Home Depot Swot Analsysis

Home Depot: Orange-Blooded Giant

[pic]

Benjamin vonWurmb

MGT 3301-004

12.12.02

“…feel good about returning time after time

Home Depot, Inc. was created in 1978 by Bernard Marcus, Arthur Blank, and Ronald Brill. Fired from the Handy Dan chain of hardware stores, the three men decided to pool their extensive knowledge of retail and the home improvement market and create their own store. HomeDepot sprung up as a home improvement retailer concentrating on the Do-It-Yourself/Buy-It-Yourself market sector. Their focus was on customers who embark on household projects.

At first, they opened just three stores in downtown Atlanta. But, as of February 3, 2002, the Company operated 1,473 Home Depot stores throughout the United States, Canada, Argentina and Mexico. It is now the world's largest home improvement chain and the second-largest retailer behind Wal-Mart. This is quite an astonishing feat, considering “industry experts gave Home Depot 10-to-1 odds it would fail” (Wheelen, 3).

The three founders had a vision of warehouse stores filled with a wide assortment of products at the lowest prices with trained associates giving absolutely the best customer service in the industry. And, over the past 23 years, they have completed that task. Today is one of the most respected and successful retail companies. In February 2002 Home Depot was ranked 6th in Fortune magazine's Top Ten Most Admired Companies and for eight consecutive years, the company has been ranked by Fortune as America's Most Admired Specialty Retailer (homedepot.com).

The Atlanta-based company is the world's largest do-it-yourself retailer. Over the past two decades, the warehouse-style vendor has undergone rapid growth, expanding operations across the U.S. and seven Canadian provinces. The outlet is known for revolutionizing the home improvement industry. It offers specialty products and the highest level of customer service. Through creating a...