If you own a home, you've likely dabbled in some good old fashioned do-it-yourself projects.
The prospect can be quite tempting since just a little sweat equity can add value to your home in the event you ever want to sell it.
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It may be as simple as repainting a room or two or refreshing the knobs on your kitchen cabinets. Some homeowners may get far more involved in their DIY projects, knocking down (we hope nonload-bearing) walls or expanding the kitchen area to make it feel more upscale and modern.
Whatever your DIY project, odds are you've ended up at a home-improvement retailer like Home Depot (HD) to tackle the issue at hand. Whether it's just grabbing a couple paint swatches to try out in the powder room or buying new appliances, home-improvement retailers tend to be the one-stop shop Americans seek out.
They also employ a league of helpful customer associates, many of whom come with years of experience in construction, trades or DIY know how.
Home Depot growing one key area
It's for these many reasons that Home Depot (HD) is one of the largest home improvement retailers in the U.S. With more than 2,300 stores across the country, Home Depot underwent extreme growth during the pandemic, when many folks were forced to stay at home and faced the projects they'd been putting off when they were busy working at the office.
But faced with more time at home, lots of people began to take on those projects once and for all. That little extra time and money in customer pockets went a long way in terms of Home Depot's profitability and performance.
The stock has more than doubled from prepandemic levels, and the retailer is still benefiting from more robust interest in home improvement.
Now, however, people are spending more time in the office thanks to hybrid work schedules. And homeowners are learning about the drudgery, not just the positives, of DIY projects. So more people are turning to the home-improvement professionals to get jobs — both quick and easy and difficult and longstanding ones — out of the way.
Home Depot still benefits from this, as some half its sales come from pros, such as contractors, remodelers, designers and others.
Home Depot sees that market as an opportunity that's more resistant to economic fluctuations, and the chain aims to help foster its growth over the next several quarters.
Home Depot to open 4 new distribution sites
The retailer said that it would open four new distribution centers in 2024 in the following cities:
- Detroit
- Los Angeles
- Toronto
- San Antonio
Distribution centers will be large facilities that offer most of what home improvement professionals need for big and small projects. They stock materials like lumber, insulation, roofing shingles, and other supplies available in industrial amounts with the ease of access and pickup that Home Depot is already known for.
Delivery directly to job sites will also be available for convenience and to handle bulkier items that may not ordinarily fit in a pickup.
Home Depot anticipates that large fulfillment centers are the future for its pro business. It expects the centers to be less crowded. And it figures that features ordinarily found in traditional stores, like displays and sample rooms, won't take up the precious space needed to house supplies for large industrial-grade projects.
By the end of 2024, Home Depot estimates that 17 of its "top pro markets" will feature new fulfillment and shopping capabilities unique to the needs to each region.
