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Home depot industry analysis and strategy
Competitive analysis of home depot
Home depot industry analysis and strategy
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Introduction
Home Depot is a nationally and somewhat internationally recognized company. They not only have stores throughout the US but they have broken into Canada, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Mexico. They are the United States’ largest retailer behind Wal-Mart. Home Depot is known for its bright orange logo and its multiple departments available to individuals and businesses. They have primary operations in the home center and hardware store industry. Their strongest competition in that industry comes from Lowe’s, True Value Hardware, and Ace Hardware. Some other industry’s in which you can find Home Depot competing include building materials retail and distribution, consumer electronics and appliances retail, convenience stores and truck stops, and gasoline retailers.
Areas that drive demand for Home Depot’s primary industry are home remodeling and new homebuilding. Products included in this industry include lumber and building supplies (50%), hardware, tools, and plumbing and electrical supplies (25%), and paint and lawn and garden products (5%), (Hoovers, 2008). The home center and hardware store industry is made up of national and regional chains and independent retailers.
Strengths
• Brand Recognition
• Training Employees in Safety
• Corporate/Social Responsibility
Home Depot, as an established corporation, has much strength behind its name. One of the largest strengths would be that of its brand recognition. Home Depot is known by all across the United States as a home improvement/supply store. Smaller up and coming businesses would find difficulty in entering such a market with competing against stores such as Home Depot or Lowe’s. Brand recognition is of strong significance to the consumer. It provides a sense of trust to the buyer. Their well recognized logo which gains attention from its bright orange color and warehouse-like stores help consumers with their brand recognition.
Home Depot provides a strong focus during the training of their employees on safety. New hires complete a training curriculum that is designed for their specific job type. They also provide “refresher” opportunities for employees on safety in the job place. Home Depot encourages open discussion of potential hazards in the workplace so they can be rectified in a timely fashion. If the employees are educated in safety within their workplace environment then their consumers are safe as well within the workplace area.
Home Depot takes great pride in being a corporate and social responsible corporation. According to Home Depot’s main website, they are built on the principle of creating value for their stockholders while at the same time not forgetting their own values.
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.
Home Depot’s slogan, “More saving. More Doing.”, promotes Home Depot’s marketing strategy with more appeal for customers with less money to spend. Home Depot carries major brands but also carries Home Depot exclusives and proprietary brands which save customers money. Home Depot carries major brands like Dewalt, Hampton Bay, Homelite, and Martha Stewart Living. They also carry proprietary brands such as Ryobi, Rigid, Behr, LG and Toro.
Lowe’s Companies, Inc. is the fourteenth largest retailer in America, and overall the world’s second largest home improvement retailer. They are the 108th ranked corporation on the Fortune 500 top corporations list. With an impressive in store stock of 40,000 home improvement items on hand, ranging from lumber to Home décor items, plus an additional 400,000 home improvement items available through a special order program. Lowe’s provides a onetime stop for all home improvement needs, for both the Do-It-Yourselfer, and the ever-expanding market of the Commercial Business Customer.
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.). He joined Home Depot in 2002 as executive vice president of Business Development and Corporate Operations and was responsible for real estate, store construction, credit services, strategic business development, growth initiatives, call centers and the Home Services business.
Since the home improvement market is highly competitive, Lowe’s needs to apply the best strategies to deal with Home Depot’s rivalry. This rivalry is as a result of the identical nature of the products handles by the two companies. The company should structure its distribution framework to pull down costs as the firm adjusts to changes in demand. The company should set a 6-month budget for research and development projects. To outperform Home Depot, Lowe’s should seek to expand its in-store services as well as the international operations.
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
Content 1.Preface 2.Introduction 3.Problem definition 4.Summary 5.Conclusion 6. Chapter 1: External analysis of Home Depot Inc. 7. Chapter 2: Internal analysis of Home Depot Inc. 8. Chapter 3: Strategic forces. 9.
By being a customer oriented company Lowe’s uses the information that is given to them to help build upon their great reputation. To help show that Lowe’s is willing to help others they continue to help with disaster relief not only by donating money and supplies but also help rebuilding. Compared to its rivals I am certain that Lowe’s will be able to carry out its goals and missions. With having one of the best customer service programs in its market Lowe’s does its best to not only help its customers out as a whole but also on an individual level. Lowe’s will continue to grow across the nation to ensure to help you with your every home improvement need.
Home Depot has grown at a phenomenal rate over the last 36 years to become the largest do it yourself retailer in the United States. It’s solid business performance has allowed the company to post double digit growth rates over the last 36 years, and has never had a negative year of growth, even during the financial crisis of 2008-2009.
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).
While keeping in mind they are a business which rely on profits. Walmart is a popular company that is known for their low prices. This corporation is also known for giving back to communities by making charitable contributions of 100,000 grants annually, as well providing disaster relief to various countries burdened by disasters and donated $100 million dollars to neighborhoods and law enforcement agencies. They also provide employees with college grants to obtain a two or four year college degree, Walmart is investing in their employees by giving them an advantage in their future. Walmart has also found ways to reduce waste by creating materials that are nontoxic and are recyclable friendly. With the use of sustainability, strategic philanthropy, causing marketing, shared values and stakeholder that is why this company was ranked number one by Forbes list in
Home Depot, well-known by its big, bright orange box logo, is a retailor of numerous popular brands of construction and home improvement products. Reach the Top® manufactures a popular brand of ladders and scaffolding already sold by Home Depot, and...
Introduction Canadian health and safety legislation requires companies and organizations to make a commitment towards occupational health and safety. Maintaining a safe workplace environment has numerous benefits. A safe work environment can boost employee morale, increase productivity, and improve job satisfaction. For companies and organizations, these benefits can lead to less turnover and increased employee retention. They can also reduce absenteeism while improving the culture and image of a company or organization.
Regulation compliance, employee safety, fire safety, ergonomics, industrial hygiene, hazardous waste removal, training procedures, and management relations are samples of features taken into consideration during a Safety Major’s day. Though there are numerous specializations safety professions can choose, a base knowledge in all fields is essential for a successful career. Therefore, I intend to pursue a continuation of safety certifications that will demonstrate a persistent ability to learn about my career. For the initial duration of my profession, I hope to obtain an Environmental Health and Safety specialist entry level position for an established organization. If the opportunity arises, I will promote within the same organization until