Home Depot 2010 Annual Report Download - page 9

From our Store Support Center, we maintain a global sourcing merchandise program to source high-quality
products directly from manufacturers around the world. Our merchant team identifies and purchases market
leading innovative products directly for our stores. Additionally, we have three sourcing offices located in the
Chinese cities of Shanghai, Shenzhen and Dalian, and offices in Gurgaon, India; Rome, Italy; Monterrey, Mexico
and Toronto, Canada.
Services. Our stores offer a variety of installation services. These services target D-I-F-M customers who select
and purchase products and installation of those products from us. These installation programs include products
such as carpeting, flooring, cabinets, countertops and water heaters. In addition, we provide professional
installation of a number of products sold through our in-home sales programs, such as generators and furnace and
central air systems.
Stores.
United States. At the end of fiscal 2010, we were operating 1,976 The Home Depot stores in the U.S., including
the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the territories of the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam. During fiscal 2010,
we opened two new The Home Depot stores in the U.S., including one relocation, and closed one store.
Canada. At the end of fiscal 2010, we were operating 179 The Home Depot stores in ten Canadian provinces.
Mexico. At the end of fiscal 2010, we were operating 85 The Home Depot stores in Mexico. Of these stores,
six were opened during fiscal 2010.
China. At the end of fiscal 2010, we were operating eight The Home Depot stores in four Chinese cities. We
closed two stores in China during fiscal 2010.
Net Sales for the Company outside of the U.S. were $7.5 billion, $7.0 billion and $7.4 billion for fiscal 2010,
2009 and 2008, respectively. Long-lived assets outside of the U.S. totaled $3.2 billion, $3.0 billion and $2.8
billion as of January 30, 2011, January 31, 2010 and February 1, 2009, respectively.
Store Support Services
Information Technologies. During fiscal 2010, we continued to invest in our information technology to serve
our customers more effectively and provide an improved overall shopping environment and experience. We also
continued to invest in our supply chain and merchandising tools to improve inventory management capabilities.
With regard to our supply chain and merchandising activities, in fiscal 2010 we completed the roll out of a
warehouse management system into our flow distribution network, reduced freight costs by implementing
transportation planning systems for both inbound and outbound shipments and continued improving inventory
management capabilities by implementing a new inventory forecasting solution. Further, we provided additional
tools and made improvements to existing tools utilized in merchandising systems to simplify set-up processes
and provide more effective management of our distribution network.
To better serve our customers and simplify store tasking, we completed deployment of our FIRST Phones across
our stores in fiscal 2010, equipping our associates with devices that are at once portable computers, phones,
walkie-talkies and portable registers that allow customers to check out using debit or credit cards. In addition, we
are implementing new customer analytics capabilities to better understand customer behavior.
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