Monday November 8, 12:53 pm Eastern Time
Company Press Release
SOURCE: The Home Depot
Home Depot Establishes Northwest Division Office, Taylor Named President, Sullivan to Be Merchandising Vice President
WASHINGTON, Nov. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- The Home Depot, the world's largest home improvement retailer, has established a new division office in the Puget Sound area to accommodate aggressive growth plans in the Pacific Northwest, Group President Mark Baker announced today. The new Division is comprised of 59 stores and employs more than 10,000 men and women.
``Establishing a new division, based in Seattle, will further prepare Home Depot to support expansion in the nine state region which includes Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Idaho, Utah, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and Northern Nevada,' Baker said.
Tom Taylor, 33, has been named Division President with Dick Sullivan replacing Taylor as Merchandising Vice President. Taylor began his career at Home Depot as a part-time sales associate in South Florida while he was in high school. He worked his way through the company, becoming a store manager at 22 and a district manager at 26. After leading the company's aggressive expansion into the Carolinas, Taylor was promoted to regional vice president in the Southwest Division and most recently served as merchandising vice president in Seattle.
``Tom is a true Home Depot success story and is an exemplary role model for our current and future store associates. He has seen our company grow from a handful of stores to nearly 900 locations today. In the next five years, the Northwest Division will grow to approximately 165 stores with 30,000 associates. Tom is a visionary leader with the ability and dedication to oversee these expansion plans while maintaining the customer service we're known for in the industry.' Baker said.
Dick Sullivan, 43, was named Merchandising Vice President for the new division. With an extensive background in advertising and merchandising, Sullivan will help keep a pulse on the shopping patterns of consumers in the Northwest and will continually modify Home Depot's product offerings to meet regional needs.
``This new division, with Tom Taylor at the helm, will help Home Depot maintain our leadership position in the Northwest and our reputation for being the best in home improvement retailing,' Baker added.
The Home Depot opened its first Pacific Northwest location in Tacoma, WA in 1993. Currently the company operates 17 locations in Washington; 12 of them in the Puget Sound.
Founded in 1978, The Home Depot operates 874 stores in the United States, Canada, Chile and Puerto Rico. For the last six years, Fortune magazine has named Home Depot as America's Most Admired Specialty Retailer. Home Depot's stock is publicly traded (NYSE: HD - news) and is included in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index.
SOURCE: The Home Depot
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
