Full Description

The Home Depot, Inc., incorporated in 1978, is a home improvement retailer. The Home Depot stores sell an assortment of building materials, home improvement and lawn and garden products, and provide a number of services. The Home Depot stores average approximately 105,000 square feet of enclosed space, with approximately 24,000 additional square feet of outside garden area. During the fiscal year ended February 1, 2009 (fiscal 2008), the Company had 2,233 The Home Depot stores located throughout the United States, including the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the territories of the United States Virgin Islands and Guam, Canada, China and Mexico. On January 26, 2009, the Company announced the closing of its EXPO, THD Design Center and Yardbirds stores.

The Home Depot stores serve three primary customer groups: do-it-yourself (D-I-Y) customers, do-it-for-me (D-I-F-M) customers and professional customers. D-I-Y customers are home owners who purchase products and complete their own projects and installations. D-I-F-M customers are home owners who purchase materials themselves and hire third parties to complete the project or installation, or both. The Company arranges for the installation of a variety of The Home Depot products through independent contractors. Professional customers include professional remodelers, general contractors, repairmen, small business owners and tradesmen. In many stores, the Company offers a variety of programs to these customers, including additional delivery and will-call services, staff, merchandise selections and expanded credit programs.

A Home Depot store stocks 30,000 to 40,000 products, including both national brand name and own items. During fiscal 2008, plumbing, electrical and kitchen product groups, hardware and seasonal product groups, building materials, lumber and millwork product groups, and paint and flooring product groups accounted for 30.6%, 28.7%, 22.1% and 18.6%, respectively, of the Company’s net sales. To complement its product selection, The Home Depot, Inc. has formed alliances and relationships with selected suppliers to market products under a variety of brand names. During fiscal 2008, it offered a number of own brands across a range of departments, including, but not limited to, Behr Premium Plus paint, Hampton Bay lighting, Vigoro lawn care products, Husky hand tools, RIDGID and Ryobi power tools, Pegasus faucets and Glacier Bay bath fixtures.

The Home Depot, Inc.’s stores offer a variety of installation services. These services target D-I-F-M customers who select and purchase products and installation of those products from the Company. These installation programs include products, such as carpeting, flooring, cabinets, countertops and water heaters. In addition, the Company provides professional installation of a number of products sold through its in-home sales programs, such as generators and furnace and central air systems.

The Company offers six credit programs through third-party credit providers to professional, D-I-Y and D-I-F-M customers. During fiscal 2008, approximately 3.2 million new The Home Depot credit accounts were opened, and the total number of The Home Depot active account holders was approximately 12.5 million. The credit card sales accounted for approximately 28% of store sales in fiscal 2008. As of February 1, 2009, the Company operated 30 lumber distribution centers, 45 conventional distribution centers and five transit facilities, all located in the United States, Canada and Mexico.