![]()
- US Markets Bracing for Selloff on Dubai Debt Worries
- US Dollar Falls to 14-Year Low Against the Yen
- No Thanksgiving Rest for Retailers in Sales Race
- UK's Darling to Downgrade 2009 Growth Forecast
- US Companies Already Moving on Curbing Emissions
- Fannie Mae to Tighten Lending Standards: Report
- Investing in Good Karma – and Making a Profit
- Retailers Should Believe in Christmas Miracles
- Bankruptcies Jump, Hitting Highest Level in Four Years
- 4 Thanksgiving Week Buys For Your Portfolio: Market Pros
- There's a 'Great Chance' For a Double-Dip Recession: Strategist
- Revenge of the Gangsta Nerds
- Will TCU See The "Flutie Effect?"
- Retail Earnings and Sales to Improve in Q4: Analyst
- Consumers Catching the Holiday Spirit
- It's Beginning To Look A Lot More Riskless
- Crescenzi: Claims Level Suggests End to Job Losses
- Hedge Funds Take Early Lead in Warren Buffett's 'Big Bet'
MOST SHARED
- Kuoni CEO Sees Recovery in Travel Sector
- Dubai Struggles to Ease Debt Fears; Investors Rattled
- Gold Retreats from Record High as Dollar Rebounds
- US Markets Bracing for Selloff On Worries About Dubai's Debt
- China Unveils Carbon Target Ahead of Copenhagen
- UK's Darling to Downgrade 2009 Growth Forecast
- Hyundai-Kia Targets Rapid China Growth in 2010
- No Thanksgiving Rest for Retailers in Sales Race
- Fannie Mae to Tighten Lending Standards: Report
Home Depot is currently the worst-performing stock [HD
Loading...
()
] in the Dow Jones Industrial Average index, but the warehouse-style U.S. home-improvement retailer is getting a makeover.
Attempting to woo women, Home Depot has launched a pilot program: two store locations were reworked as “Design Centers,” geared to supposedly female tastes.
The design centers feature less lumber and heavy tools, more finished furniture, design services and organizational tools. The centers have also been revamped aesthetically with homier color schemes.
A Home Depot spokesman told CNBC that men should not feel alienated by the experimental layouts: the program is not meant to appeal to women alone, but to attract couples to come and share the new “customer experience” together.
There are some good reasons for the changes. Among them is the belief that women control the lion's share of the household home improvement budget.
“About 83 cents of every dollar is either spent or influenced by women in the United States today,” advertising expert Michelle Miller told CNBC.
Also, Home Depot's rival Lowe’s [LOW
Loading...
()
] – the No. 2 U.S. home-improvement retailer by sales – has long been seen as being more friendly to women shoppers with its brighter stores.
Mitch Kaiser, retail analyst at Piper Jaffray, thinks Home Depot’s plan has potential. He told CNBC, “The bigger benefit could be if [the company] could take the learning from these stores and extend it” to its 2,200 other sales outlets.
Home Depot has an opportunity to reclaim market share if it can manage to “increase the ‘shopability’” of its vast chain, said Kaiser.
- What you need to know.
- Ever wished your cab driver would stop nattering and just get to where you're going? Well that moment is near(er).
- Eric Schmidt pledges to create a virtual copy of the Iraq National Museum at Google’s expense.
- Bill Griffeth is taking a leave of absence from CNBC and Power Lunch for a year. Here's a message from Bill.
- More shoppers than ever plan to comparison-shop this season. Who will benefit?
- It may be the most unusual guide to business you'll read.












