Home Depot

THE HOME DEPOT

The Home Depot opened its first door in 1979. Today it is the world's largest home improvement retail chain and is known as one of the fastest growing retailers in U.S. history. "Home Depot has experienced one of the fastest growth rates in retailing, and in 2003 became the second largest retailer in the US with sales of $64.8 billion" (1) They operate stores in all 50 states including the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, 10 Canadian provinces, Mexico and China. The company is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia and had employed 317,000 people as of January 2010. Their global expansion exemplifies how they cater to and provide unique products and services to diverse cultures, the ever-changing industry needs, shopping trends and customs of each geographic sector. "Our store inventory consists of up to 40,000 different kinds of building materials, home improvement supplies, appliances and lawn and garden products for all of your project needs. Selections may vary from store to store because The Home Depot stores are always stocked with merchandise that is localized to match your area's specific market needs." (6).

SWOT ANALYSIS - HOME DEPOT (2)

Strengths Weaknesses

* Being the largest home improvement retailer in the world, Home Depot has significant bargaining power.

* Supply chain transformation led to increased efficiencies and created better competitive positioning.

* Customer satisfaction improved Net Promoter Score -- effective measure of store performance.

* Proprietary brands offer exclusivity and increase customer footfall. * Mature domestic market.

Opportunities Threats

* Home improvement provides opportunity to increase sales.

* Growing Chinese home improvement Market.

* Increasing relevance of Eco Options as consumers are preferring energy efficient products. * Housing market to remain sluggish in 2010 leading to low demand for building materials and big-ticket items.

* Increased regulations on the private label credit cards will impact the appeal of the cards adversely.

By using a SWOT analysis, it can be determined that Home Depot's web based store is also lacking in a few things that the local stores offer and has the opportunity to grow its online business through use of newer technology and new potential offerings to its customers. Below are some examples of Home Depot using SWOT Analysis, which stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats of a company.

STRENGTHS

* The Home