Home Depot and Online Growth

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Over the last few years, Home Depot has expanded its retail stores aggressively, adding more than 200 outlets annually. However, the firm has recently embarked on a $1.1 billion program aimed at improving its Web presence while planning to dramatically reduce the number of new store openings to around 10 in 2011. Home Depot is the world’s largest retailer in the home improvement products space with over to 2,240 stores in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and China, and it hopes that by beefing up its online sales, it can distance itself from competitors like Lowe’s and Sears as well as fend off competition from pure play online retailers like Amazon.

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U.S. manufacturers are leaving China behind

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The United States exported more goods and services in March than in any single month in its history: $172.7-billion (U.S.) worth. It was the country’s 21st consecutive month of rising exports, pushing the year-over-year increase to 20.9 per cent. In these 12 record-setting months, exports reached within one-tenth of 1 per cent of $2-trillion – more than four times the cost of the country’s imports of crude oil. This is significant. People are starting to take notice. Markets writer Joseph Lazzaro (on the Daily Finance website) anticipates that the U.S. up-trend in exports could last for years and turn its intractable trade deficit into a surplus. More dramatically, Boston Consulting Group (BCG), a global management consulting firm, discerns “a renaissance” in manufacturing that will, within five years, lure major U.S. corporations to return home from China.

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As reported by Neil Reynolds in The Globe and Mail.com

Dollar General to Debut Stores in California

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Dollar General Corp. (NYSE: DG) today announced that it plans to open its first stores in California in 2012 following successful expansions in other western states such as Arizona and Colorado in recent years.

“Our California stores will mark a significant milestone for Dollar General, giving us a coast-to-coast presence for the first time,” said Rick Dreiling, chairman and CEO. “Our team is excited about carrying our mission westward and delivering value and convenience, our hallmarks for over 70 years, to new customers.”

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As reported in BusinessWire

99Cent Only Stores Report 4th Quarter Fiscal 2011

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99 Cents Only Stores® (NYSE:NDN) (the “Company”) announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and full-year fiscal 2011 ended April 2, 2011. The Company’s fiscal 2011 began on March 28, 2010 and ended on April 2, 2011, and consisted of 53 weeks, with one additional week included in our fourth quarter. The Company plans to file its Annual Report on Form 10-K for fiscal 2011 tomorrow, May 26, 2011.

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As reported by 99Cents Only Stores

Lowe’s Embraces Change at Shareholder’s Meeting

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At its annual meeting, Lowe’s chairman and CEO Robert A. Niblock continued to hammer on the theme of transformation at the nation’s second-largest home center chain.

“Making home improvement simple for customers starts with making it simple for our employees by providing them with the right technology and resources,” said Niblock. “Throughout our 65-year history, Lowe’s has changed many times. To be successful in the future, we must transform the shopping experience for customers wherever and however they choose to shop with Lowe’s.”

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As reported by Home Channel News

Home Improvement Store Sales are Set to Grow

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Sales at home-improvement stores likely have bottomed out and are expected to turn around, providing some optimism for improved performance making the stock for the major chains more attractive. Revenue for Lowe’s Cos. and Home Depot Inc. has been weak as the early spring weeks have been cool and wet in some parts of the country, including the Northeast.

As reported in Bloomberg Business

Mahurin’s Moves to Orchard Supply Hardware

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Steve Mahurin, the former Home Depot and True Value Co. merchandising executive, will take over as the senior merchant at San Jose, Calif.-based Orchard Supply Hardware. Mahurin’s appointment as executive VP and chief merchandising officer takes effect May 2. He will replace Steve Olsen, who has been named senior VP and chief strategy officer for the California hardware chain. Both men will report to Mark Baker, who was named CEO earlier this year.

(As reported by Home Channel News)

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Home Depot Hosts First Quarter Earnings Conference

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The Home Depot®, the world’s largest home improvement retailer, announced today that it will hold its First Quarter 2011 Earnings Conference Call on Tuesday, May 17, at 9 a.m. ET. A webcast will be available by logging onto the website and selecting the First Quarter Earnings Conference Call icon. The webcast will be archived and available beginning at approximately noon on May 17.

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Lowe’s Goes Beyond Home Improvement Retailing

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In the 1980s, when Lowe’s decided to change from a chain of southeastern contractor yards to a nationwide big-box retailer, the company knew it wouldn’t happen overnight. But a steady vision, stable leadership and good relations with Wall Street made the goal a reality. Today, the North Carolina-based company has more than 1,725 warehouse-sized stores in all 50 states plus Canada and Mexico.

Now it’s time for another change.

(as reported by Brae Canlen of the Home Channel News)

Will Lowe’s Credit Card Help it fight Home Depot?

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A 5%-off program from Lowe’s on a new private-label credit card will likely resonate well with the home improvement chain’s consumers, analysts say. “This move will clearly add a catalyst to tilt market share to Lowe’s, in the wake of apparent share loss to Home Depot in recent quarters,” analyst Matthew Fassler of Goldman Sachs wrote in a note to clients.

(As reported in the Financial Post by Hollie Shaw)