The Home Depot is the world’s largest home improvement specialty retailer, with 2,286 retail stores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, 10 Canadian provinces and Mexico. The Company employs more than 400,000 associates. The Home Depot’s stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: HD) and is included in the Dow Jones industrial average and Standard & Poor’s500 index.
In terms of overall revenue reported to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the company is the largest home improvement retailer in the United States, ahead of rival Lowe’s. The store operates out of large warehouse-style buildings averaging 105,000 square feet with megastores operating in larger facilities (the company’s largest store, located in Union, New Jersey is 225,000 square feet). The Home Depot was founded in 1978 by Bernard Marcus, Arthur Blank, Ron Brill, and Pat Farrah. The Home Depot’s proposition was to build home-improvement superstores, larger than any of their competitors’ facilities. Investment banker Ken Langone helped Marcus and Blank to secure the necessary capital.
