Merry A. Johnson Johnson
Intro to Business
19 October 2012
Case Study: The Orange Apron
The Home Depot was founded by Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank in 1978. With the help of Ken Langone ( investment banker ) and Pat Frank ( merchandising expert ), the first two stores were opened on June 22, 1979 in Atlanta, Georgia. These first two stores were around 60,000 square feet each, huge warehouses that consumed the competition and stocked 25,000 different products. Associates were able to provide excellent customer service with their extensive product knowledge, How-To workshops. By bringing the know-how and the tools to the customer and saving them money, The Home Depot, revolutionized the home improvement industry.
In 1981, the company went public on NASDAQ and moved to the New York Stock Exchange in 1984. The 1980’s and 1990’s came tremendous growth for the company. The company celebrated the opening of their 100th store in 1989. In 1994, the company arrived in Canada followed by stores in Mexico in 2001. In 2006 they extended their reach globally in China. Recent key events include Schneider Electric’s Evink Indoor EV Charging station available on HomeDepot.com on Feb. 22, 2012; Announcement Energy Efficient Lighting Choices on Oct. 19, 2011, and Skystream Install Program on June 22, 2011, New It infrastructure development, in 2010, Reduced inventory by almost half a billion dollars, and Partnership with Martha Stewart Living. The Home Depot’s strongest competition in the home improvement industry are Lowes, True Value Hardware, Ace
Johnson
Hardware and the possibly Menards.
Strengths: Home Depot, as an established corporation, has much strength behind its...