Internet Technology, Marketing and Security The Home Depot opened its doors in 1978 and was founded by Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank in Atlanta, GA (The Home Depot, 2003). The company has become the second leading retail store in the world, and is currently the largest home improvement warehouse by a large margin (The Home Depot, 2003). This research discusses the internet related enterprises that the company operate and how Home Depot protects its consumers. There is also a section dedicated to security breaches and how the company has handled them.
Website
Product Information A wide variety of products are necessary to ensure that customers have everything that they will need to conduct the equally broad range of projects required when one owns a home. Home improvement warehouses make the majority of their money from people looking to finish projects on their own, but many local contractors buy large lots of goods from The Home Depot also. Because of the variety of jobs that people undertake, the company has to keep a large number of product types available. The departments within the store are broken down accordingly. The Home Depot website is not different as it is broken down into 15 departments: appliances, bath, building materials, décor, doors & windows, electrical, flooring, kitchen, lighting & fans, lumber & composites, outdoors, paint, plumbing, storage & organization, and tools & hardware. Most products are listed on the website all year, but there are
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
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,
The growing trend of home improvement has perpetuated a larger demand for box store home improvement shops such as Home Depot and Lowe’s. There are several types of companies that contribute to the booming renovation industry. Home Depot and Lowe’s provide all the
Retailing building supply stores have become a popular retail industry sector due to increased public awareness and the need of many homeowners for the home improvement products. Back in the 1970s, long before warehouse stores ruled home improvement land, do-it-yourselfers shopped at “home centers.” These 30,000 square foot stores offered cheaper prices and wider selection of products, about 25,000 more than local hardware stores and eliminated the extra trip to the lumberyard. The dependence of many of these retailers upon the homebuilding industry for much of their business has also been reduced and the warehouse superstores, such as Home Depot, have become more important. The smaller companies in the
You are like me. Scrambling around the aisles of the local home improvement store attempting to grab all of the items needed to complete a project or projects on this quiet, cool September night. It is 9:45 pm, 15 minutes until the store closes, and the pressure is on to locate everything on the list. I think that you and I are the only two customers in the store surrounded by the sea of orange aprons restocking the shelves.
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
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
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.
Home Depot has been expanding their markets by opening new stores and new formats. Home Depot operates under four different business segments:
Lowe’s serve DIY customers and also provides installation services and other services such as electricians, painters, plumbers and landscapers. Average Lowe’s has two kinds of stores, a 117,000 square-foot and the other one is a 94,000 square –foot. This remodeling of the stores layout was done in 1980s, after the arrival and success of the biggest rival “Home Depot”. A typical Lowe’s store carries approximately 40,000 items. These items include other brands too such as allen + roth, Kobalt and Utilitech. Lowe’s product line includes products for home decoration, house maintenance, repairing, remodeling & redesigning, and constructing a new house or office. Items that may not be available in the stores are still available to customers by placing special orders. The installation services of Lowe’s are available for more than 40 product categories. Installation services contribute to the net sale too with the greatest sales coming in flooring, millwork, and
Home Depot and Lowe's believe in big warehouse space, an informal atmosphere and low prices. They are able to offer the lower prices to consumers due to their purchasing power. Inventory differs depending on the story type, home centers typically sock more lumber and building supplies, as their biggest customers are contractors. They pay their floor employees minimum wage, and keep overall costs down by keeping them as part time employees.
Home Depot is the world's largest home improvement retailer operating in 45 states, Canada, Chili and Puerto Rico. Home Depot stores aim to serve both do-it-yourselfers and professional contractors with home improvement superstores carrying between 40,000 and 50,000 different products. Home Depot has also been listed as one of Fortune's most admired specialty retailers for the past six years. In order for companies to succeed in the competitive current marketplace they must consider not only the bottom line and their investors but also their impacts on the community, their employees, and their customers. Home Depot was founded on the idea that treating employees well is an important responsibility. Home Depot believes employees that are
. Individuals in this category are concerned about creating something with value. Home Depot employees that fall in this category are placed in development/special projects that oversee the conception of new products to drive growth. Entrepreneurial and creative opportunities are what appeals to these type of employees. Employees that are segmented in this category is concerned about upward mobility/predictable upward path to success within the organization. In terms of total rewards, this group desires concrete compensation, solid benefits, retirement package, stability and career training (Erikson & Gratton,
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