Home Depot 2007 Annual Report Download - page 35

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standards to all stores. We developed and piloted common guidelines on store appearance and shopability, including standards for front apron
merchandising, wingstack usage, signage presentation, fixturing and off-shelf product. This initiative helps reduce the amount of time our store
managers spend on these issues, removes unnecessary clutter from the aisles and implements a basic consistent approach in terms of appearance.
Product Availability – We are in the early stages of our supply chain transformation to improve product availability. We have improved
management of our in-stock position, implemented enhancements to our replenishment systems and begun a rollout of a new warehouse
management system. We also implemented a pilot of our Rapid Deployment Centers. Optimally, more volume will pass through the Rapid
Deployment Centers than through our traditional distribution centers.
Own the Pro –
We have made significant improvements in the services we provide our pro customers, particularly through our pro bid room. The
pro bid room, which is available in all of our stores, allows us to leverage the buying power of The Home Depot for the benefit of our pro
customers. Our direct ship program allows us to have large orders delivered from our vendors to the customer's job site directly, reducing
handling, lead-time and cost while building loyalty with the pro customer.
We opened 110 new stores in fiscal 2007, including 10 relocations, bringing our total store count at the end of fiscal 2007 to 2,234. As of the end
of fiscal 2007, 243, or approximately 11%, of our stores were located in Canada, Mexico or China compared to 228 as of fiscal 2006.
We generated $5.7 billion of cash flow from operations in fiscal 2007. We used this cash flow, along with the net proceeds from the sale of HD
Supply, to fund $10.8 billion of share repurchases, including $10.7 billion used to repurchase 289 million shares of our common stock in
connection with our tender offer, and $1.7 billion of cash dividends. We also spent $3.6 billion in capital expenditures.
At the end of fiscal 2007, our long-term debt-to-equity ratio was 64.3% compared to 46.5% at the end of fiscal 2006. Our return on invested
capital for continuing operations (computed on the average of beginning and ending long-term debt and equity for the trailing twelve months)
was 13.9% at the end of fiscal 2007 compared to 16.8% for fiscal 2006.
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