Home Depot 1999 Annual Report Download - page 10

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selection and installation coordination – all under
one roof. Like Home Depot 20 years ago, EXPO is
poised to revolutionize this segment of the home
improvement market.
We also learned more about serving the hard-
ware convenience customer. During fiscal 1999, we
opened two Villager’s Hardware test stores in New
Jersey. Designed primarily to serve smaller project or
home enhancement customers, Villager’s Hardware
complements Home Depot stores with its product
mix differences and a different type of shopping
experience. We plan to open two more test stores in
fiscal 2000. Villager’s Hardware is a good example
of our willingness to test new ideas and prove their
success before rolling them out. By doing this, our
customers and our stockholders win.
Expanding Globally
Global expansion will become a more important
part of our growth plans during the next decade.
Like the Internet, trends in global retailing are
accelerating, as retailers consolidate, capitalize on
the power of their brands throughout the world
and create the scale to achieve greater operating
efficiencies. The opportunities we see to serve
homeowners around the world, combined with our
experiences to-date in Canada, Chile and Puerto
Rico, make us excited about our long-term prospects
for successful expansion outside North America.
Our primary focus continues to be on growing our
presence in Latin America. However, we are also
exploring other opportunities around the world for
further international growth.
These and many other initiatives support our goal
of providing total solutions to our customers. Coupled
with this goal is our objective that every initiative
maintain or enhance our current return on invested
capital. Given this high hurdle, for every initiative we
undertake, many others have been discarded. Even
so, there are still many opportunities for us to con-
tinue to widen our leadership position in the industry.
Leading the Marketplace to a Better World
Every day, we have the ability to touch millions of lives.
During fiscal 1999, we completed 797 million cus-
tomer transactions. With each transaction, we had
the opportunity to touch the lives of our customers by
providing them with a wide assortment of low-priced
home improvement products. In many cases, we also
gave our do-it-yourself customers the knowledge
and confidence to complete their own projects.
Consistent Store Growth Number of Stores at Fiscal Year-End
930
761
624
512
423
1999
1998
1997
1996
1995