>>Nice thoughts and wish it could happen, but.....
I understand the impulse, but disagree. Globalization is a Good Thing, especially for us. I was just reading an article about Home Depot's success in Mexico. Excerpt:
>>Home Depot makes dent in Mexico - Home improvement chain expands quickly to dominate Mexican market.
By Renee DeGross
THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION
Monday, September 20, 2004
SALTILLO, Coahuila — Down the main avenue of this city in Mexico, signs of prospering residents are visible at every turn with new brick and concrete homes going up and car dealerships selling BMWs and Hummers.
Such signs are one reason there's also a new store in town bearing the distinctive orange of Home Depot.
"The opportunities are endless," said Ricardo Saldivar, the Atlanta-based chain's top executive in Mexico.
He is a busy man these days as Home Depot Inc. tries to capitalize on its new status as the biggest home improvement player in Mexico.
Home Depot has rapidly grown to 42 stores in Mexico in three years, in large part through the recent buyout of Home Mart, a Mexican chain with 20 stores.
Austin also has benefitted from the expansion. To help handle the additional computer traffic from the new stores, Home Depot is opening a data center in North Austin that will create 500 jobs.
The expansion into Mexico came on the heels of a failed experiment in Chile and Argentina in the late 1990s. Home Depot pulled out of South America in 2001, not long after Bob Nardelli took over as CEO.
Under Nardelli, the chain also is scouting sites in China. But for now, the international push is in Mexico, where Saldivar says the growth is only getting started.
Mexico's home improvement retail landscape is dominated by small businesses, which explains why Home Depot can rise to the top with 42 stores. Ace Hardware is the No. 2 chain in Mexico, while Lowe's Home Improvement, Home Depot's chief competitor in the United States, has yet to make a move in the country.
The country's $15 billion home improvement market is small compared with the U.S. market, but Home Depot is betting that a growing Mexican middle class and rising housing demand will ensure sales growth.
More at [registration required]:
statesman.com |
