Home Depot reports December sales fall
DIY retailer cuts full-year estimates
January 3 2003
Home Depot has reported a sales decline of up to 10 per cent during December, compared to forecasts of 3 to 5 per cent.
The US retailer, which operates the world’s biggest DIY store chain, has cut its estimate of earnings per share for the financial year ending in February as a result of the poor holiday season performance.
Home Depot said it now expects total sales growth of 10 per over last year $53.8bn. Chairman and chief executive officer Robert Nardelli said: “Our sales outlook for fiscal 2002 is short of our long-term target as we continue a major merchandising transformation to enhance both store appearance and product assortments.”
Predicting a challenging trading environment well into 2003, Nardelli said: “The Home Depot will focus on sales growth opportunities, including development of new products and assortments, as well as reinvestment in our stores, our associates and our systems, all with the goal of improving every customer’s shopping experience.”
Home Depot has also announced that it is making progress in eliminating wood from endangered areas from it stores. The company sells more than $5bn worth of timber, plywood, doors and windows each year, and environmentalists have raised concerns about the amount of wood sourced from Malaysia, Indonesia and Ecuador, which have seen their forests reduced by 11 per cent in the past decade.
The company said it has reduced purchases of Indonesian lauan, a tropical hardwood grown in rain forests, by 70 per cent and has focused on buying redwood from two companies committed to promoting sustainable forests.
Ron Jarvis, Home Depot vice-president of merchandising, said: “When someone purchases a piece of wood from the Home Depot, we would like them to think of that as them placing an order for another tree to be planted somewhere in the world.”
Home Depot operates more than 1,500 stores in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
