Home | Business English

The Home Depot The Do - It - Yourself Warehouse

Bernard Marcus and Arthur Blank, the co-founders of Home Depot, met while they worked for Handy Dan, a regional hardware store chain based in Los Angeles. After a personality clash with their boss, Marcus and Blank were both fired. The two executives were convinced that a store offering home improvement products (some of which were previously available only to contractors) could provide excellent customer service and change the way these products were sold. In 1979, the partners opened their first Home Depot store in Atlanta. Today, Home Depot dominates the do-it-yourself home improvement market with annual sales approaching $ 60 billion, 1,500 stores (including EXPO Design Centers), and more than 250,000 associates.

Home Depot is certainly not complacent with its success as the firm plans for the future. It is rolling out a larger appliance showroom format in as many as 350 locations in an attempt to move up from its number four position in the appliance business (after Sears, Lowe's and Best Buy). It is testing a new distribution system that can deliver in stock appliances to its customers within 24 hours.

The retailer is also working on a neighborhood store prototype intended for high-density market areas where its full-size units are impractical. Lastly, Home Depot is aggressively opening new stores in the United States and internationally. The company has opened as many as 17 stores in a single day.

hardware store chain: rantai atau jaringan toko perangkat keras

personality clash: perselisihan pribadi

convinced: yakin

do-it-yourself home improvement: perbaikan atau penyempurnaan rumah yang dikerjakan sendiri

annual: tahunan

appliance: peralatan perlengkapan rumah tangga

in an attempt: dalam suatu usaha