Letter To Home Depot Essay

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

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 stores are always stocked with merchandise that is localized to match your area's specific market needs. They heavily promote a low price guarantee that targets any competitors advertised specials. Furthermore, they also have a sizable special order business that

While Lowes has a smaller debt-to-asset ratio (~.64 compared to Home Depot’s ~.69) and a smaller debt-to-equity ratio (~1.76 compared to Home Depot’s ~2.24), the future liquidity and solvency of the company could come into question due to Lowes’s low current ratio, which has consistently trended downward, dropping from ~1.28 to ~1.16, over the past three years.

Several different accounting concepts resulted in the 3% reduction of earnings felt by Home Depot in 2007 and 21% lower than 2006.

While Lowes and Home Depot follow similar differentiation and low cost strategies, there are a few differences in marketing due to the fact that Lowes seems to be more targeted towards women with bright and colorful displays, wide aisles and product stacking that is lower and easier to reach (Clemons, 2012). While this is a calculated decision because women make 80% of home improvement decisions, it may distract from growth in the contractor business since the vast majority of home improvement professionals are men. The advantage shifts toward Home Depot since men also spend thirty five percent more than women on home improvement supplies therefore, attracting men may actually be more efficient in terms of return of investment (Goodfellow, 2013). The ability to quickly locate products and return to work is a tremendous advantage for contractors who would prefer to be on the job instead of leisurely strolling the aisles of a store while examining multitudes of options. This may be a major component of Home Depot’s rebound since they derive a larger percentage of their sales from professionals and the rebounding housing markets and rebuilding efforts from Hurricane Sandy have introduced significant cash flow into the industry (Cheng, 2013).

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.

To analyze the home improvement warehouse store competitive environment, we use the Five Forces model to evaluate five crucial competitive aspects: selling rivalry, supplier resources, buyer power, outside industry substitutes, and the threat of new entrants to the marketplace.

In order to further strengthen its holdings on the home improvement market, Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has restructured the company’s vision to conform to meet the ever-changing needs of its customers. Lowe’s extensive research has led it to include a well lit sales floor, informative in-store displays, exclusive and proprietary brands, and an ingenious store layout just to name of the few changes. This new vision is not only centered on the store itself, Do-It-Yourselfers and Commercial Business Customers have many ways to satisfy their needs conveniently though stores nationwide by placing orders over the phone, fax, or from the improved Lowe’s web site.

Last year's destruction in the Gulf reinforced the importance of disaster preparedness. The Home Depot's dedication to providing customers with the tools they need to minimize the loss of personal items during such devastating events remains a staple in the company's long-standing tradition of safety and preparedness.

The seventh value is entrepreneurial spirit; this is just making sure Home Depot is creative and innovative in serving their customers. The last value of Home Depot is to have respect for all people. This means that Home Depot’s associates must work in an environment of mutual respect (HomeDepot.com).

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