When it comes to home improvement two big names pop into every Americans mind, which are Home Depot and Lowes. Home depot being the younger company, founded about 38 years ago in Marietta, Georgia whereas Lowes started off about 70 years ago in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. Both companies sell products not only for contractors but also focus heavily on the retail and consumer market. Lowes and Home Depot each have different cultures, strategies, values, attitudes and structures all of which influence the customer experience as well the image of the companies respectively. There is a strong sense of loyalty in customers towards these big box stores. Building this trust and relationship with customers is a common strategy of both companies. …show more content…
In an article published in 1995 by “Discount Merchandiser”-, According Lowes CEO Leonard G. Herring, the company sought to increase its retail sales in the early 1980s. At that time, about 70% of Lowe's business was with home building contracts and 30% was with the general public. After shifting its focus to the retail and consumer market profits nearly doubled from, “from $3.8 billion in fiscal 1992 to $6.1 billion in fiscal 1994” (Johnson 1). Home Depot on the other hand came out of the woodworks targeting the retail and do it yourself home owner. Leading Lowes in sales and total store numbers across the United States. As of late both companies have been investing heavily in marketing and advertisement focused on getting people out the house and into the big box stores to start on new projects. With people buying new homes all across the nation the need for repairs is nonexistent but the chance at upgrading, renovating, or remodeling has been on the rise. With media outlets like YouTube and network television both companies have been battling heavily for screen …show more content…
Jerry Roe a resident of Panama City, FL loaded his truck up with plywood in preparation for Hurricane Ivan from Lowes in about 20 minutes. Earlier that day he waited several hours at the Home Depot across the street and was able to get plywood which was the wrong size. "I'm going to shop here from now on," Mr. Roe said in the Lowe's parking lot (Morse). Customer Service is very important in this business because knowledge, efficiency, and a quick service are all things customers expect when they walk into a home improvement store. They will remember which store got them their product quickly and who gave them the correct information so they did not have to make multiple trips to the store. But why did Home Depot not have the product for the customer in the first place? The reason could be due to how each company distributes product to individual stores across the nation. “Home Depot often makes suppliers ship directly to stores. Lowe's doesn't use as much direct shipping, analysts say, and instead flows products through a sophisticated distribution-center system -- like the one in Valdosta, Ga” (Morse 2). With thousands of stores across the nation keeping those shelves stocked with product is necessary to develop repeat customers. The distribution network Lowes has created has helped the chain grow quickly in many different markets in a timely
Established as the older company of the two, Lowe’s ranks forty-second as a Fortune 500 company. Established in 1946 as a small hardware business, Lowe’s has grown into a 40,000 product, global market enterprise that consist of 1,710 stores nationwide expanding into the countries of Canada, Mexico and Australia (Lowe's Internal, 2010) Home Depot, founded in 1978, is the fastest growing retailer in the United States. Ranked twenty-ninth as a Fortune 500 company, Home Depot continues to remain the number one do-it-yourself retail store in America. These two companies may sell products of the same nature, but comparing their Code of Ethics is their way of setting themselves apart. (Home Depot Internal, 2009)
In the early 2000’s Lowe’s was rapidly intensifying its presence nationwide. The company carried a varied assortment of home improvement products and catered to the needs of retail as well as commercial business customers. Lowe’s expanded their reach by acquiring a 41-store chain, Eagle Hardware and Garden, and engaging in a strategic alliance with HGTV to obtain a more profound existence in their market (Rouse, 2005). By 2004, Lowe’s operated almost 1,000 stores with plans to continue expansion across the nation (Rouse, 2005). The company has a core competency in helping customers meet their home improvement needs at a low price. In order to use this core competency to gain a competitive advantage, the company has focused on key functional strategies. To continue their success, Lowe’s must specifically focus on marketing, logistics, and human resource management strategies.
Rivalry. Home Depot, Ace Hardware and Menards are the biggest competition that Lowe’s faces. With Home Depot being the large...
Home Depot was started in 1978 as a one-stop shopping for do-it-yourselfers. As the fastest growing retailer in U.S. History, Home Depot went public on NASDAQ in 1981, and moved to the New York Stock Exchange in 1984. By 1989, Home Depot had opened its 100th store. In 1994, Home Depot moved into Canada with the acquisition of Aikenhead’s, in 2001, they moved into Mexico with the acquisition of Total Home. Home Depot acquired The Home Way in China in 2006.
Lowe’s is leading the way by example. Lowe’s believes that creating long-term partnerships is a win-win situation for both sides of the deal. Lowe’s is the second largest home appliance retailer in the country, by working hand in hand for twenty-six years with Whirlpool, the largest marketer and manufacturer of home appliances. Whirlpool and Lowe’s have worked together to become unmatched in bringing their customers a high quality product and a very low competitive price. Through a tremendous logistical effort Whirlpool and Lowe’s have created a one of a kind Innovation Tour. A semi-trailer transforms itself into a functioning kitchen to show customers cutting edge appliances that will be available at Lowe’s in the future from Whirlpool and Kitchen Aid. As Lowe’s motto states, Lowe’s truly is “Improving Home Improvement”. (http://www.businesswire.com/)
Home Depot is built on the principle of creating value for our stockholders while never forgetting our values. We seek to be profitable, responsible, and balance the needs of our communities. Throughout our company, our associates are challenged with finding ways in which we can provide the best products for our customers, provide the best possible work environment for our associates, have a positive impact on the communities in which we operate, and provide excellent returns for our stockholders. Working in a Store Support Center, rather than a corporate headquarters, their leadership team knows that the most important people in the fabric of the company are the store associates and store leadership teams. Frank Blake was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of Home Depot in January 2007 (Sellers, P.).
Bianchi, C. (2006). Home Depot in Chile: Case study. Retrieved January 10, 2011, from http://www.carlospitta.com/Courses/Gestion%20Financiera%20Internacional/Cases/Home%20Depot%20Case.pdf
Home Depot is the brainchild of Bernard Marcus and Arthur Blank and came about after both men lost their job in the home improvement industry in 1978 (Parnell, 2014). Home Depot has acquired several smaller home improvement stores in both the U.S. and abroad through the years which enabled it to position itself as the world’s largest home improvement chain (Parnell, 2014). Home Depot focuses on the do-it-yourself segment of the market and sells sells tools, construction products and services. Marketing is a strong point for the company. They are able to maintain a competitive advantage by keeping themselves available to their customers at all times. Home Depot has been using both online and offline marketing efforts. The internet has become a very useful tool for the company and part of the reason that they are leading the market in DIY stores. Home Depot currently provides DIY videos on YouTube and Vine that cover current topics that consumers are likely to be interested in. They also have social media pages on Facebook and Twitter, where they have a huge following. They provide online communities where actual employees answer consumer’s questions and provide assistance on
Opening its doors for the first time in 1946, Lowe’s is now the second largest home improvement chain in the world, operating over 1,800 stores in the United States, generating $56.2 billion in sales and $2.6 billion in net income for 2014 (Lowes Newsroom, 2015). Employing around 265,000 personal making them one of the top employers in the nation, there is no question that Lowe’s must be doing something right. According to Lowes Newsroom, “Lowe’s professional customers represent approximately 30 percent of total sales, approximately 16 million retail and professional customers are served each week. (2015, para 3) “Never Stop Improving”, is Lowe’s slogan; encouraging employees and customers to work together to maximize their in store
The Home Depot learned the hard way that you must hire a leader that will stay true to the core values. The leader’s ethics and values will play a huge role in determining if the company will succeed or fail. The founders of The Home Depot built a culture on the foundation of respect, integrity, and compassion. The culture and customer service under the influence of the admired founders prospered.
Home Depot was founded in 1978 by Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank in Atlanta, Georgia. With their store, Marcus and Blank revolutionized the do-it-yourself home improvement market in the United States. Home Depot began as a very basic store, operated in a large, no-frills warehouse. Home Depot carries over 35,000 products, with national brand names along with the Home Depot brand. At the start, Home Depot was able to offer exceptional customer service with knowledgeable employees who could guide customers through home renovation projects. Since its opening, Home Depot has experienced incredible growth, and today is North America's second largest retailer, and the largest home improvement retailer. Internationally, Home Depot has expanded into Canada, Mexico, and is beginning to operate stores in China. Home Depot's competition includes Sears, Ace Hardware and Lowes (the main competitor).
|Business |The Home Depot, Inc. is the world's largest home improvement retailer. The company incorporated in 1978 in |
The 3 percent decline in sales causing a 21 percent decline in profits can be attributed to the identification of the accounting concept of operating leverage. Operating leverage is what business managers apply to boost small changes in revenue into sizable changes in profitability. Fixed cost is the force managers use to attain disproportionate changes between revenue and profitability. Therefore, when all costs are fixed every sales dollar contributes one dollar toward the potential profitability of a project. Once sales dollars cover fixed costs, each additional sales dollar represents pure profit. A small change in sales volume can significantly affect profitability (Edmonds, Tsay, & Olds, 2011). So, therefore, if sales volume increases,
Second, the rapid development of the Home centers such as The Home Depot, with prices 30% less than the traditional hardware store made Black & Decker to lose market share to Makita. As per Exhibit 2 we could notice that in the home center channel that represent 25%of the trades...
Once Home Depot’s marketing plan contains a thorough description of the scissor lift, it will then focus on the branding, pricing, and distribution of the lift. The plan will also need to include a product branding and pricing strategy, as well as examine how the pricing strategy supports the branding strategy. In addition, Home Depot will prepare a distribution channel analysis from which it will create a distribution strategy, determine whether the company is going to use a push or a pull strategy, and how the distribution strategy fits the product.