Strategy of Home Depot Home Depot began business in 1979 wi

The average Home Depot store now approaches 105,000 square feet indoors with an additional 20,000-28,000 square feet of garden center and storage space attached to the store. Each store typically stocks between 40,000 and 50,000 stock keeping units (SKUs), including size and color variations. While the company's format stresses a broad range of merchandise offered at competitive prices, crucial hallmarks of the company's strategy are highly knowledgeable sales/service personnel and aggressive merchandising.

The majority of the company's customers are individual homeowners, many of whom have only limited knowledge and capability of completing do-it-yourself projects successfully. For those willing to attempt the projects, the com

. . .
, which typically marks a well-run and well-managed organization. The company's stock has split seven times since 1987, with the result that 100 shares purchased in 1987 would be worth 1519 shares today; $10,000 invested in the company five years ago would be worth $21,418 today, representing a healthy return for most investors (see the attached exhibits for graphs illustrating recent stock price performance and earnings and revenue performance). This strong financial performance means that the company is able to fund additional expansion, which is part of its operating strategy. The company now operates more than 420 stores, and is planning to open an additional 90 stores per year for the rest of the decade. The company is able to undertake such an aggressive marketing program because of the way it segments the market. Not only does Home Depot target contractor and home improvement projects, but it also focuses on providing decorating items and merchandise, such as appliances, which homeowners need on a regular (if occasional) basis. In this way, the company seeks to provide protection from the seasonality which dominates this industry by diversifying its product offerings. The company is able to serve these various tar
. . .

Some common words found in the essay are:
Home Depot, home depot, South America, Industry Analysis, Home Depot's, Investment Survey, Improvement Warehouses, Georgia January, Shaw Industries, Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business, Depots United, home improvement, building supply, home centers, company able, supply industry, building supply industry, depot stores, home depot stores, market share, building supply home, supply home, local merchants, supply home centers, retail building supply,
Approximate Word count = 2683
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page)