Atlanta based largest home improvement The Home Depot re-opened 18 of its Houston stores Saturday afternoon after Hurricane Rita passed by the metropolitan area.
Some stores closest to the Gulf of Mexico, where winds were more severe, remained closed Saturday.
More than 100 resupply trucks had been staged outside the projected strike zone. Once authorities permit, those trucks will be rolling to store in the Houston market.
Among the stores still closed Saturday were those in Beaumont and Orange, TX and Lake Charles, LA, where winds were higher as the storm made landfall on the Texas-Louisiana border.
Company officials planned to safety-walk all closed stores on Sunday to determine when they can re-open.
Founded in 1978, The Home Depot is the world's largest home improvement specialty retailer and the second largest retailer in the United States, with fiscal 2004 sales of $73.1 billion. The company employs approximately 325,000 associates and has 1,940 stores in 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, 10 Canadian provinces and Mexico. The company has announced plans for retail expansion into China.
marketing@alchempro.com
