Home Depot may not have impressed investors with its first-quarter earnings results last week, but I still think it's clear this company is a rare retailer that's not in need of much renovation.
The hardware and household-improvement chain on Tuesday said comparable sales grew 4.2 per cent in the latest quarter compared with a year earlier, even as the late arrival of warm weather across much of the country meant many shoppers weren’t yet shelling out for seasonal merchandise. The company reaffirmed its full-year guidance, suggesting it still expects to capture that spending as temperatures rise.
Investors sent shares down more than 2 per cent in early trading because quarterly revenue fell short of analysts’ more bullish forecasts. But make no mistake: it is truly remarkable how unremarkable it has become for Home Depot to deliver that kind of comparable sales growth.
The retail world is beset by a long list of thorny problems, including figuring out how to survive as mall traffic dries up and how to market to millennials. This tide of transformation has left plenty of devastation in its wake, including bankruptcies, store closures and canned executives. And yet, Home Depot just keeps chugging along. The chain has now delivered year-over-year comparable sales growth for 28 straight quarters. Much of the time, that growth hasn't been merely modest; it has been robust. Only twice during the streak has it recorded quarterly comparable sales growth that was lower than 4 per cent.
Of course, Home Depot's long run of success, especially in its US homeland, is in part a reflection of a largely healthy housing market. To the extent the sales slowdown reflects a cooling there, that could be a concern, but revenue growth was still quite healthy.
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Read more:
Home Depot tops earnings estimates
Amazon gets physical in bid to maintain momentum
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Working in Home Depot’s favour is the fact that the home-improvement category hasn’t been walloped by the rise of Amazon.com in the same way that, say, the electronics or apparel business has. But the chain is doing much more than just coasting on a favourable business environment. It has thrived because it has been prudent and patient about how it pursues growth.
It wisely has made it a top priority to court what it calls "pro" customers, such as contractors. A senior executive has said pros only comprise about 3 per cent of Home Depot's traffic, but they account for about 40 per cent of sales. Home Depot has made a serious effort to improve the shopping experience for these loyal customers, notes Seema Shah, a retail analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence, by adding brands that appeal to them and making it easier to pick up online orders quickly at stores. It seems to have worked, with sales tending to grow stronger in Home Depot's pro segment than its do-it-yourself category.
With 90 per cent of Americans already living within 10 miles of a Home Depot store, the company has understood its US sales growth must largely come from online and the stores it already has. So instead of opening a bunch of new outposts, the company is going for growth by, for example, making its current locations easier to navigate and beefing up its online assortment in categories such as decor.
Home Depot has said it aims to boost its annual revenue to between $115 billion and $120bn by fiscal year 2020, and I see little reason it can't achieve that. It has sound strategies for growth, and upbeat consumer sentiment should continue to be a helpful backdrop.
If there is anything that could create fresh pressure for Home Depot, it's the possibility that its chief rival, Lowe's, soon could become a more formidable challenger in the US. Lowe's said in March that its CEO, Robert Niblock, plans to retire after 13 years in the top job as soon as the board is able to identify and appoint a successor. While Lowe's also has held up quite well during hard times for the retail business, it hasn’t been quite as much of an industry rock star as Home Depot. There’s a chance a new leader could find fresh ways for Lowe’s to challenge Home Depot’s market share.
But, for now, there's little to suggest that Home Depot will be be anything other than a retail powerhouse in the near future.
Bloomberg
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
88 Video's most popular rentals
Avengers 3: Infinity War: an American superhero film released in 2018 and based on the Marvel Comics story.
Sholay: a 1975 Indian action-adventure film. It follows the adventures of two criminals hired by police to catch a vagabond. The film was panned on release but is now considered a classic.
Lucifer: is a 2019 Malayalam-language action film. It dives into the gritty world of Kerala’s politics and has become one of the highest-grossing Malayalam films of all time.
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
The%20specs
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The specs
Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed
Power: 271 and 409 horsepower
Torque: 385 and 650Nm
Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Adele: The Stories Behind The Songs
Caroline Sullivan
Carlton Books
Previous men's records
- 2:01:39: Eliud Kipchoge (KEN) on 16/9/19 in Berlin
- 2:02:57: Dennis Kimetto (KEN) on 28/09/2014 in Berlin
- 2:03:23: Wilson Kipsang (KEN) on 29/09/2013 in Berlin
- 2:03:38: Patrick Makau (KEN) on 25/09/2011 in Berlin
- 2:03:59: Haile Gebreselassie (ETH) on 28/09/2008 in Berlin
- 2:04:26: Haile Gebreselassie (ETH) on 30/09/2007 in Berlin
- 2:04:55: Paul Tergat (KEN) on 28/09/2003 in Berlin
- 2:05:38: Khalid Khannouchi (USA) 14/04/2002 in London
- 2:05:42: Khalid Khannouchi (USA) 24/10/1999 in Chicago
- 2:06:05: Ronaldo da Costa (BRA) 20/09/1998 in Berlin
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
The details
Colette
Director: Wash Westmoreland
Starring: Keira Knightley, Dominic West
Our take: 3/5
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
hall of shame
SUNDERLAND 2002-03
No one has ended a Premier League season quite like Sunderland. They lost each of their final 15 games, taking no points after January. They ended up with 19 in total, sacking managers Peter Reid and Howard Wilkinson and losing 3-1 to Charlton when they scored three own goals in eight minutes.
SUNDERLAND 2005-06
Until Derby came along, Sunderland’s total of 15 points was the Premier League’s record low. They made it until May and their final home game before winning at the Stadium of Light while they lost a joint record 29 of their 38 league games.
HUDDERSFIELD 2018-19
Joined Derby as the only team to be relegated in March. No striker scored until January, while only two players got more assists than goalkeeper Jonas Lossl. The mid-season appointment Jan Siewert was to end his time as Huddersfield manager with a 5.3 per cent win rate.
ASTON VILLA 2015-16
Perhaps the most inexplicably bad season, considering they signed Idrissa Gueye and Adama Traore and still only got 17 points. Villa won their first league game, but none of the next 19. They ended an abominable campaign by taking one point from the last 39 available.
FULHAM 2018-19
Terrible in different ways. Fulham’s total of 26 points is not among the lowest ever but they contrived to get relegated after spending over £100 million (Dh457m) in the transfer market. Much of it went on defenders but they only kept two clean sheets in their first 33 games.
LA LIGA: Sporting Gijon, 13 points in 1997-98.
BUNDESLIGA: Tasmania Berlin, 10 points in 1965-66
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Civil%20War
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A Dog's Journey
Directed by: Gail Mancuso
Starring: Dennis Quaid, Josh Gad, Marg Helgenberger, Betty Gilpin, Kathryn Prescott
3 out of 5 stars
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
The line up
Friday: Giggs, Sho Madjozi and Masego
Saturday: Nas, Lion Bbae, Roxanne Shante and DaniLeigh
Sole DXB runs from December 6 to 8 at Dubai Design District. Weekend pass is Dh295 while a one day pass is Dh195. Tickets are available from www.soledxb.com
THE SPECS
Engine: 3.6-litre V6
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 285bhp
Torque: 353Nm
Price: TBA
On sale: Q2, 2020
AUSTRALIA SQUADS
ODI squad: Aaron Finch (captain), Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa
Twenty20 squad: Aaron Finch (captain), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
