Atlanta — The Home Depot® is closing its remaining seven big box stores in China as the company shifts its focus in that market to specialty stores and online offerings.
Atlanta — The Home Depot® is closing its remaining seven big box stores in China as the company shifts its focus in that market to specialty stores and online offerings.
“Closing stores is always a difficult decision,” says Frank Blake, chairman and CEO, The Home Depot. “We are thankful for the dedicated service of our store associates in China, and we wish them all the best during this transition.”
While it is closing its big box stores, The Home Depot is maintaining a new formats team to continue research and development activities. In addition, the company is maintaining two recently-opened specialty stores — a paint and flooring store and a Home Decorators Collection store, both located in Tianjin — and is in the beginning stages of developing relationships with several of China’s leading e-commerce websites, a combination which the company believes is more tailored to Chinese customers’ needs and shopping preferences.
“We’ve learned a great deal over the last 6 years in China, and our new approach leverages that experience and reflects our continuing interest in providing value to Chinese customers, as well as our shareholders,” says Blake.
The Home Depot is the world’s largest home improvement specialty retailer, with 2,249 retail stores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, 10 Canadian provinces and Mexico.