Case Study : Home Depot Case

The Home Depot is the fastest growing retailer in U.S. History and currently has more than 2,200 convenient locations throughout the United States (including the territories of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands), Canada, China and Mexico. Stores average 105,000 square feet with approximately 23,000 additional square feet of outside garden area (The Home Depot, 2012). The retail 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

Home Depot caters to the three categories of customers. Do-It-Yourself Customers (DIY): These customers are typically home owners who purchase products and complete their own projects and installations. Do-It-For-Me Customers (DIFM): These customers are typically home owners who purchase materials themselves and hire third parties to complete the project or installation, or both. Home Depot arranges for the installation of a variety of The Home Depot products through qualified independent contractors. Professional Customers: These customers are professional remodelers, general contractors, repairmen, small business owners and

Home Depot company offer a wide range of merchandise and services, and serve three primary customer groups: do-it-yourself customers, do-it-for-me customers and professional customers. A classic Home Depot store stocks approximately 40,000 to 50,000 product items, including variations in color and size. Major product groups include building materials, lumber plumbing, electrical and kitchen; hardware and seasonal, and paint, flooring and wall coverings. To balance the national brand name products it offers, the Company has formed strategic associations with vendor partners to market products under brand names that are only offered through The Home Depot. “As of fiscal

Home Depot’s retail strategy is one of reasons for its fast growth and continued leadership in the home improvement retailer industry. Its focus on speed, efficiency, and quality has made it one of the largest retailers in the world. Home Depot focuses on being a leader in “product authority.” Walmart and Costco are leaders

From its roots as a vision in 1978 of a home improvement superstore The Home Depot has become a giant in this sector. Influenced by the “do-it-yourself” customer or the corporate contractors each policy and business plan is developed with a consumer stake holder emphasis. As its founders stated “We’re in the people business” (Planning), and this is maintained in its business structure today. Set up as a direct to consumer warehouse of home improvement and building products

Thirdly, redefining the market Home Depot is now synonymous with home-improvement, it is done so through great customer service, knowledgeable

The Home Depot knows that they must stay on top of technology and management must be able to organize this function in a way that surpasses the competition, pleases the customers, and keep the employees satisfied.

The Home Depot’s two main customers are at home “do-it-yourselfers” and contractors. The main products and services offered help solve the wants and needs of customers involved with home construction and maintenance,

These services target all their customer groups especially the DIFM customers, who select and purchase products and installation of those products from them. The installation programs at the Home Depot include products such as carpeting, flooring, cabinets, countertops and water heaters.

The Home Depot, Inc. (The Company) is the largest home improvement retailer in the world and the second largest retailer in the United States. The Company has been publicly traded since 1981 on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "HD" and is included in the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Standard & Poor's 500 Index.

Marketing strategies are focused on the customer, and a business has to choose which customers to target. Your product will not be needed by everyone. You will have to figure out which segments of the market to pursue. There is a huge market for home repair, including professional carpenters and builders. Home Depot’s competitive advantage would not be strong in the market segment composed of professionals, in which the distribution channels are strong and well established.

Home Depot 's target market is individual homeowners/small contractors. Even though the traditional ideology is that cost leadership and product differentiation business strategies are mutually exclusive, Home Depot was successful at using a combination strategy. First, Home Depot optimized the cost leadership strategy by offering low and competitive prices to its customers by emphasizing higher sales volumes with lower margins, while instituting a high inventory turnover. Home Depot successfully offered a warehouse product strategy to the individual consumer for the first time. Previously, this type of price discounting was only available to professional contractors who earned product price

Home Depot stores sell a wide assortment of building materials, home improvement and garden products. Twenty-six EXPO Design Center stores sell products and services primarily for design and renovation projects. Additionally, the company operates four Villager’s Hardware test stores, which offer products for home enhancement

Home Depot’s current marketing strategy includes offering low prices, quality products and services, advertising, and integrating the firm’s online presence with the brick-and-mortar experience (Home Depot, n.d., para. 2). According to Home Depot strives to be competitive with its pricing and offers a price guarantee, stating that it will meet and beat a competitor’s price. Home Depot (n.d.) states that the firm also promises to offer quality products and services and an effortless customer experience (para. 2). Finally, Home Depot improves the shopping experience and drives sales by integrating its website and application with its brick-and-mortar stores.

A strong foundation for success and growth was already in place in Home Depot under Marcus leadership. The company demonstrated a very strong culture, built on entrepreneurialism and customer service. Abundant promotion opportunities were created due to rapid growth attracting carpenters, plumbers and other building professionals as salespeople. Most of the non-entry-level jobs were filled internally, and from the 400 department heads, just a dozen came from outside the company. Additionally, employee stock