Newsletter
Shop
Login
Menü
Subscribe now
With same-store sales recording only a 1 per cent gain in the 2nd quarter of 2002, Home Depot is now intensifying its efforts to find new ways to grow.
The latest attempt, firmly denied previously by company spokesmen, will be an 7,500 m². smaller unit dumping the bright orange which has identified Home Depot since its inception in favor of off-white racking and other changes.
It clearly is an attempt to improve its appeal to women and be more like Lowes, which females have indicated they find less intimidating because it is brighter, cleaner, less cluttered and better signed.
This female-friendly concept has been tested (and denied) in Blairsville and Loganville, Georgia, for months. It also appears to be part of Home Depot’s strategy to fight Lowes’ invasion of suburban Chicago.
One of this new version stores will be opened in suburban Glenview, Illinois, next spring. Originally, it was destined to be a typical Depot store, but with the Lowes’ invasion imminent, Depot made the change.
A wider assortment of appliances
In addition to the off-white color scheme, plans call for a wider assortment of appliances and lots of kitchen layouts at the front of the store. Other changes include brighter lighting, less clutter and smaller shelves. It clearly is aiming to attract suburban homemakers interested in redecorating and remodeling.
The Glenview store is seen as a hybrid of the smaller neighborhood stores opened in the East and some of the interior design emphasis of its Expo Design division. One of its urban-market units is scheduled to open in Lincoln Park, a Chicago neighborhood. It will be a two-level, 7,500 m² unit.
An Ace retailer in Blairsville, Georgia, says the 9-month old Depot pilot store there very much resembles a Lowes unit in presentation and ambience.
Since former General Electric CEO Bob Nardelli took over two years ago, he has been aggressively seeking ways to reinvigorate the chain with new concepts – everything from free-standing lawn and garden stores, urban units and pro stores to adding new categories such as major appliances. It even is testing a heavy-equipment rental store in Naperville, Illinois, one of the cities to get a Lowes store next year.
Recognizing that other operational problems exist, Nardelli is cutting capital spending on new stores in order to redirect some investment into improving existing stores, which many industry observers say have gotten sloppy and messy.
Bob Vereen, USA
It clearly is an attempt to improve its appeal to women and be more like Lowes, which females have indicated they find less intimidating because it is brighter, cleaner, less cluttered and better signed.
This female-friendly concept has been tested (and denied) in Blairsville and Loganville, Georgia, for months. It also appears to be part of Home Depot’s strategy to fight Lowes’ invasion of suburban Chicago.
One of this new version stores will be opened in suburban Glenview, Illinois, next spring. Originally, it was destined to be a typical Depot store, but with the Lowes’ invasion imminent, Depot made the change.
A wider assortment of appliances
In addition to the off-white color scheme, plans call for a wider assortment of appliances and lots of kitchen layouts at the front of the store. Other changes include brighter lighting, less clutter and smaller shelves. It clearly is aiming to attract suburban homemakers interested in redecorating and remodeling.
The Glenview store is seen as a hybrid of the smaller neighborhood stores opened in the East and some of the interior design emphasis of its Expo Design division. One of its urban-market units is scheduled to open in Lincoln Park, a Chicago neighborhood. It will be a two-level, 7,500 m² unit.
An Ace retailer in Blairsville, Georgia, says the 9-month old Depot pilot store there very much resembles a Lowes unit in presentation and ambience.
Since former General Electric CEO Bob Nardelli took over two years ago, he has been aggressively seeking ways to reinvigorate the chain with new concepts – everything from free-standing lawn and garden stores, urban units and pro stores to adding new categories such as major appliances. It even is testing a heavy-equipment rental store in Naperville, Illinois, one of the cities to get a Lowes store next year.
Recognizing that other operational problems exist, Nardelli is cutting capital spending on new stores in order to redirect some investment into improving existing stores, which many industry observers say have gotten sloppy and messy.
Bob Vereen, USA
