Home Depot 2001 Annual Report Download - page 3

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My mother taught me that every challenge brings an opportunity. Twenty-four years ago, I received a golden
opportunity by being fired as president of what was then the nation’s largest home improvement company. A door
opened to a new vision of retailing, in which warehouse merchandising, contractor pricing and knowledgeable
service would enable customers to take control of their home improvement needs.With the support of Ken Langone,
our initial investors, and with the partnership of Arthur Blank, Pat Farrah, Ron Brill and countless others, this dream
took shape as The Home Depot.
From the beginning, The Home Depot has marched under two standards. First, we set out to build a sound business,
one that would create value for our customers, employees and shareholders while transforming the industry.
I believe in the free enterprise system and am grateful that my parents settled in a country that makes it possible.
The extent to which the company has achieved the first goal is a matter of financial record.
The second goal involves a different kind of value. One cannot see all that a company is by examining the bottom
line.When we drew up our initial business plan, we talked about culture. Having seen a culture destroyed, we were
determined to build our principles into the company’s foundation and undergird it every step of the way.
Something special emerged, a culture in which employees were given the freedom, training and motivation to act
as entrepreneurs, in which listening to customers improved us, in which vendors became partners in growth, and
in which shareholders gained wealth by trusting in our abilities.
Behind these accomplishments, something more important has taken shape.The Home Depot gives back to the
communities that support it. Most of this giving has been quiet, from employees building a wheelchair ramp for a
disabled customer to clearing a park for inner city children. Some giving has involved corporate decisions, from
refusing to raise prices in areas hit by natural disasters to sponsoring individual athletes in our Olympics program.
But the accomplishments of which we are most proud have come from spontaneous action in moments of need.
When terrorists destroyed the World Trade Center, the only non-emergency vehicles permitted to enter the island
of Manhattan were a stream of Home Depot trucks donating supplies and equipment to the rescue effort. Just as
they did during the Oklahoma City tragedy several years earlier, our employees acted without seeking corporate
approval. In them stands proof of the company’s soul.
On January 1, 2002, I stepped down as company chairman, and in May of this year I will retire from the board to
devote myself to philanthropic projects.The company finds itself in the excellent hands of Bob Nardelli, with whom
I will continue a close relationship as mentor and friend. Bob and his staff have demonstrated during this past year
that our culture is alive and well and that our business is running better than ever. I wish Bob and everyone involved
with The Home Depot the best, and I have complete confidence in the company’s future. Most importantly, I would
like to thank all those who have helped make the Home Depot vision a reality.We could only have done it together.
BERNIE MARCUS, CO-FOUNDER