Enhancing the Core The company continues to invest in its stores to improve store efficiency and the overall customer shopping experience. In 2004, the focus was on enhancing the front-end of the store through self-checkout and a new point of sales system. For 2005, the company's focus is to enhance the receiving process. Back-end automated receiving (BEAR) is in over 1,000 stores and will be in all U.S. and Canadian stores by the end of the third quarter. Among other things, this initiative improves operational execution and productivity, enabling the company to reallocate resources to the selling floor.
Through The Home Depot's approach of adding new, innovative and distinctive merchandise, the company achieved a record second quarter average ticket of $57.54, an increase of 5.1 percent over the prior year.
"Innovation continues to drive business through introductions like the new Ryobi One+ power tool system, the new line of Ralph Lauren Metallic paints, Ducane gas grills, Hampton Bay patio furniture and most recently the rollout of LG appliances," said John Costello, Executive Vice President, Merchandising and Marketing. The company's appliance momentum continued. According to an independent third party, the company's appliance share, on a rolling 12-month basis, increased to 8.8 percent in the second quarter, a new high and 150 basis points above last year.
Extending the Business During the second quarter, the company opened 44 net new stores, including the acquisition of seven Contractors' Warehouse stores in California. As of today, the total store count is 1,940.
marketing@alchempro.com
