Description
One of the greatest entrepreneurial success stories of the past twenty years
When a friend told Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank that youve just been hit in the ass by a golden horseshoe, they thought he was crazy. After all, both had just been fired. What the friend, Ken Langone, meant was that they now had the opportunity to create the kind of wide-open warehouse store that would help spark a consumer revolution through low prices, excellent customer service, and wide availability of products.
Built from Scratch is the story of how two incredibly determined and creative peopleand their associatesbuilt a business from nothing to 761 stores and billion in sales in a mere twenty years.
Built from Scratch tells many colorful stories associated with The Home Depots founding and meteoric rise; shows that a company can be a tough, growth-oriented competitor and still maintain a high sense of responsibility to the community; and provides great lessons useful to people in any business, from start-ups to the Fortune 500.
Great Stories
Ming the Merciless The inside account of the man who fired Arthur Blank and Bernie Marcus
My people dont drive Cadillacs! How Ross Perot almost got involved with The Home Depot
Take this job and shove it! The banker who put his career on the line to get The Home Depot the loan that enabled it to survive
Folks, I tell ya, if these Atlanta stores were any bigger, wed be paying Alabama sales tax. Home Depots first good ol southern advertising campaign
A Company with a Conscience
When disasters like the Oklahoma City bombing or Hurricane Andrew happen, Home Depot associates dont ask for permission to respond. They react from their heartswhether that means keeping their store open all night or being on the scene with volunteers and relief supplies.
The Home Depot doesnt just contribute money to organizations like Habitat for Humanity and Christmas in April, but also provides its people to help lead and grow these community efforts.
Great Lessons
Know your customer: In The Home Depots case, customers dont pay for wider aisles and a pretty store, but for a wide assortment and low prices
Why everyday low prices mean more sales overall: The marketing philosophy The Home Depot learned from talking with Sam Walton
Market leadership: Why The Home Depot never goes to a major new market with plans to open just a few stores
The strategy for profitable growth: How The Home Depot redefined its U.S. market from its billion traditional do-it-yourself base to a much larger pond of billion
How to change the rules of the game: How The Home Depot bypassed almost all middlemen, allowing it to pass on huge savings to customers
Built from Scratch is the firsthand account of how two regular guys created one of the greatest entrepreneurial successes of the last twenty years.
Opening the First Store
What the hell happened? Who screwed up the store? . . . Whatever time remained before the doors were scheduled to open for the first time, we sped around in forklifts, stomping on the brakes, scuffing up the flooring so it would once more look like a warehouse.
Customer Service
If ever I saw an associate point a customer toward what they needed three aisles over, I would threaten to bite their finger. I would say, Dont ever let me see you point. You take the customer by the hand, and you bring them right where they need to be and you help them.’
Giving Back
When The Home Depot went public we realized that we had the financial capacity and wherewithal to give back to the communities where we did business. There is a concept in Judaism called tzedaka, which means to give back. It is considered a mitzvah, a good deed, to give to someone who doesnt have, and we believe strongly in giving back to the community.
Selling the Vision
We had to be psychologists, lovers, romancers, and con artists to get vendors aboard. Our ability to paint a picture of how that would take placelowest prices, widest selection, and great customer servicewas what convinced skeptical manufacturers to sell merchandise to us during the early years.
The Importance of Values
I have never had anybody work for me in retailing who didnt work for me out of love, as opposed to fear. We carried this approach into building The Home Depot. We care about each other and we care about the customer. The things that we do for customers inside and outside the stores demonstrate our commitment to them. And then when something happens within the company, we circle the wagons. We help each other.
Author: Bernie Marcus, Arthur Blank, Bob Andelman
Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Currency
Published: 07/03/2001
Pages: 352
Weight: 0.79lbs
Size: 9.09h x 6.03w x 0.79d
ISBN: 9780812933789
Language: English
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