1978 - California State University, Northridge



1978

|[p|The Home Depot concept developed and corporation founded by Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank. (Original company was named "MB |

|ic|Associates.") |

|] | |

 

| |

|0 Stores |

|20 Associates |

|$0 in Sales |

 

1979

|[p|First three Home Depot stores opened in Atlanta. |

|ic| |

|] | |

 

| |

|3 Stores |

|200 Associates |

|$7 Million in Sales |

 

1980

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|[p|First regularly scheduled Product Knowledge training seminars began. |

|ic| |

|] | |

 

| |

|4 Stores |

|300 Associates |

|$22 Million in Sales |

 

1981

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|[p|Home Depot stock went public, raised $4.093 million. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|First Florida stores opened. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|Homer D. Poe, company mascot and cartoon character, appeared in advertising for the first time. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|Named High Growth Retailer by Management Horizons. |

|ic| |

|] | |

 

| |

|8 Stores |

|700 Associates |

|$51 Million in Sales |

 

1982

| |

|[p|Stock split three times. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|Board of Directors adopted Employee Stock Purchase Plan. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|Named High Performance Retailer by Management Horizons. |

|ic| |

|] | |

 

| |

|10 Stores |

|1,100 Associates |

|$118 Million in Sales |

 

1983

| |

|[p|Opened first stores in Arizona and Louisiana. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|Computerized checkout systems installed. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|First issue of Doings at the Depot, an internal newspaper, rolled off the press. |

|ic| |

|] | |

 

| |

|19 Stores |

|2,400 Associates |

|$250 Million in Sales |

 

1984

| |

|[p|Stock listed on New York Stock Exchange. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|Bowater Home Centers acquired in Dallas, Shreveport, Baton Rouge, and Mobile. |

|ic| |

|] | |

 

| |

|31 Stores |

|4,000 Associates |

|$430 Million in Sales |

 

1985

| |

|[p|Expanded into California market. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|Stores operated in 15 markets. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|West Coast Division established. |

|ic| |

|] | |

 

| |

|50 Stores |

|5,400 Associates |

|$700 Million in Sales |

 

1986

| |

|[p|Sales exceeded $1 billion. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|First super-sized store opened with 140,000 square feet. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|Focus began on pro customer. |

|ic| |

|] | |

 

| |

|60 Stores |

|6,600 Associates |

|$1 Billion in Sales |

 

1987

| |

|[p|Day-in/Day-out Pricing Policy established. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|UPC scanning system adopted. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|Building Better Health Program introduced to promote health and wellness to all associates. |

|ic| |

|] | |

 

| |

|75 Stores |

|9,100 Associates |

|$1.45 Billion in Sales |

 

1988

| |

|[p|Expanded into Northeast market. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|Included in Standard & Poor's 500 stock index. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|Named Retailer of the Year by Building Supply Home Centers for second time. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|Named High Performance Retailer for the seventh consecutive year by Management Horizons. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|Satellite communication system implemented. |

|ic| |

|] | |

 

| |

|96 Stores |

|13,000 Associates |

|$2 Billion in Sales |

 

1989

| |

|[p|Established focus areas for community involvement - affordable housing and "at-risk youth" programs. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|Northeast Division established. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|The Home Depot built its first Habitat for Humanity homes in Atlanta, Dallas, Tampa, and Miami. |

|ic| |

|] | |

 

| |

|118 Stores |

|17,500 Associates |

|$2.7 Billion in Sales |

 

1990

| |

|[p|Building Better Health Program launched in all stores. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|The Home Depot began Employee Matching Gift Program to support associates' community involvement. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|Corporate Contributions exceeded $1.8 million. |

|ic| |

|] | |

 

| |

|145 Stores |

|21,500 Associates |

|$3.8 Billion in Sales |

 

1991

| |

|[p|Team Depot, the employee volunteer program, established. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|First EXPO Design Center opened in San Diego. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|The Home Depot named Growth Company of the Year by National Association of Investors Corporation. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|Olympic Job Opportunities Program established. |

|ic| |

|] | |

 

| |

|174 Stores |

|28,000 Associates |

|$5.1 Billion in Sales |

 

1992

| |

|[p|1994 & 1996 Olympic Games and U.S. Olympic Team sponsorship announced. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|Corporate charitable contributions reached $4 million. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|First Corporate Social Responsibility Report published. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|Home Depot customers and associates worked together to help rebuild South Florida after Hurricane Andrew. |

|ic| |

|] | |

 

| |

|214 Stores |

|38,900 Associates |

|$7.1 Billion in Sales |

 

1993

| |

|[p|Opened first stores in Pacific Northwest. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|First Environmental Greenprint for better housing published. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|The Home Depot became largest employer of U.S. Olympic athletes. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|Environmental Grant Program established. |

|ic| |

|] | |

 

| |

|264 Stores |

|50,600 Associates |

|$9.2 Billion in Sales |

 

1994

| |

|[p|$7 million raised for City of Hope Medical Research Center. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|1996 Paralympic Games sponsorship announced. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|Expanded into Detroit and Chicago - Midwest Division established. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|Second EXPO Design Center opened in Atlanta. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|Aikenhead's stores acquired to create Canadian Division. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|Announced sponsorship of Canadian Olympic Team and first Canadian Olympic Job Opportunity Program. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|First Green (Environmental) Habitat for Humanity house built. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|The Home Depot announced Olympic "Adopt-A-Brick" program to build Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|Named Fortune magazine's Most Admired Specialty Retailer. |

|ic| |

|] | |

 

| |

|340 Stores |

|67,300 Associates |

|$12.5 Billion in Sales |

 

1995

| |

|[p|Received President's National Community Service Award. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|Received Robinson Humphrey Alexander Award for Corporate Citizenship. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|Corporate charitable contributions exceeded $8 million. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|Teamed up with Discovery Channel and Lynnette Jennings to produce daily home improvement program called HouseSmart(TM). |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|Named Fortune magazine's Most Admired Specialty Retailer for the second consecutive year. |

|ic| |

|] | |

 

| |

|423 Stores |

|80,800 Associates |

|$15.5 Billion in Sales |

 

1996

| |

|[p|100th Habitat for Humanity house built in Atlanta by Home Depot officers. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|Sponsored the Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|The Home Depot marked 40 quarters, or ten years, of consecutive record financial results. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|Southwest Division announced. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|The Home Depot passed 500-store milestone, January 16th, near end of fiscal year. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|Received the President's Sustainable Development Award, the nation's highest environmental honor. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|Named Fortune magazine's Most Admired Specialty Retailer for the third consecutive year. |

|ic| |

|] | |

 

| |

|512 Stores |

|98,100 Associates |

|$19.5 Billion in Sales |

 

1997

| |

|[p|Arthur Blank elected to position of CEO. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|Acquired Maintenance Warehouse. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|Entered into joint agreement with S.A.C.I. Falabella to open stores in Chile in 1998. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|Purchased National Blinds & Wallpaper Factory, a telephone mail order business. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|Stores launched Load N' Go - Home Depot's exclusive truck rental service. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|Made a seven-year commitment to the Olympic Games. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|Developed the Kids' Workshop to teach building skills and safety. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|Received the Vision for America Award from Keep America Beautiful. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|Named Fortune magazine's Most Admired Specialty Retailer for the fourth consecutive year. |

|ic| |

|] | |

 

| |

|624 Stores |

|124,400 Associates |

|$24.2 Billion in Sales |

 

1998

| |

|[p|First store in South America opened in Santiago, Chile. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|Tool Rental Program rolled out to stores. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|Computerized job application process instituted. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|Entered Puerto Rican market. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|Alliance formed with Emerson Electric to create exclusive line of Ridgid tools for The Home Depot. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|Received an "A" rating for its environmental programs from the Council on Economic Priorities. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|Received an Award for Excellence in Corporate Community Service from the Points of Light Foundation. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|Announced NASCAR partnership with Joe Gibbs Racing. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|Named Fortune magazine's Most Admired Specialty Retailer for fifth consecutive year. |

|ic| |

|] | |

 

| |

|761 Stores |

|155,000 Associates |

|$30.2 Billion in Sales |

1999

| |

|[p|Built from Scratch published. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|New environmental wood purchasing policy announced. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|Home Depot acquired Georgia Lighting and Apex Supply Company. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|Home Depot University launched in the stores. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|New customer-driven Web site unveiled. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|Stock added to the Dow Jones Industrial Average. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|Tony Stewart named 1999 Winston Cup Rookie of the Year. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|First store in Hawaii opened. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation and Home Depot contribute $1 million to Zoo Atlanta to provide a home for Chinese pandas Lun Lun |

|ic|and Yang Yang. |

|] | |

|[p|Named Fortune magazine's Most Admired Specialty Retailer for the sixth consecutive year. |

|ic| |

|] | |

 

| |

|930 Stores |

|201,000 Associates |

|$38.4 Billion in Sales |

2000

| |

|[p|Acquired Apex Supply Company, a wholesale distributor of plumbing, HVAC and other professional products, as a wholly-owned subsidiary of|

|ic|The Home Depot. |

|] | |

|[p|Announced sponsorship of the Chilean Olympic Team and first Chilean Olympic Job Program. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|Introduced Home Improvement Loan Program in all U.S. stores. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|Opened Home Depot Floor Store in Plano, Texas. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|Expanded international operations by opening first stores in Quebec and Argentina. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|Launched first e-commerce online store to Las Vegas customers. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|Extended kitchen and bath cabinetry assortment with the introduction of the Thomasville brand. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|Appointed Robert L. Nardelli President and Chief Executive Officer. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|Named Fortune magazine's Most Admired Specialty Retailer for the seventh consecutive year and 9th Most Admired Company in America. |

|ic| |

|] | |

| |

|1123 Stores |

|226,000 Associates |

|$45.7 Billion in Sales |

2001

| |

|[p|Acquired Your "other" Warehouse, a plumbing product distributor. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|Acquired Mexico's TOTAL HOME, a four-store chain of home improvement stores in Mexico, as a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Home Depot. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|Opened Doors to AID Recovery Efforts - launched company-wide collection effort with $1 million donation to the United Way. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|Expanded online sales nationwide. |

|ic| |

|] | |

|[p|Named Fortune magazine's Most Admired Specialty Retailer for the eighth consecutive year and sixth Most Admired Company in America for |

|ic|the second consecutive year. |

|] | |

| |

|1319 Stores |

|251,488 Associates |

|$53.6 Billion in Sales |

Copyright 2002 LexisNexis Academic & Library Solutions. All rights reserved.

US-Regional Newsline

Copyright 2002 Winston-Salem Journal  

Winston-Salem Journal

September 16, 2002 Online Edition

ACC-NO: WSJ2002091602

LENGTH: 1842 words

HEADLINE:

Heads or Tails?; Lowe's and Home Depot, often neighbors, struggle to develop some individuality

BYLINE: Louis, Brian

BODY:

In the battle between the nation's two largest home-improvement retailers, there's a simple question for customers looking for a lawn mower or a grill - orange or blue? Orange means Home Depot, which is in the lead. Blue means Lowe's, which is in second place but has become more favored in the investment community. They are fighting over the $200 billion that Americans spend each year on home improvements, tools and lumber.

The companies are all over the television. Their circulars are a regular in the Sunday paper. Their stores are frequently within sight of each other, as they are along Hanes Mall Boulevard and University Parkway. Despite all this advertising and promotion, it's often difficult for consumers to see the difference between the two chains. They tout the same things when talking about what distinguishes them from their rival -customer service, exclusive products, low prices.

The stores are similar, so why do people pick one over the other? The reasons vary, according to recent interviews with customers at the stores, which sit across from each other on Hanes Mall Boulevard in Winston-Salem. Some shoppers cite product availability and price. Others choose a store because it alone carries a brand they like. Some have grudges against one store or the other because of a bad experience.

Sometimes, it just boils down to which side of the road shoppers are driving on. Easy right-hand turns nto a store, depending on which way they're going on Hanes Mall Boulevard, is a factor cited by several people when asked why they pick Lowe's or Home Depot.

Larry Campbell shops at Lowe's because it is based nearby in Wilkesboro. Campbell, of Mocksville, recently bought some lighting and garden supplies at Lowe's. He said that "95 percent of the time" he shops there because it's a local company. He also said he likes the service he gets at Lowe's.

Other consumers don't have a preference.

"It depends on what I want," said a Winston-Salem retiree shopping at Home Depot. He bought some lime for his lawn. Home Depot sells the lime that he prefers, he said. "I know this works," the shopper said. "If it's not broke, don't fix it."

That's not to say that he is anti-Lowe's. He said he has a credit card for both stores and shops at both.

A couple shopping at Home Depot said they didn't prefer one store over the other; deciding where to shop is based on availability and price, they said. If one store doesn't have what they want, they cross the street to see if the other store does, they said.

"They're both pretty good stores," one of them said.

Karen Henry Clark said she likes the service she gets at Home Depot. She and her husband, Cliff, are redoing the entire back end of their house and are doing all of their shopping for the project, including working with designers, at Home Depot. She said that the customer service at Home Depot is better than at Lowe's.

"I find these people are more personable," she said, and the employees at Home Depot "seem to be more accessible."

Among the analysts who don't see much difference between the stores is Steven Baumgarten of Parker/Hunter Inc., a brokerage company based in Pittsburgh.

"I think both stores are pretty similar," Baumgarten said. He owns stock in Home Depot Inc. but not Lowe's Cos. Inc. His company has not done any investment banking for Home Depot or Lowe's. He has a buy rating on both stocks.

An analyst with the same view is Mike Porter of Morningstar, a stock and mutual-fund research company based in Chicago.

"They're very similar in terms of layout and what you can get there," Porter said. He does not own shares in Home Depot or Lowe's and his company does not provide investment-banking services. Porter has a three-star rating on Lowe's and a four-star rating on Home Depot. Morningstar's highest rating is five stars.

Home Depot was founded in 1978 and is based in Atlanta. It is clearly the giant in the home-improvement retailing industry. It leads in the number of stores and in sales and profit. It had 1,437 stores in the United States, Canada and Mexico at the end of the second quarter. In 2001, it posted sales of $53.6 billion and a profit of $3 billion.

Lowe's had 806 stores - all in the United States - at the end of the second quarter. In 2001, Lowe's had sales of $22.1 billion and a profit of $1 billion.

Home Depot has about 300,000 employees. Lowe's has about 110,000.

Because Home Depot is so large, it doesn't have much room left for expanding its big-box retailing into new markets in the United States, analysts say. To find ways to generate more sales outside its big-box format, it has started experimenting with specialty stores. For example, in the Atlanta area in late August the company opened its first Home Depot Landscape Supply store. It caters to professional landscapers as well as do-it-yourself gardeners.

Lowe's doesn't have a sales-growth problem because it still has a lot of room to expand across the country.

Even though the two companies have many similarities, they also have differences, some obvious and some subtle, analysts say. Each is always trying to differentiate itself from the other to attract customers.

Baumgarten said that appliance sales is probably the biggest difference between the two companies.

Lowe's is the No. 2 seller of appliances - washers, dryers, and refrigerators, to name a few - behind Sears, Roebuck & Co. Lowe's had 12.9 percent of the appliance market at the end of the second quarter. Appliance sales accounted for the biggest portion of sales at Lowe's in fiscal 2001 - $2.5 billion, or 11 percent of the company's $22.1 billion sales.

Lowe's stores stock a wide selection of appliances, both big and small.

"We have over 250 models on the floor in stock to take home today," said Chris Ahearn, a Lowe's spokeswoman.

Home Depot recently started to put more emphasis on appliance sales and is seeing results, analysts say. It is the No. 4 seller of appliances. Best Buy Stores Inc., the electronics retailer, is No. 3.

Baumgarten said that same-store sales for appliances at Home Depot increased more than 35 percent in the second quarter compared to the same period last year "largely due to the greater assortment of appliances on their floor." Same-store sales exclude new and closed stores.

Both companies have agreements with some manufacturers to be the exclusive home-improvement retailer selling their products.

"It's another way to differentiate yourself from your competitors," said Don Harrison, a Home Depot spokesman.

For example, Home Depot will begin selling an exclusive new line of John Deere lawn and garden tractors early in the spring. It also has a deal to sell Royal Philips Electronics light bulbs exclusively.

Lowe's carries Husqvarna outdoor-power equipment, Jenn-Air grills and Cub Cadet lawn mowers exclusively.

The companies target the same customers, the so-called "do-it-yourselfer." They also target professional contractors who do home-improvement projects for clients.

"The two companies share a core group of shoppers that is the same," said Porter, the Morningstar analyst.

Although the companies may target the same shoppers, "Lowe's is known as more of a place that women like to shop," he said.

Lowe's, founded in 1946, said that its research shows that half of its customer base is women.

Ahearn said that part of the reason women like to shop at Lowe's is the design of the stores. Women don't like to shop in a cluttered environment and the company's stores offer wide aisles, brighter lighting and clear, easy-to-read signs.

Women are also an important part of Home Depot's business.

"We're seeing more today than ever before women are responsible for buying something in a Home Depot," Harrison said. He said that more than 50 percent of the buying decisions at Home Depot are driven by women, according to the company's research. He said he didn't have a gender breakdown of its customers.

Competition between the two companies has been heating up in recent years.

For years, Lowe's stores were essentially hardware stores with a lumber yard in towns in the Southeast. In the early 1990s Lowe's began its transformation into a big-box retailer and later in the decade began opening stores in major metropolitan markets, competing directly with Home Depot.

In 1994, only 13 percent of Lowe's stores had a Home Depot within a 10-mile radius, Robert Niblock, the chief financial officer of Lowe's, said at a recent Goldman Sachs retailing conference in New York. Now it's 70 percent, he said.

Sometimes one company will build a store very close to the other. The companies will do that in part because the best store sites are in high-traffic areas, which is what retailers want. Also, zoning laws in cities may dictate that the stores can be built only in certain areas where a competitor's store is.

Home Depot had long been in major metro markets because those markets have consumers with higher incomes and larger populations. Much of the expansion of Lowe's is being done in major metro areas for those reasons.

"What you've seen in the past few years, Home Depot is everywhere," Porter said. "They've saturated the market." He said that any store it opens is almost certain to be in a town where the company already has a store or two.

Porter said that when Lowe's moves into a town where Home Depot has been the only major home-improvement retailer, it is able to grab a substantial chunk of market share.

A major reason for this is the novelty of having a choice; customers who may have become bored with Home Depot want to take a look at Lowe's.

"Lowe's enjoys a honeymoon period when they come in and open a store," Porter said.

Lowe's, because it is growing at a good clip, has proved attractive to investors.

"From an investor's perspective, Lowe's is still the growth story," Porter said. "Home Depot is not."

Lowe's stock vastly outperformed Home Depot stock last year and so far this year, in part because of its impressive sales and profit growth.

In 2001, Lowe's share price increased 108.6 percent and Home Depot's share price fell 11.6 percent. Lowe's stock is down about 5 percent this year, and Home Depot stock is down about 35 percent.

Analysts say that because the home-improvement products and services industry is so large and fragmented, the companies will have plenty of business to fight over for years to come.

It will probably take four to five years before Lowe's reaches a saturation point with its big-box stores, analysts said, but it's unlikely that it will ever match Home Depot in number of stores or sales because Home Depot already has such a large lead in both areas. Also, Home Depot is expanding outside the United States and it is opening specialty stores and that should help it keep its lead.

Baumgarten, the Parker/Hunter analyst, said that Lowe's will close the gap "to some extent" but "Home Depot should remain the larger of the two companies."  

URL:

LOAD-DATE: September 19, 2002

Copyright 2002 Newsday, Inc.  

Newsday (New York, NY)

July 25, 2002 Thursday ALL EDITIONS

SECTION: HOME & GARDENS, Pg. B19

LENGTH: 1280 words

HEADLINE: HOME WORK;

It's All About WOMEN;

As they chase the remodeling dollar, the nation's top two home improvement retailers have discovered:

BYLINE: Gary Dymski

BODY:

Merri Vogel inches her way down the aisle, looking up at tall stacks of lumber. At The Home Depot in Woodhaven, Queens, she's out of place, like a cat at the Westminster Dog Show.

"I hate it," says Vogel of shopping big-box warehouses such as Home Depot. "They're too big. ... It takes me an hour to find what I want."

On this day, however, the Rego Park woman runs into a bit of luck in the form of sales associate Dave Pooransingh. He helps Vogel find wood shelving in a few minutes, far less than the hour she had expected to spend. A few days earlier, Joan Pilotte of Lake Ronkonkoma had begun her quest for a new kitchen, prepared to spend $20,000. The single mother started her search at the Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse in Medford, partly because "it's very neat and clean," she says. "I like this store; the displays appeal to the customer."

That she would notice is no accident. Pilotte's observation is exactly the kind the two major home-improvement retailers are seeking - and from the very kinds of people they're looking to attract.

Women.

As the nation's top two home retailers vie for their chunk of the $480 billion Americans annually spend on remodeling and repair, their attention is focused on the group that makes more than half of the purchase decisions in their stores. With more than 1,350 stores nationwide, including 18 on Long Island and two more Expo Design Centers, No. 1 Home Depot would seem to have the edge in terms of sheer volume. But No. 2 Lowe's - formidable with nearly 750 stores in 42 states (its second mega-store on Long Island will open shortly, near Roosevelt Field) - has presented Home Depot with a challenge.

"What has happened in market after market where the two companies go head to head is that women prefer Lowe's," says Donald Trott, a retail analyst for Jefferies Group Inc., a Madison Avenue investment and research firm. "Traditionally ... women tend to find it a more comfortable environment. Lowe's does not have as 'warehousey' an image as Depot. Depot has a more macho image."

It is over that point that the battle lines are drawn.

Lowe's already owes much of its success over the past decade to making itself a more attractive place to shop for women - a place where consumers can find tools, building supplies and 200 varieties of lamp shades. But as the North Carolina-based retailer gains a foothold in the renovation- happy Northeast, its chief competitor, Home Depot, has begun to show its feminine side - with a softer, brighter, neater warehouse, more home decor items, uncluttered aisles and glitzy displays under a new initiative called The Design Place.

"It's all about the female shopper," says Mike Sinkowicz, a manager at The Home Depot in Woodhaven. "They make most of the decisions, and whoever gets more of them in the store is the winner."

The trend toward women's greater involvement in home do-it- yourself has more or less mirrored the decade-long boom in home improvement. A 1999 product and project study of 3,500 consumers by the Tampa-based Home Improvement Research Institute found that women made about 38 percent of home improvement-related product purchases, up from about 32 percent in 1997 and 29 percent in 1995, according to Richard Johnston, the institute's senior research analyst.

But Lowe's had already noticed this around 1989, at the same time it was reinventing itself by building bigger warehouses - the 135,000-square-foot models that mirrored Home Depot in size - with the emphasis on do-it-yourself. Before that, the retailer was mostly a collection of 20,000-square-foot outlet stores that dealt primarily with contractors.

Now, Lowe's home centers are bright and colorful, with more home decor items than Atlanta-based Home Depot. It carries tools and building supplies, same as Home Depot, but it's more a home-improvement warehouse with a Wal-Mart or Target flavor.

"Our research says that women are not entirely comfortable going into a big old hardware store," says spokeswoman Chris Ahearn of Lowe's.

At Lowe's, about 30 percent of sales in 2001 were for "fashion" items, including appliances, according to the company's annual report. A Home Depot spokesman would not reveal its percentage of sales for similar items, and the information was not available in its annual report.

In its quest for women's attention, Home Depot has a tricky line to walk. For one thing, it carries a strong image as a guy's store. It has cement floors. It's a little cluttered, and there's a scent that's a mix of lubricating oil and fresh-cut lumber. And if a little dirt gets on the floor, so what? Professional contractors, who make up about a third of Home Depot's customer base, wouldn't feel comfortable otherwise, says Home Depot spokesman John Simley.

But since January, Home Depot, which started in 1979 as a contractor warehouse open to the public, began stocking products it never before carried - Tide, Clorox, Scott's paper towels, cases of bottled drinking water. Aisle displays became less cluttered, and in flooring and other decor-oriented departments, displays have more pizzazz.

Its newest initiative, The Design Place, began as a test in selected stores about two years ago. "Purely a reaction to the increased patronage of women in our stores," Simley says of the initiative, which creates home decor displays and order desks in areas such as kitchen and bath cabinetry, carpeting, wallpaper and window treatments. A redesigned lighting department is expected to be in stores by fall.

Home Depot is also focusing on major appliances. At Lowe's, appliances account for 12 percent of revenue - making it second in the country in major appliance sales, behind Sears. At No. 4 is Home Depot, where appliances account for about 2 percent of sales. But, by the end of this year, Home Depot plans to be selling 150 to 200 kinds of appliances, up from about 100 it currently stocks.

"Lowe's has done an exemplary job of seizing an opportunity in the home-improvement industry," says Simley. "The percentage of sales to women at Home Depot is about 55 percent [up from 53 percent in 2000 and about 51 percent in 1999], and we have to respond to their increasing patronage with new products."

Lowe's says its research shows that women are involved in more than 75 percent of purchase decisions at its stores. Representatives from Lowe's and Home Depot say that women account for a little more than half of the purchases made at their stores.

Contractors make up about a quarter of Lowe's revenue, so it also wants to be the one-stop store for virtually every customer. "Our focus is ... the customer, regardless of what others in the marketplace do," says Lowe's spokeswoman Tawn Earnest. "If other stores choose to follow in our footsteps, we're flattered." Lowe's has appliances, small and large, that are not available at Home Depot, like vacuums and food processors and microwaves.

You can get a microwave at Home Depot, too, but maybe two different styles. There's one model of iron, one model of automatic drip coffee machine, one model of toaster. At Lowe's there are several different models in several different price ranges. At Lowe's, there's a display for more than 200 lamp shades. You can get lamp shades at Home Depot, too - about six different kinds. For now, that is.

Don't expect Home Depot to change entirely, however. A major reason it's still No. 1 is its appeal to contractors.

"Traditionally, Home Depot has had a more industrial edge," Simley says. "We have to be careful not to go too soft. ... Contractors respond to our environment. Frankly, they might be put off by a display of pastel Tupperware."

GRAPHIC: 1) Newsday Photo / Bill Davis - In the kitchen remodeling department of Lowe's in Medford, which has been attracting more female shoppers, Jennifer Waage helps Joan Pilotte. The single mother from Lake Ronkonkoma had chosen to spend her $20,000 remodeling budget at the store partly because "it's very neat and clean," and "the displays appeal to the customer." 2) Newsday Photo / Bruce Gilbert - Employees at the Woodhaven Home Depot restock at night. 3) Newsday Photo / Bill Davis - Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse caters to women by offering about 200 lamp shades. 4) Newsday Photo / Bruce Gilbert - Inset, Dave Pooransingh of Home Depot in Woodhaven helps Merri Vogel. 5) Newsday Photo / Bruce Gilbert - Heather Groeneveld, assistant store manager of Woodhaven's Home Depot, helps a customer. The store is bidding to make female customers feel at home.

LOAD-DATE: July 25, 2002

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When our founders, Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank opened the first Home Depot stores in Atlanta on June 22, 1979, the home improvement industry was changed forever. The first few stores were attached to Treasure Island stores and stocked around 25,000 products. Today, an average Home Depot store is approximately 130,000 square feet, and offers between 40,000 and 50,000 products.

Our founders had a vision of warehouse stores filled with a wide assortment of products at the lowest prices with trained associates giving absolutely the best customer service in the industry. The Home Depot grew to encompass stores in Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, Texas, and Alabama within the first 5 years. The growth continues to this day, with more than 1400 stores open throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. For an overview of The Home Depot's history, see our Depot Timeline.

The Legend, a museum chronicling the history of The Home Depot and illustrating the values that set us apart, opened in 1999 at the Atlanta Store Support Center. The museum is primarily an internal educational tool for Home Depot associates, their families, vendors, and stockholders. It is open to groups on a limited basis by appointment only. Tours must be approved by our LEGACY coordinator. Please contact us at (770) 433-8211 for more information.

The Home Depot LEGACY is a program devoted to supporting our past to preserve our future. This includes collecting and archiving materials relating to the early days of The Home Depot and the home improvement industry in general, as well as items of significance through the present. If you are a past or current Home Depot employee and have items or memorabilia you'd like to contribute to LEGACY, please contact us at (770) 433-8211 for more information.

To the Shareholders:

Having completed my first full year with this wonderful organization, I am more excited about this business and the opportunities for growth than ever before. In fact, I believe we have an infinite capacity for growth and value creation. My goal, when I arrived a year ago, was to build on this company’s established tradition of growth, customer trust, corporate values, and brand recognition as the leader in home improvement retailing.

Since then, my confidence in the strength of The Home Depot has been confirmed and reconfirmed. Despite a turbulent economy that included massive corporate downsizings, consumer confidence hitting an eight-year low and the unthinkable disaster of September 11th, the 250,000 associates of The Home Depot delivered on our promise of improved performance in fiscal 2001. Not only did we stay on strategy, we embraced many new initiatives, accelerated existing programs, and delivered record results … all while implementing a seamless transition in executive leadership.

2001 In Review

In many ways, this year’s performance speaks for itself:

• Sales reached record levels, growing 17% to $53.6 billion. In fiscal 2001, The Home Depot became the second-largest retailer in the U.S.

• Net earnings grew 18% to exceed $3 billion for the first time, reaching $1.29 per share. Fiscal 2001 results included the second highest return on sales in company history.

• Cash reached a record $2.5 billion at year-end. Taken together with a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.9%, The Home Depot has one of the strongest balance sheets in retail, funding our ability to reinvest and generate additional growth.

• The Home Depot share price increased by 12.4%, outperforming both the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and ranking sixth among the Dow 30.

• In the fourth quarter, we increased the annual dividend 25%, allowing stockholders to benefit from the strong cash flows we produce.

• We reinvested more than $3.3 billion into our business through new stores, systems enhancements, and other initiatives.

• The Home Depot opened 204 new stores and added 40,000 incremental associates to staff them at a time when many corporations were downsizing.

In addition, we achieved several new milestones:

• Our loyal customers came to us for more than 1 billion transactions in a year for the first time ever.

• The Home Depot became the youngest retailer ever to reach $50 billion in revenue.

• We were named “#1 Specialty Retailer” by Fortune Magazine for the ninth consecutive year and “#6 Most Admired” company in America for the second consecutive year. Among the Top Ten Most Admired, The Home Depot was ranked fourth in return to stockholders

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I am immensely proud of these achievements. They’re evidence of the pride, competitive enthusiasm, and drive of our “orange-blooded” associates. Our corporate values have also placed the highest emphasis on “giving back” to the communities in which we live and work. In fiscal 2001, that included:

• Six million volunteer hours including:

- 16 KaBoom playgrounds built and 18 playgrounds refurbished

- 17 Habitat For Humanity® homes built

- 2,000 home repair projects completed in cooperation with Rebuilding Together™

• $20 million in grants to more than 7,500 organizations

Our response to September 11th was proof positive of how thoroughly our values are engrained in every associate so that we “shine brightest during the darkest hours.” Immediately following the attacks, our associates staffed our command center to coordinate delivering materials to the New York and Washington sites. Within hours, Home Depot trucks were on the road with supplies necessary for the rescue and recovery efforts. All told, as a company and as individuals, we contributed thousands of volunteer hours and more than $3 million in products, supplies and financial support.

In addition to driving record financial performance, 2001 was a year of driving change within the organization as we prepare to grow toward $100 billion in revenues. By introducing and implementing a Strategic Operating and Resource planning process or “SOAR”, we focused the company on expanding our growth horizons. SOAR is a multi-step process focused on industry and economic data. SOAR allows us to see opportunities that otherwise might not have appeared, and in 2001 it validated our key initiatives, including:

Service Performance Improvement (SPI) – We implemented SPI across every division between June and October, the largest single shift in operating practice in Home Depot history. By receiving and processing inventory at night, SPI makes more hours available for associates to spend with customers during peak selling periods. SPI also provides us with a platform to improve store appearance, in-stock position, and operating efficiency. Perhaps the best part of SPI is that our associates can continue to improve their product knowledge and develop better customer service skills as SPI moves from an initiative to an everyday best practice ... SPI is the way we do business.

Merchandising Reorganization – In September, we centralized our buying function, allowing us to drive purchasing efficiencies while stores increased their focus on sales and service. We saw immediate improvement in merchandise assortment, the launch of new promotional activities, and the ability to deliver great values that our customers love. At the same time, we sustained the strongest field merchandising force in retail, ensuring that our stores maintain their neighborhood-specific, family-friendly emphasis.

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The Pro Initiative – We grew this initiative, which provides specialized products and services to smaller professional customers, to 535 stores during 2001 and will maintain that momentum in 2002 by expanding to more than 950 stores. By dedicating trained staff to better service professional customers, we are attracting a greater percentage of the professional business, which typically spends $3 for every $1 spent by our traditional do-it-yourself (DIY) customer.

At-Home Services – We invested in our installation and service businesses to capture the market opportunity presented by a maturing population that is increasingly seeking a do-it-for-me (DIFM) solution to home projects. By building on years of experience in the installation business, The Home Depot is leveraging its brand to capture a greater share in a fragmented $180 billion marketplace.

In short, 2001 was a year of tremendous change and achievement, which demonstrated the resilience and capacity of our associates to deliver value to our stockholders, protect our values as a company, and absorb a host of transformational changes. It was also a year of building for our exciting future.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR FUTURE GROWTH

While The Home Depot’s roots have been and will continue to be in the DIY market, we see vast new opportunities to increase our business and become the “home aggregator” of the home improvement business. To do that, our strategy is focused on generating growth in three ways.

Enhancing the core business – By focusing on improving store productivity, we can grow comparable sales and leverage operating efficiencies. We are investing in “game-changing” opportunities, for example, by tripling our investment in new systems initiatives, by applying Six Sigma business process improvement practices across the enterprise, and by rolling out efficient crossdock transit facilities. We will also build on our merchandising success by enriching the vitality and velocity of our inventory through programs that identify opportunities like energy conservation, environmentally-friendly products, and home security.

Extending the business – In 2002, The Home Depot will add 200 new stores in a variety of formats and sizes, reflecting customer demographics, buying preferences, and geography. We will also reach for new relationships with homebuilders and commercial and industrial customers through initiatives like Home Depot Supply and its “pro” stores. Home Depot Supply is our first step in realizing the business-to-business selling opportunity available to The Home Depot.

Expanding the business – In 2001, The Home Depot expanded its business with the acquisition of Your “other” Warehouse, a Louisiana-based specialty plumbing fixtures company that supports our stores in the special order plumbing and accessory areas. Customer response to these enhanced assortments and delivery has been very strong and we continue to be excited about potential expansion across other product lines.

We also entered Mexico through the acquisition of TotalHOME, the second largest home improvement retailer in that country. In March 2002, we announced plans to acquire the four-store Del Norte home improvement chain and build two additional Home Depot stores, which further consolidates our position in the $12.5 billion home improvement market in Mexico.

By analyzing and identifying ever-increasing concentric rings of market opportunity, we can continue to develop new products, services, and markets, both in this country and globally.

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SETTING THE HIGHEST STANDARDS

Leadership means holding ourselves to the highest business standards. During 2001, we completed a comprehensive review of our business to ensure that across every operation and in every functional area, The Home Depot is complying with not only the letter, but the spirit of the law.

INVESTING IN OUR PEOPLE

We believe our greatest competitive advantage is our people. That’s why in 2001, we launched human resources initiatives designed to attract, motivate, and retain the best employees in the industry. Through new learning programs for associates and leadership development of district and store managers, we will increasingly shift our store management focus from “operating a box” to “managing a business.”

Every Home Depot associate received a special lesson in leadership this year from our Olympic Job Opportunity Program (OJOP) athletes who competed in the 2002 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. I’m sure you share our pride in our orange-blooded athletes, who brought home eight medals, and agree that expanding our unique commitment to this program from 140 to 204 OJOP associates for the 2004 games is a great way to sustain and develop leadership in our stores.

LEADERSHIP TRANSITION

I can’t thank Bernie Marcus enough for his support and guidance during this management transition. Without question, it has been extraordinarily smooth. Bernie has been both constructive and instructive, and I am grateful for his enormous support, his coaching, and his confidence in our management team to lead this great organization.

In closing, let me reiterate how excited I am about the future of The Home Depot. We have arguably the healthiest balance sheet in retailing and an enviable brand that offers tremendous opportunity for future growth. Our commitment to you, and to ourselves, is always to be the best, and improve what we do every day.

Sincerely,

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Bob Nardelli

Chairman, President & Chief Executive Officer

|RANK: 18 |

|(Previous year rank: 23) |

|Previous | Next |

| |

|Home Depot [pic][pic] |

| miniquote (delayed) |

| last: 25.80 |

| chg: 0.84 |

| high: 26.19 |

| low: 24.60 |

| open: 25.48 |

| |

|[pic][pic] |

| |

|Detailed Quote & Charting |

| |

|CEO: Robert L. Nardelli |

|Address: |

|2455 Paces Ferry Rd. N.W. |

|Atlanta, GA 30339 |

|Phone: |

|770-433-8211 |

|Website: |

| |

|FORTUNE 500 DATA |

|$ millions |

|% change from 2000: |

| |

|Revenues |

|53,553.0 |

|17.1 |

| |

|Profits |

|3,044.0 |

|17.9 |

| |

|Assets |

|26,394.0 |

|— |

| |

|Stockholders' Equity |

|18,082.0 |

|— |

| |

|Market Value 3/14/2002 |

|113,300.3 |

|— |

| |

|Profits as % of |Earnings Per Share |

|% |  |

| | |

|Revenues |2001 $ |

|5.7 |1.29 |

| | |

|Assets |% change from 2000: |

|11.5 |17.3 |

| | |

|Stockholders' Equity |1991 - 2001 annual growth rate % |

|16.8 |20.5 |

| | |

|Total Return to Investors |

|% |

| |

|2001 |

|12.1 |

| |

|1991 - 2001 annual rate |

|21.6 |

| |

|Footnote(s): 1 Figures are for fiscal year ended Jan. 31, 2002. |

|RANK: 94 |

|(Previous year rank: 108) |

|Previous | Next |

| |

|Lowe's [pic][pic] |

| miniquote (delayed) |

| last: 39.86 |

| chg: -0.04 |

| high: 40.70 |

| low: 38.10 |

| open: 40.50 |

| |

|[pic][pic] |

| |

|Detailed Quote & Charting |

| |

|CEO: Robert L. Tillman |

|Address: |

|1605 Curtis Bridge Rd. |

|Wilkesboro, NC 28697 |

|Phone: |

|336-658-4000 |

|Website: |

| |

|FORTUNE 500 DATA |

|$ millions |

|% change from 2000: |

| |

|Revenues |

|22,111.1 |

|17.7 |

| |

|Profits |

|1,023.3 |

|26.3 |

| |

|Assets |

|13,736.2 |

|— |

| |

|Stockholders' Equity |

|6,674.4 |

|— |

| |

|Market Value 3/14/2002 |

|33,953.0 |

|— |

| |

|Profits as % of |Earnings Per Share |

|% |  |

| | |

|Revenues |2001 $ |

|4.6 |1.30 |

| | |

|Assets |% change from 2000: |

|7.4 |23.2 |

| | |

|Stockholders' Equity |1991 - 2001 annual growth rate % |

|15.3 |60.8 |

| | |

|Total Return to Investors |

|% |

| |

|2001 |

|109.1 |

| |

|1991 - 2001 annual rate |

|36.8 |

| |

|Footnote(s): 1 Figures are for fiscal year ended Jan. 31, 2002. |

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Lowe's Companies, Inc. is a $22 billion retailer of a complete line of home improvement products and equipment. The company serves more than seven million do-it-yourself and commercial business customers each week through 780 stores in 42 states. Lowe's is the world's second largest home improvement retailer and the 13th largest retailer in the U.S.

Lowe's is in the midst of an aggressive expansion plan, opening a new store on average every three days. The company's current store prototype has a 121,000-square-foot sales floor with a lawn and garden center averaging an additional 30,000 square feet. At the beginning of 2002, our retail square footage totaled approximately 81 million square feet.

In 2001, Lowe's opened 115 new stores, the majority of which were in metropolitan markets. In 2002, the company plans to open 123 new stores and continue its emphasis on cities with populations greater than 500,000, such as New York, Boston, and Los Angeles.

Lowe's is an active supporter of the communities it serves. Through the Lowe's Heroes volunteer programs and Lowe's Home Safety Council, we provide help to civic groups with public safety projects and share important home safety and fire prevention information with neighborhoods across the country.

A Fortune 100 company, our 56-year-old company employs more than 110,000 people. Approximately 7% of Lowe's stock is owned by employees through the company's Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) and its 401(k) plan.

Lowe's is committed to understanding and reflecting our communities' diverse cultures in our staffing, business partnerships and the products we sell. We are committed to making diversity and inclusion a natural part of the way we do business.

Lowe's has been a publicly held company since October 10, 1961. Our stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, with shares trading under the ticker symbol LOW.

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