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Strategy Recommendation: Home Depot

Jermaine Singleton

Capella University

MBA6004-Foundational Skills Business Leaders

Jeff Leinaweaver

November 15, 2013

Home Depot Incorporated

Home Depot is a retailer, which is one of the fastest Corporations in the United States. In the early 80s, the company went public with NASDAQ and join with the New York Stock Exchange. There was a tremendous growth in the company between the 80s and 90s. Home Depot began putting home improvement centers in Canada in 1994 and Mexico in 2001. The company expanded the business to China forming a 12 store chain called The Home Way in 2006. The company also develops a strategic alliance with manufacturers leading in the industry to give customers exclusive products. Home Depot advertises different national brands to set standards for the merchandise use by professional contractors and customers. Home Depot has offices in China, Canada, U.S., India, and Mexico. The company is enhancing the relationships between the customers and the manufacturers and changing the customer’s confidence in the international suppliers. The two largest companies in the industry, which is Home Depot and Lowes, are the high entry barriers. These companies hold the high cost to maintain the success factors with other companies. The home improvement industry key factors for success are to sell products, meet reasonable pricing, and distribution in the company (Home Depot History, 2013).

Home Depot and Web Use

The challenge that Home Depot faces is finding for a way to expedite assess of the strategic information between the store managers and district manager. The solution was information-management for the Netscape Server that helps the district managers and store shared information. The salesperson at the store’s information desk can put in an order for individual, give information about the arrival time, and if any of the other Home Depot store has the item the customer is looking for. Home Depot headquarters executives uses this system to check the sales of the week for certain districts based on the data. The Home Depot staff can make faster decisions with little effort by using the Netscape Directory Server. The company has evolved into making some technology changes to keep track of every product or item in the store. This system will keep an adequate count on the inventory on each product the company offer. The use of technology helps resolve some of the issues with the Home Depot business. Home Depot has systems in the stores called Start Wire and kiosks, which individuals’ uses to search or apply for a job at the company. Also this system can provide an individual with application update notification that the application was read (E-Marketing Plan: Home Depot, 2013). Home Depot wanted to use the social-media strategy and add it to the corporate office as a job. The social-media store associates and managers work with the marketing department and HomeDepot.com to advertise the products in Home Depot (Zmuda, 2011).

Home Depot SWOT Analysis

The operational efficiency of Home Depot is crucial to achieving reasonable prices, but still offers good customer service. Home Depot upgrade and assess its information to help with the company’s growth and cost, and good decision making. The Electronic Data Interchange program provides the company with a greater efficiency. Some of the company’s merchandising strategy has a three-prolonged approach, which is daily low pricing, good customer service, and breadth of products. In order for Home Depot to maintain its competitive advantage, the companies use the clustering strategy. Home Depot offer quality items, such as paints made from Ralph Lauren and Prego flooring. Home Depot has succeed in leading the industry of home improvement through many strengths, which is taking care of its employees, company culture, good customer service, and upgrading the computer systems. These investments can decrease the company’s cost, help with good decision-making, and gains for the company (Home Depot SWOT Analysis, 2013) . The operational efficiency is difficult to achieve low prices, but the customer service is the same. The advance inventory management system increases the inventory system. The surveillance prevents the theft in the stores. A company can grow if it invests the time and money back into the company for future development. The use of television to advertise the company’s products is a good strategy to stay ahead on the market. The Home Depot Company reacts to the speed of the market, whatever product is popular or trendy in the current. This strategy can ensure success for the company. The merchandising strategy is excellent for Home Depot because it provides a variety of products, reasonable prices, and good customer service. The company has productive workshops, which attracts customers who do home improvements themselves (Home Depot SWOT Analysis, 2013).

Home Depot strong management team made less space for weaknesses in the company, but has not resolved the problems. Some of the company’s weakness is the quick expansion into territories that are unknown. For example, when the company opens some stores in Detroit and Houston, these areas had less hospital, which the company lost money. Home Depot did not research the area before putting stores in these areas. The company made a couple of mistakes by buying a nine-store Bowater Warehouse and used the Cross Road Strategy, which was not profitable to the company. These mistakes are from the company not planning out the strategies well. Home Depot does not have any strategies to target the women. The different displays on the rack and non-elegant set ups in the Home Depot stores do not attract the women (Home Depot SWOT Analysis, 2013).

Home Depot is a retailer that offers exclusive and high quality merchandise, such as Ralph Lauren paints and Prego flooring, which gives the company the competitive advantage. Home Depot serves customers who do their own home improvements, which makes the market recession-proof. Home Depot can survive recession and still make money from the broad line of products which can increase their customers (Home Depot SWOT Analysis, 2013).

Some of Home Depot’s biggest threats are their competitors such as Lowe’s. Lowe’s try to emulate or take further steps for every strategy that Home Depot uses. Some wholesale outlets are a threat to Home Depot, which the outlets offer lower prices to business customers. The DIY industry is a competitive market and the margin for profits is low. When the DIY is not managed properly, any company may sell it off (Home Depot SWOT Analysis, 2013).

Industry Analysis

Home Depot has to continue managing the company using some of the same strategies, eliminate the weaknesses of the company, gain opportunities, and decrease the threats. The company should target the DIY market because its recession proof. This strategy can protect Home Depot from future issues. Home Depot needs to apply the clustering strategy, gain efficiency, and stay current with the trends in the industry to increase the barriers for its competitors. Home Depot needs to start targeting the female market because the single parent households are growing. For example, the Lowe’s stores are brighter, and the items are reachable, Home Depot has products in the aisles of the store. Home Depot should try the same tactics to gain female customers (Home Depot, 2013).

Proposing a Strategy for Home Depot

The contingency plan for Home Depot is a development plan. Home Depot has other competition, which focuses on the efforts of the market. The contingency plan for the Home Depot experiences is an unexpected growth in the market. In five years, the expectations can exceed for Home Depot, which would cause a backward integration.

Conclusion

Home Depot has provided some home improvement products for many communities for years. The company will continue its success in the community. It is Home Depot aspiration to continue with family values and growth with the industry to stay different from rest of the competition. Home Depot’s foundation is always taking care of the people in the community.

References

E-Marketing Plan: Home Depot. (n.d.). Retrieved 03, 2013, from

http://e-Marketing-Plan-Home-Depot-1523492.html

Home Depot. (n.d.). Retrieved November 3, 2013, from https://corporate.homedepot.com/ourcompany/history/pages/default.aspx
Home Depot SWOT Analysis. (n.d.). Retrieved November 3, 2013 from http://www.homedepot.com/hdus/en_US/DTCCOM/HomePage/PRO/Pro_Business/
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