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Home Depot

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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,lumber, building materials, paint, plumbing, flooring and garden supplies & plants.
Revenue	$90.837 billion USD (2006)
Net income	$5.761 billion USD (2006)
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 and services. Headquartered in Vinings, just outside Atlanta in unincorporated Cobb County, Georgia, Home Depot employs more than 355,000 people and operates 2,164 big-box format stores across the United States (including the 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Guam), Canada (ten provinces), Mexico and China.^[1] Currently, the world's second largest Home Depot opened on November 14, 2007 on the island of Guam. The Home Depot is the largest home improvement retailer in the United States, ahead of rival Lowe's, and the second-largest general retailer in the United States, behind only Wal-Mart. ^[2]

1 History
2 The Home Depot today
3 Social and Community Philanthropy
4 Environmental record
5 Major sponsorships
6 The Home Depot internationally
7 Criticism
- 7.1 Whistleblower case
8 References
9 External links

History

Please help improve this article or section by expanding it.
Further information might be found on the or at requests for expansion. (December 2007)

The Home Depot was founded in 1978 in Atlanta, Georgia by Bernie Marcus, Arthur Blank, Ron Brill, and Pat Farrah. Home Depot's proposition was to build home-improvement warehouses, larger than any of their competitors' facilities. Investment banker Ken Langone helped Marcus and Blank to secure the necessary capital. The first two stores, built in spaces leased from J. C. Penney that were originally Treasure Island stores, opened in Atlanta, Georgia on June 22, 1979.

“	"Bernie and I founded (The Home Depot) with a special vision-to create a company that would keep alive the values that were important to us. Values like respect among all people, excellent customer service and giving back to communities and society."^[3]	”
—Arthur Blank

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. ^[4] In 2007 Home Depot sold its USD $13 billion revenue wholesale division, HD Supply, to a consortium of three private equity firms.

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 2006 sales totaled US$90.8 billion. Despite the 10% increase in revenue, it dropped three spots to #17 on the 2007 FORTUNE magazine's FORTUNE 500 list (it was #13 in 2005 and #14 in 2006). 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 Decorators 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. His golden parachute severance package of $210 million has also been criticized because when the stock went down his pay went up.^[4] ^[5] His successor is Frank Blake, who previously served as the company's vice chairman of the board and executive vice president.

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, Armando Codina, Tom Salveter and one additional director. The Home Depot's board consists of 12 members, with 11 of them being outside directors.

Marketing

The slogan "You can do it. We can help." has been used by the Home Depot since 2003. Other slogans used in the past 25 years include "The Home Depot, Low prices are just the beginning" in the early 1990s and "When you're at the Home Depot, You'll feel right at home" in the late 1990s and "The Home Depot: First In Home Improvement!" from 1999-2003.

Exclusive brands

The Home Depot carries several exclusive brands, including:

BEHR Paint
Chem-Dry (carpet cleaning, upholstery cleaning, tile and grout services)
Distinctions Cabinetry (NEW)
Eco Options (store brand)
Feather River Doors
Glacier Bay (faucets and bath)
Hampton Bay (lighting, ceiling fans & patio furniture)
Husky (tools)
Millstead
Pegasus (kitchen and bath items)
Ralph Lauren paint
Ryobi (power tools)
Thomasville cabinetry
Vigoro (fertilizer)
Workforce

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.

Home Depot construction toys

Home Depot also has its own brand of construction toys, but are sold exclusively at Toys R Us.

Social and Community Philanthropy

"The company is also dedicated to giving back to the community and donates time, labor, money, and supplies to numerous charities, totaling more than $200 million in contributions. The Home Depot Foundation, established in 2002, supports a variety of community projects, including Habitat for Humanity; City of Hope Cancer Center, a California-based cancer-treatment center; and KaBOOM!, a playground-construction organization.^[6]

Environmental record

Home Depot has stated on their website that they have a commitment "to the environment and pledge to continue to be an industry leader in looking for products and services that are respectful of our world."^[7] Home Depot has worked with environmental groups to develop a variety of green programs, like offsetting carbon emissions from its headquarters by planting thousands of trees in Atlanta.^[8] In April 2007 Home Depot announced its own label, Eco Option, for nearly 3,000 products, from fluorescent light bulbs that conserve electricity and natural insect killers, to sustainable forestry and clean water practices. The idea is that the brand name will identify the products as environmentally friendly. The initiative is expected to include 6,000 products by 2009, representing 12 percent of the chain's sales.^[8]

Major sponsorships

Home Depot storefront, older design, Yonkers, New York

Home Depot storefront, newer design, East Palo Alto, California

Since 1991, the company has become a large supporter of athletics, sponsoring the United States and Canadian Olympic teams, and launching a program which offered employment to athletes that accommodates 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 two time NASCAR Champion (2002, 2005) Joe Gibbs Racing. NASCAR driver Tony Stewart drives The Home Depot #20 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS/Impala SS. The Home Depot is also the title sponsor of The Home Depot Center in Carson, California, home to both the Los Angeles Galaxy and Chivas USA of (Major League Soccer), and Los Angeles Riptide (Major League Lacrosse), and many past major sporting events. innovative solutions for the home in areas such as security and home monitoring, communications, energy efficiency, entertainment, environment and health.^[9] In January 2007, The Home Depot became the official Home Improvement sponsor of the National Football League.^[10] Seventy-three percent of Home Depot's campaign contributions went to Republican candidates in the 2005-2006 US elections. "Home Depot's PAC gives money based on a candidate's voting record, committee assignment and leadership position," said company spokesman Jerry Shields.^[11] The CEO in this period was Bob Nardelli, a friend of Bush.^[12] Nardelli hosted a garden reception/fundraiser for Bush at his Atlanta home on May 20, 2004^[13]

The Home Depot internationally

Home Depot Canada is the Canadian unit of Home Depot and one of Canada's top home improvement retailers. The Canadian operation consists of 159 stores and employs over 30,000 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. Launched in Oct 2003 the Canadian website can be found at www.homedepot.ca.

Mexico

Home Depot store in Mexico City, 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. Most of the Home Depot stores are located in the same installations in which the extinct Home Marts were located. 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.

China

In December 2006, The Home Depot announced its acquisition of the Chinese home improvement retailer The Home Way.^[14] 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.^{^[clarify]}

Labor union policies

The Home Depot has a strong "union-free" policy like other major retail companies, such as Wal-Mart. In 2004, Home Depot workers at a suburban Detroit store in Harper Woods, MI, rejected a bid to be represented by a labor union, voting 115 to 42 against joining the United Food and Commercial Workers. If the union had won, the Michigan store would have been the first Home Depot ever to have union representation. The retailer has more than 1,900 stores in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Home Depot Workers Reject Bid to Unionize

Criticism

The neutrality of this section is disputed.
Please see the discussion on the .
This section has been tagged since December 2007.

Whistleblower case

Home Depot currently is embroiled in whistleblower litigation brought under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) law. In July 2005, former employee Michael Davis, represented by attorney Mark D. Schwartz, Esq., filed a whistleblower lawsuit against Home Depot, alleging that his discharge was in retaliation for refusing to make unwarranted chargebacks against vendors. Davis alleges that Home Depot forced its employees to meet a set quota of chargebacks to cover damaged or defective merchandise, forcing employees to make chargebacks to vendors for merchandise that was undamaged and not defective. Home Depot alleges that it fired Davis for repeatedly failing to show up for work. The trial initially was concluded in June 2006, but in April 2007, U.S. Department of Labor Judge Pamela Lakes Wood ordered the case reopened after Home Depot's law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer and Feld revealed that the retail giant's in-house counsel had told them that two Home Depot employees who testified at the trial had lied. Akin Gump sent Wood a letter on September 29, 2006 letter, in which the law firm requested that the testimony be stricken. In response to Akin Gump's revelation, Davis' attorney Mark D. Schwartz asked for the case to be reopened to permit further questioning of the witnesses. On April 6, 2007, Wood ordered the case to be reopened. The judge fundamentally sided with Schwartz, reopening the case so that Davis would receive "a full and fair hearing." Schwartz believes that the witnesses who falsely denied that they had ever been asked to enter false return-to-vendor information gave false testimony under pressure from Home Depot. Schwartz was quoted by the New York Post as saying, "I have reason to believe these witnesses were intimidated into giving false testimony." Home Depot called Schwartz's allegations "meritless."^[15]

References

^ News Releases. The Home Depot (November 17, 2006).
^ Top 100 Retailers: The Nation's Retail Power Players (PDF), Stores, July 2006.
^ Roush, Chris "Inside Home Depot" McGraw Hill
^ ^a ^b News Releases. The Home Depot (January 3, 2007).
^ Home Depot's Surprising Choice for CEO. Business Week (January 4, 2007).
^ Bailey,M. Georgia College and State University",http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-1886&sug=y
^ Business Code of Conduct and Ethics. Home Depot.
^ ^a ^b Home Depot to Display an Environmental Label. stopglobalwarming.org (April 17, 2007).
^ Duke Announces Construction of “The Home Depot Smart Home”. Duke University (October 24, 2006).
^ The Home Depot Becomes an Official NFL Sponsor. The Home Depot (January 9, 2007).
^ Republican Candidates Increase Share of Business PAC Donations. Bloomberg.com (August 8, 2006).
^ Nardelli resigns abruptly as CEO of Home Depot, leaves with $210M. AP.com (Jan 3, 2007).
^ Harris, Paul. "Bush's super fundraisers join the queue for favours", May 23, 2004. Retrieved on 2007-10-24. "Bush was back in Georgia last week. ... He hosted a garden reception at the house of Robert Nardelli, chief executive of giant retailer Home Depot."
^ The Home Depot acquires The Home Way. PR News Wire (December 13, 2006).
^ Kapner, Suzanne. "Home Depot Case Revived", New York Post, April 12, 2007.

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• • e The Home Depot, Inc.
Corporate Directors:	Greg Brenneman · Richard H. Brown · John Clendenin · Claudio González · Milledge Hart · Bonnie Hill · Laban Jackson · Lawrence R. Johnston · Ken Langone · Tom Ridge
Annual Revenue: $73.1 billion USD (13% FY 2005) · · Employees: 325,000 · Stock Symbol: NYSE: HD · Website: www.homedepot.com