Sign Up Now
Get instant access to over 1 million+ study documents
OR
Already registered? click here to login
By creating your account, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and student honor code.
Home Depot vs. Lowe's
Over the course of the last ten to twenty years, two companies have emerged as the clear favorites when it comes to home and property improvement specialty stores. While general retail stores like Target and Walmart have offered a peppering of home improvement items like their hardware and home/garden departments, Lowe's and Home Depot are unmatched when it comes to overall selection and such. Indeed, they are the two major chains out there that offer the variety of only home improvement goods. While Home Depot and Lowe's remain dominant in their market, there are other competitors out there like Menard's and there are also ethical, legal and risk-related challenges that must be prepared for and dealt with.
Analysis
One risk that both Home Depot and Lowe's must deal with is when and how to spend their money. Indeed, there are the concerns of opening new stores, closing underperforming stores, hiring workers and so forth. However, there are other less obvious things like corporate social responsibility and watching out for the information technology-related risks that are present in the retail and internet spaces. Home Depot learned this lesson the hard way (as did Target)...
Whether it be worries about keeping spending down or whether it be a lack of awareness about the risks and consequences of having such a breach, Home Depot and Lowe's should both be aware that protecting the credit card and other confidential information of their employees and customers is of paramount importance and that allowing their security to be shoddy is a non-starter on so many levels (Krebs, 2014).
The issue above is perhaps one of the more prevalent ones out there. However, it is surely not the only one. A few other issues that both Home Depot and Lowe's need to consider and process properly is how to properly staff their store, the pay and benefits for those employees, how the firms react in terms of prices and such when demand is artificially spiked (e.g. an approaching hurricane), how much risk should be taken on investments and expenditures and so forth. One may deign or dare to say that since both firms in question are publicly traded, the decisions that are made or not made are between the two firms, their customers and their shareholders. Indeed, customers…
References
Gregory, L. (2015). Home Depot's Stakeholders: A CSR Analysis - Panmore Institute. Panmore Institute. Retrieved 28 August 2016, from http://panmore.com/home-depot-stakeholders-csr-analysis
Krebs, B. (2014). Home Depot: Hackers Stole 53M Email Addresses - Krebs on Security. krebsonsecurity.com. Retrieved 28 August 2016, from http://krebsonsecurity.com/2014/11/home-depot-hackers-stole-53m-email-addreses/
Ozawa, N. (2014). Consumers Vote with their Wallets: Hold Breached Organizations Accountable - Javelin. Javelinstrategy.com. Retrieved 28 August 2016, from https://www.javelinstrategy.com/press-release/consumers-vote-their-wallets-hold-breached-organizations-accountable
Com TV, a station accessible by Internet that would present clients with viable information on the company and their products. More importantly, the television station would offer advice and demonstrations on how to install the items purchased on your own, without the assistance of home improvement specialists. The desired consequence of all these opportunities, as well as other strategies, is to increase the market share and revenues. However, all options include
Business Ethics -- Robert Nardelli Business Ethics: Robert Nardelli and Home Depot Robert Nardelli became CEO of The Home Depot in 2000, despite the fact that he had no retail experience (Grow, 2008). He had previously been in management at General Electric, and he brought the Six Sigma style he had used there over to the home improvement retailer with plans to overhaul the company and completely change the culture of it
Home Depot Mission statement / goal of company/vision The Home Depot, Inc. has established itself above and beyond its competitors by employing a development approach of building up its core capabilities by providing each consumer a distinctive encounter via shop modernization, having a number of exclusive products, offering top quality service representatives, and specialized information technologies. Subsidiaries associated with Home Depot, Inc. offer specialized solutions to equally the individual property owner along
Home Depot is the largest home improvement retailer in the world and one of the biggest retailers. It has consistently grown over the past decades, since its start at the end of the 1970s, and has expanded into Canada, Mexico and China. It has diversified its network of suppliers and continues to offer a large array of products to its clients. Competition remains significant, both with the presence of Lowe's on
Apart from that there is another type of risk which can surface even in case the market continues its upward march. In the event employees exercise their ESOPs in huge numbers, external shareholders could oppose the diluting impact of these option grants on the value of their shares. A situation might crop up that old possible tensions among employee interests and shareholder interests are not all of a sudden
Furthermore, the Home Depot employs many community members providing them with a livelihood enabling them to earn a living. Additionally, the special activities of the Home Depot in the community in which they are located results in benefits realized by community members in various areas such as housing, workshops, clinics, and other specialized services of the Home Depot. The slogan used by the Home Depot of "you can do