Atlanta, GA, May 14--As Home Depot looks to attract more female customers, women executives are having a greater say in merchandise changes and floor displays.
The retailer, which is sprucing up its stores as aggressive rival Lowe's Cos. expands, has added more stylish decor products, removed or lowered the steel racks in some departments and set up kitchen and appliance showrooms to broaden its appeal to women without alienating men.
Home Depot is also wooing women with target marketing. On Wednesday, the retailer began "Do-It-Herself" workshops that will teach how to use power tools, build patios and install outdoor lights. Though the retailer has offered how-to clinics for women in the past, Home Depot is now rolling out the classes to all of its U.S. stores.
The focus on women comes as research shows that females not only are lead decision makers in couples' purchases, but are taking on home improvement projects by themselves.
"When we looked at our customers, we saw that women are originating the home improvement ideas," said Chief Financial Officer Carol Tome, Home Depot's highest-ranking woman, who influences key merchandising and financial decisions at the senior management level.
Home Depot has added products that men will appreciate as well, such as John Deere tractors. But company executives have admitted the No. 1 home improvement retailer may have undermarketed to women in the past.
Tome says women executives put their stamp on many of the retailer's newer, more visually striking decor products such as bath fixtures and ceiling fans.
"When I started at the company (in 1995), we didn't have women in high-profile positions," said Tome, who adds that Home Depot now has women merchandising vice presidents in categories such as paint and kitchens.
Some of the changes at the U.S. warehouses are modeled after Home Depot stores in Canada, which are headed by a woman and have drawn company praise for design flair.
"As you walk in the front of our stores, you see very open and inviting areas," said Annette Verschuren, president of the Canadian unit, who has also been tapped to head Home Depot's more upscale Expo Design Center stores.
Verschuren said the Canadian stores moved special order, lighting and decor items to carpeted areas near the front in an effort to become more customer friendly.
"We are making our stores more comfortable for everybody, but still recognizing the major growth category of women," Verschuren said.
The store changes could be a major weapon in Home Depot's battle with Lowe's, whose bright-looking stores have outperformed Home Depot warehouses over the past year. Lowe's has rung up increases in sales at stores open at least a year, while Home Depot sales have slipped for the past two quarters.
"A lot of people have felt that Lowe's was better addressing the desires of the consumer," said Nancy Aversa, an analyst with Victory Capital Management. "To the extent that Home Depot sharpens the pencil and is able to attract a wider customer base, that creates a better competitive environment for them."
