Home Depot vs. Lowes Essay -- Compare Contrast Home Improvement Essays

Home Depot vs. Lowes The Home Depot Company Introduction 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. â€Å"As of fiscal year-end 2001, the Company offered products under more than 30 proprietary and other exclusive brands, including Thomasville kitchen and bathroom cabinets; RIDGID power tools; Behr Premium Plus paint; Mill's Pride cabinets; GE SmartWater water heaters, and Vigoro fertilizer.† ("The Home Depot", 2004) â€Å"Founded in 1978, in Atlanta, Georgia, The Home Depot is the world's largest home improvement retailer currently operating 1,800 stores, including 1,649 Home Depot stores, 50 EXPO Design Centers, one Floor Store and three HD Landscape Supply stores in the United States, 84 Home Depot stores in seven Canadian provinces, seven Home Depot stores in Puerto Rico and ten in Mexico.† The company reported employees approximately 280,000 people. Business Description / Strategic Analysis The Home Depot is recognized as being the leader in the home improvement retail industry by combining the economies of scale inherent in a warehouse format with a level of customer service unparalleled among warehouse-style retailers. ("Home Depot to", 1999) Each Home Depot store stocks approximately 40,000 to 50,000 different kinds of building materials, home improvement supplies and lawn and garden products. New Home Depot stores in the U.S. and Canada range from 114,000 square feet with an additional 20,000 square foot garden center. The stores have a design center staffed by specialized designers who offer free in-store consultation for home enhancement projects ranging from lighting to computer-assisted design for kitchens and bathrooms. Home Depot offers installation services of select products ranging from single-items such as carpet to mor... ...oro, North Carolina: Custom Publication. Norman, A. (2004, Jan). A Citizen's View of Home Depot. Retrieved Feb 12, 2005, from http://www.sprawl-busters.com/hometown.htm Our Heritage. (2005, Jan). In Lowe's - A Company Understood. Retrieved Feb 12, 2005, from http://www.lowes.com/lkn?action=frameSet&url=vocuspr.vocus.com/VocusPR30/DotNet/Newsroom/Query.aspx%253FSiteName=Lowes%2526Entity=PRAsset%2526PublishType=Company+Background%2526Title=Company+Overview%2526XSL=CompanyBackground%2526Cache=True Reimers, Jane L. (2003). Financial Accounting A Business Process Application. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, Prentice Hall. Securities and Exchange Commission. (2000). Retrieved Feb 19, 2005, from http://sec.gov The Home Depot Company (2004). The Home Depot Company 2004 Annual Review. Atlanta, Georgia: Custom Publication. Home Depot to Implement Cornerstone's Java Technology-based Point-of-Sale Software. (1999, Jan). Retrieved Feb 19, 2005, from http://www.360commerce.com/article.php?article=342§ion=1&tid=77 The Home Depot Report Record First Quarter 2004 Earnings. (2004, Mar 18). Retrieved Feb 19, 2005, from http://ir.homedepot.com/ReleaseDetail.cfm?ReleaseID=135414&ShSect=E