Strategic Business Analysis of Home Depot

Home Depot is indisputably the worldÆs largest home improvement retailer, topping the list with 930 stores compared with the 402 stores of its nearest competitor, LoweÆs. (ôWorld's Largest Home Improvement Retailer Names BNSF Partner of the Year;ö ôA Citizen's View of Home Depotö). Home Depot was also listed by one magazine as ôAmerica's most admired retailerö (ôA Citizen's View of Home Depotö). The companyÆs sales for the nine months ending in October 1999 were 29.26 billion, compared with $12.12 billion for its nearest competitor; its sheer size alone enables it to achieve great economies of scale (ôCompany Analysisö). A number of internal and external factors combine to make Home Depot the head of the home improvement retailer pack, and an analysis of these factors provides insight into its competitive advantage.

Home Depot has massive internal strengths that have largely originated in its eight core values:

á Building strong relationships (ôCompany Analysisö).

Making these core values a priority has enabled Home Depot to build a customer-centered business that emphasizes relationships and service, both valuable commodities for any retail enterprise that wants to rise head and shoulders above its competitors. Happy cust

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s you this DIY kit on how to install a dimmer switchö (ôDIYö). It also has a partnership with AARP to obtain older workers ôand not just use them for window dressingö (Shutan). Home Depot has achieved an edge in the market by leveraging the skills and experience of older workers at a time when the rest of the nation is just beginning to tap that resource (Shutan). Other partnerships, such as that involving the Olympic teams and NASCAR Tony Steward serve to heighten public awareness of Home DepotÆs commitment to excellence (ôCompany Analysisö). Home Depot does have weaknesses, but they are few. As evidenced by its subsidiary companiesùApex Supply Company, Georgia Lighting, Maintenance Warehouse, and National Blinds and Wallpaperùôthe Management team has a proven track record of identifying weaknesses in the core business and acquiring companies to relieve those deficitsö (Scott & Schuman 1). There have been some reports of high employee turnover within the companyùa typical problem in retailùbut these have not been substantiated to date. One weakness to watch, however, is Home DepotÆs stock, which has had ômixed successöùstrong for the most part over the past 10 years, but ômuch weaker in the past fiveö (ôHome Depot HDö). Ho
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Approximate Word count = 2623
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page)

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