), Mexico and China.[1]
The Home Depot is the second largest retailer in the United States, behind Wal-Mart, and third largest retailer in the world, behind Wal-Mart and French-based company Carrefour.
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Contents
- 1 History
- 2 The Home Depot today
- 2.1 Corporate governance
- 2.2 Marketing
- 2.3 Exclusive brands
- 2.4 Self-checkout
- 2.5 Fuel Centers
- 3 Major sponsorships
- 4 Home Depot Canada
- 5 References
- 6 External links
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History
The Home Depot was founded in 1978 in Atlanta, Georgia by Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank after the two got fired from their positions at Handy Dan. The company grew rapidly, with sales topping $1 billion annually by 1986. In 1997, Home Depot expanded to Chile and Argentina. The nine stores it opened in there were sold in October 2001.[2] In 2000, after the retirement of Marcus and Blank, Robert Nardelli was appointed chairman, president, and CEO. Nardelli was replaced in January 2007 by Frank Blake. [3]
The Home Depot today
Distribution of Home Depot stores in the lower 48 states
Home Depot stores are large, averaging 105,000 ft² (9,755 m²) and warehouse-style, stocking a large range of supplies. The company color is a bright orange (PMS 165, CMYK 60M100Y), on signs, equipment and employee aprons.
Its 2005 sales totaled US$81.5 billion. Despite the 11% increase in revenue, it dropped one spot to #14 on the 2006 FORTUNE magazine's FORTUNE 500 list (it was #13 in 2005 on $73.1 billion sales in 2004). The Home Depot also owns EXPO Design Center, a chain of higher-end home decorating and appliance stores. In 2006, The Home Depot acquired Hughes Supply which is to be assimilated into HD Supply serving contractors. In September 2005, Home Depot Direct launched its high-end online home-furnishings store, 10 Crescent Lane, shortly followed by the launch of Paces Trading Company, its high-end online lighting store. In mid 2006, Home Depot acquired Home Decorator's Collection which was placed as an additional brand under its Home Depot Direct Division.
On January 2, 2007, Home Depot and Robert Nardelli mutually agreed on Nardelli's resignation as CEO after a six-year tenure. Nardelli resigned amid complaints over his heavy handed management and whether his pay package of $123.7 million, excluding stock option grants, over the past 5 years was excessive considering the stock's poor performance versus its competitor Lowe's. He will receive a $210 million severance package known as a golden handshake which has also been criticized.[3] [4] His successor is Frank Blake, who previously served as the company's vice chairman of the board and executive vice president. Shareholders expressed relief at Nardelli's departure but doubt whether the incoming CEO Frank Blake can run a retail business as large as Home Depot.[4] [5]
Corporate governance
Current members of the board of directors of Home Depot are: Greg Brenneman, Richard H. Brown, John Clendenin, Claudio González, Milledge Hart, Bonnie Hill, Laban Jackson, Lawrence R. Johnston, Ken Langone, and Tom Ridge.
Marketing
"You can do it. We can help" is the slogan used by The Home Depot.
Exclusive brands
Home Depot carries several exclusive brands:
- Ryobi (power tools)
- Workforce (Home Depot house-brand hand tools)
- Thomasville cabinetry
- Ralph Lauren paint
- Mill's Pride
- Hampton Bay (Home Depot house-brand lighting and ceiling fans)
- Glacier Bay (Home Depot house-brand faucets)
- Pegasus (Home Depot house-brand faucets)
- Globe Union (Home Depot house-brand faucets)
- Behr (paint)
- Vigoro Fertilizer
Self-checkout
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Home Depot added self checkout registers in 800 US stores in 2003. Since then, the Self Checkout program has expanded to more than 1300 stores in the US, Canada, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. By the end of 2006, Self Checkout will be installed in every Home Depot Store in North America, excluding the Stores in Quebec and in Mexico.
Self Checkout lanes allow the customer to scan the barcode of the items they wish to purchase, then insert money to pay for the items, and receive any change automatically. The customer is then able to check out more quickly because it adds 4 additional registers to the front line that are always open. Home Depot has been able to redeploy more staff onto their store floors to assist shopping customers in some situations, and reduce overall staff in its stores in others, cutting labor costs and reducing the overhead.
Home Depot was the pioneer of Self Checkout outside of the Grocery store industry. Under much skeptcism, many doubted the self service solution would work in a store where lumber and appliances were routinely sold. To the contrary, an average of 40% of the main line checkout customers use Self Checkout every day. Customer survey studies have shown that on a store by store basis, Home Depot customers are happier with checkout wait time in stores that have Self Checkout as compared to those that do not. There are routinely many more positive comments about self checkout than negative. It is true, some customers have challenges and for those customers that need a little extra attention, there is always a cashier standing by to lend a hand. In addition, younger customers use Self Checkout at a significantly higher rate than more senior customers. Self Checkout has reduced lines across the front-end at Home Depot by nearly 45% overall. citation needed]
Fuel Centers
Starting in 2006, Home Depot has started testing with Fuel Centers at some of its stores. The first centers located in Hermitage and Brentwood (both in Tennessee), and Acworth, Georgia are expected to earn $5-$7 Million per year. The fuel centers sell beer, hot food, snacks along with providing diesel at a separate island. This allows contractors with large trucks to be able to fill their vehicles. The fuel centers also offer car washes, which are large enough to accommodate full size pickups.
Major sponsorships
Home Depot storefront, older design, New York
Home Depot storefront, newer design
Since 1991, the company has become a large supporter of athletics, sponsoring the United States and Canadian Olympic teams, and launching a program to offer employment to athletes that fully allowed for their training and competition schedules. While remaining supportive of Canadian Olympians, Home Depot ceased to be a sponsor of the Canadian Olympic Team in 2005. Company co-founder Blank also purchased the Atlanta Falcons franchise of the National Football League in February 2002. The Home Depot is also the primary sponsor of 2 time [NASCAR] Champion Joe Gibbs Racing. NASCAR driver Tony Stewart drives The Home Depot #20 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS. ( The Home Depot is also the title sponsor of The Home Depot Center in Carson, California, home to the Los Angeles Riptide (Major League Lacrosse), both the Los Angeles Galaxy and Chivas USA (Major League Soccer), and many past major sporting events.
Home Depot Canada
Home Depot Canada is the Canadian unit of Home Depot and one of Canada's top home improvement retailers. The Canadian operation consists of more than a hundred stores and employs over 23,000 people in Canada.
The Canadian unit was created with the purchase of Aikenhead Hardware. Home Depot management has an ambitious plan to overtake its biggest competitor, Rona, which has about four times as many stores. However, many of Rona's stores are smaller than the typical Home Depot store. In terms of big box stores, Home Depot has many more stores than Rona.
Home Depot will also face competition from Lowe's as they move into the Canadian market in early 2007.
