The Home Depot Builds Third Facility of 1.6 Million Sq Ft to Support Omni-channel Operations; Will Open a New Technology Center in Marietta, GA in October

The Home Depot is officially opening a third facility to support its online business. The new 1.6 million facility in Ohio will employ 500 employees and will support its online operations that currently account for 5% of its business and continues to grow.

Home Depot also announced plans in October to open its Marietta Technology Center, a 200,000 square foot office complex that will employ 1,000 IT jobs. The Home Depot has enhanced its IT capabilities in conjunction with its supply chain and merchandising operations.

"These investments are advancing our interconnected retail strategy, which allows our customers to engage with Home Depot however they choose," said Craig Menear, chairman, CEO and president of The Home Depot. "We're also pleased to contribute to the economic growth of these communities."

The Home Depot is not the only major retailer ramping up fulfillment support for omnichannel retail. WalMart is spending $200 million to build a new distribution center in Polk County, Florida dedicated to fulfilling e-commerce orders.

Source: Retailing Today

Top US Housing Markets For Spring 2015

A new Auction.com Research report identifies the top major single-family housing markets based on current and expected future housing fundamentals. Of the 49 largest US markets, the top five have displayed consistently strong demand, home price appreciation, and economic and demographic growth. Retailers with stores in Denver, San Antonio, Nashville, Fort Lauderdale and Dallas might see some strong sales in the months ahead. The report notes the considerable impact a healthy housing market has on all of retail, not just the home improvement retailers like Home Depot and Lowe’s.

“As the U.S. housing market has continued to recover from the Great Recession, we’ve seen significant regional variances in terms of both price appreciation and sales volume,” said Auction.com executive VP Rick Sharga. “Earlier in the recovery, most of the growth came from markets that had suffered the biggest declines during the housing bust, but what we’re seeing today is more in line with fundamental economic trends: markets with the best job growth and population growth are recovering most quickly.”

The Southwest remains the strongest US region overall. The Southeast and West also show promise, as markets in those regions are improving rapidly.

Sources: Auction.com, Chain Store Age