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Home Depot

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The Home Depot, Inc.
Company typePublic (NYSE: HD)
IndustryRetail (Home Improvement)
Founded1978 (Atlanta, Georgia, USA)
FounderBernard Marcus Edit this on Wikidata
HeadquartersVinings, Georgia, USA
Key people
Frank Blake, CEO & Chairman
ProductsHome improvement products such as appliances, tools, hardware, and garden supplies & plants.
RevenueIncrease$81.511 billion USD (2005)
24,039,000,000 United States dollar (2022) Edit this on Wikidata
17,105,000,000 United States dollar (2022) Edit this on Wikidata
Number of employees
355,000
Websitewww.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.

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 with unexpected success during these countries' economic booms. But due to labor union influences in countries historically moved by economic socialism (unlike the highly capitalism-oriented economy in Mexico), Home Depot wanted to pull out and avoid conflict of interests with their governments. The nine stores it opened in there were sold in October 2001 and no longer carry the "Home Depot" name. Home Depot remains economically active in South America, but increasingly focuses on its' twelve new stores in China opened in 2006 with better results and success in a communist, but free-enterprise motivated country. [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 parachute 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]

Board of directors

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

Slogans used by the Home Depot: "You can do it. We can help" was used since 2003. Other slogans used in the past 25 years include "The Home Depot, Low prices are just the beginning" in the early 1990's and "When you're at the Home Depot, You'll feel right at home" in the late 1990's.

Exclusive brands

The Home Depot carries several exclusive brands, including:


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, build to host a future NFL team for the Los Angeles metropolitan area, but is 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.

In January 2007, The Home Depot became the official Home Improvement sponsor of the National Football League. [1]

The Home Depot internationally

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 almost 150 stores and employs over 26,000 people in Canada. Home Depot Canada has stores in all ten Canadian provinces and serves territorial Nunavut, Northwest Territories, and Yukon through electronic means (Online and catalog sales).

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 2007; Lowe's first Canadian outlets will be located in Ontario. Due to the fluctuation of U.S. and Canadian currencies, some American and/or Canadian citizens may purchase home improvement items in each other countries' Home Depot stores (i.e. in Windsor and Detroit).

Mexico

The Home Depot entered Mexico in 2001, and has since become one of the largest retailers in Mexico, operating more than 50 stores with over 6,600 employees. Border town Home Depots attract some American consumers to make their US dollar go further in purchases of mostly same home improvement products in Home Depots of Tijuana, Mexicali, Ciudad Juarez, Nuevo Laredo and Matamoros. In 2006, Home Depot began a program to offer Mexican employees to have "guest worker" incentives for Mexican nationals and Latin Americans to easily, but legally obtain employment in Home Depots across the US. [citation needed]

China

In December 2006, The Home Depot announced its acquisition of the Chinese home improvement retailer The Home Way. [2] The acquisition gave The Home Depot an immediate presence in China, with 12 stores in six cities. Although China is ruled by the communist party, the government allows Home Depot to further deregulate its' practices, decide on matters liberally on employee benefits and labor union membership in a socialist country.

Other

Despite no official documents released on Home Depot's desire to enter other countries markets, the Home Depot was rumored to invested future expansion to Europe (i.e. the United Kingdom) and East Asia (i.e. Japan), but Home Depot has a strong "union-free" policy like other major retail companies (Wal Mart blazed the trail for over 40 years), or may tolerate labor unions in some states or countries to a certain point. Home Depot had nine stores across South America from 1997 to 2002, but aborted expansion for new stores by 2003 due to the region's economic downturn (recession), left-wing government intervention and labor union influences.

References

  1. ^ "News Releases". The Home Depot. November 17, 2006.
  2. ^ "Home Depot Finds The World A Small Place". Forbes.com. March 21, 2002.
  3. ^ a b "News Releases". The Home Depot. January 3, 2007.
  4. ^ a b "Home Depot's Surprising Choice for CEO". Business Week. January 4, 2007.
  5. ^ "Nardelli Bails On Home Depot". Forbes.com. January 3, 2007.
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