Address:
2455 Paces Ferry Rd NW
Atlanta, GA 30339-1834
Telephone:
770 433-8211
Internet Homepage:
http://www.homedepot.com
Current Total Store Count:
2,252
Total Annual Sales:
$70,395,000,000
Senior Executive:
Francis S Blake- Chairman, CEO
Normally snapshots list two to three company executives. In this case listing just one is most fitting. Since taking over at the top of the industry’s perennial leader and near icon, Francis S. Blake has quietly restored the company’s financials to a most admirable position with forecasts raising positive expectations for the first times in years.
In 2007, when the previous administration was unceremoniously removed after issuing a $121 million parachute to its CEO, few industry experts saw much brightness in the near term for Home Depot. When Francis Blake immediately acceded to the top of the company, the industry was already reeling from the fallout of the subprime scandal. The then coming recession proved to be the worst economic storm since the Great Depression and only exacerbated the common fears that Home Depot’s recovery was nowhere in sight.
Francis Blake however took swift and stunningly strong action by rapidly disposing of earlier, now burdensome pro dealer acquisitions. Under Blake the company studied where it had gone astray from its roots prior to the onslaught of the subprime mess. It quickly and surprisingly scuttled its EXPO Design Centers concept and removed all retail operations that were not traditional Home Depot including any trace of the convenience stores with which the previous administration had been experimenting.
As the previous administration had significantly cut jobs, ostensibly to improve the bottom line, Blake began to recruit top line, experienced associates and returned to in-depth training programs for new and veteran employees.
After several quarters of very troubling reports and a confused outlook on the market, Home Depot’s recent financials present the picture of a company which has managed to emerge from an internally gloomy era, survived the subprime crisis and rebuilt itself during a recession that has spared few in this industry.
