An 8 page SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis of the home improvement industry’s leading competitors. Home Depot is more than twice as large as Lowe’s, but its growth has been stagnant during the early years of the new century while Lowe’s continues to post gains. The market is expected to become saturated by 2004, and analysts believe that Lowe’s strengths will outweigh those found at Home Depot. Bibliography lists 6 sources.
Name of Research Paper File: CC6_KSmgmtLowHmDepot.rtf
Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
Depot appear to have traded spaces during the decade of the 1990s. The growth of Home Depot that was nearly exponential during the 1990s now has flattened and even
shrunk in some stores, and Home Depot has lost more than half of its market capitalization as it watched Lowes essentially reinvent itself and pull ahead in terms of nearly
everything but size and financial resources. Lowes SWOT Analysis Strengths * Lowes is unafraid to ask its customers how it is doing. It conducted a customer survey in 1988
based on "20-minute surveys with 8,000 customers as they exited 16 Lowes stores. The feedback was corrosive, rife with sniping about slow service, bland assortments and high prices" (Upbin, 2003;
p. 52). * The company is "obsessed" with customer service (Upbin 2003). * Lowes implemented a "Store per door" (Upbin, 2003) assignment of dock space at its vast distribution centers
in 1995, which was far more cost effective than shipping partial loads to individual stores. * "In the past ten years Lowes has earned a 30% annual return, compared
with 10% for Home Depot" (Upbin, 2003; p. 52). * CEO Robert Tillman has a solid retail background, most of which he gained at Lowes. * Lowes "new stores are
bigger - 121,000 square feet on average, compared with 109,000 for Home Depot - and its older stores do better repeat business" (Upbin, 2003; p. 52). * "Lowes stores are
bright and airy with wide, uncluttered aisles and supermarket-like signs that list what is in each aisle" (Upbin, 2003; p. 52). * "The Mooresville, N.C. Lowes store has a window-decor
aisle with a 32-foot-long display of valances, tiers and cotton drapes, all of which you can take home immediately. You have to wait four to six weeks for delivery from