Origin of Home Depot

[Higgs Boson]

Yes, I know many, if not most of us are not fond of Home Despot for reasons not to go into here. But I ran across an interesting article about how the place got started -- a tribute to a smart, hardworking guy named Bernie Marcus, who founded the chain. Here's a review from the AARP Bulletin.

=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D= =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D= =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D= =3D

1978, Bernie Marcus, 49, had just been fired from a chain of hardware stores. He had few options, so he did what he had been talking about doing for years: He started his own hardware chain. It helped that he did not have another choice. At every turn, he would have to be =93clutch=94=97that is, excel under immense pressure. His stores would be different from all other hardware stores=97they=92d be warehouses filled floor to ceiling with everything needed to fix or improve a home. A great plan, except he didn=92t have enough money to fully stock the first two stores. One store looked more like a going-out-of-business sale than a grand opening. But he came up with a solution born as much of his street smarts as of his two decades in retailing: =93We bought boxes. We bought empty paint cans. We had to give the illusion that we had merchandise.=94 Two years after the first store opened, the concept was doing so well that Marcus and his partners decided to take the company=97The Home Depot=97public.

Excerpted from Clutch: Why Some People Excel Under Pressure and Others Don=92t. Published by Portfolio. Copyright Paul Sullivan, 2010.

[Red Green]

Higgs Boson wrote in news: [e-mail]:

Oh I don't dislike HD. I need shit, they have shit, I need lotsa different shit and they have lotsa different shit.

Sure, I admit I bark about them here and there.

I can't say I'm fond of many things that most likely originate from management (where else?!) but I've acclimated to it. The Borgs save me time and money in multiple ways so, overall, generally it's a win for me.

[Steve Barker]

I find it interesting that no one admits liking HD or Lowes for that matter. But they sure are still in business!! Kind of like no one would admit to going to a white castle hamburger joint. But they sure as hell were still in business! I buy almost 100% of ANYthing i need from HD and i LIKE IT! so there.

[krw]

I like HD and Lowes. Good thing, there aren't any choices around here. The only other lumber yard has an even smaller selection and they hate homeowners. I have no problems with WallyWorld, either.

[Steve B]

So, nobody likes them, including you, but everyone goes there to buy "stuff". Interesting. Just like the evil Walmart. Nobody likes them, but everyone goes there to shop. Fascinating.

[Higgs Boson]

Interesting how everybody commented on not liking HD but shopping there anyway, but nobody commented on Marcus' amazing "only in America" story.

HB

[Ed Pawlowski]

Sounds a little like the guy that started Staples. He was out of work and wanted to buy some office supplies and resume paper on a Sunday. No one was open. Light bulb goes on!

[LSMFT]

Remember Grossmans?

[Ed Pawlowski]

"LSMFT" wrote

Yes, and Channel, Builder's Square, and another half dozen gone by the wayside.

Just as a few retailers (Wal Mart, Target, Kohls) dominate where there were a dozen or more come and gone in the past 30 years.

[RicodJour]

It's really not that fascinating. If someone doesn't like a store, they shop there infrequently, if at all. They'd rather give the business to someone else. If someone hates a store, they never shop there.

There's a lot of room between dislike and hate.

R

[Red Green]

Steve Barker wrote in news:6OSdndHDL9Dq2B3RnZ2dnUVZ [e-mail]:

Go up a couple of posts Steve. I coughed up the truth.

[Red Green]

"Steve B" wrote in news: [e-mail]:

Hey, I go there too. Affordable entertainment.

[Higgs Boson]

Four cheers! I never did either, even before they started making cosmetic repairs on their shitty image. Low pay, sex discrimination, illegal treatment of workers -- require unpaid overtime, etc. No thanks; I'd rather pay a little more and know that the workers aren't exploited.

[Robert Green]

How do you know the part-timers at the local store are being paid or treated any better? Have you conducted comparative surveys? (-: I shop at Wal-mart and often coerce my lib friends into driving me there because they too expound on things they don't have direct experience with. WM almost always has a handicapped scooter available for me and personnel to help me get one from another exit if one's not at the door I came in. My local Tru-value has aisles too narrow to even accommodate my power chair.

I always try to tip the men (usually elderly, in their 60's and 70's) who help me with the scooter and loading the car and they always refuse. I always chat them up and discovered the last gent was a WWII vet who was almost weepy when I asked him about whether he liked working there. He had tried to find a job when he retired and after dozens of turn-downs, Wal-mart hired him. Think of how often you see elderly gents in the retail trade. (Never!) Wal-mart gives jobs to people that are considered by some as discards just because they are not young anymore. No greeter (some are actually loss prevention specialists "disguised" as greeters) I have ever talked to seemed unhappy to have his job. Hating Wal-mart is more about hating the future and the changes that are occurring in modern society than an actual grudge against the store, *especially* if you've never even been in one.

Wal-mart is studied by the US military for their logistics prowess. They are successful because they have attacked waste in a way few other companies dream of. One day a cashier "till-tapped" me, probably because I was in a wheelchair. (She counted out bills that she wasn't actually putting in my hand - it was obvious, I was astounded, but it was only a few bucks and I was too tired to make a scene). I called and complained when I got home and they mailed me a voucher for twice what I lost and I never saw that cashier again. I am sure they took the timestamp and register # from the receipt and reviewed the high-def CCTV, confirmed my story (it was easy to see, she was clumsy) and fired her. I like that, and I like that they prosecute shoplifters. I would much rather pay for the store's expensive CCTV gear and loss prevention workers than subsidize stealing by paying higher prices.

As in any large company, there's bad policy and there are renegades and outright idiots. If you think other chains have not done all of the crimes you have listed above, then nothing I say from my direct experience will change your opinion of Wal-mart. Yes, there's a lot to hate about them, (killing workers in predictable stampedes, for example) but there's a lot to hate about just about any large employer you can name. Wal-mart happens to be one of the world's deepest pockets and attracts suit-happy attorneys the way black felt attracts white dog hair.

-- Bobby G.