The Home Depot had its 2Q earnings call yesterday, Aug. 15, and is reporting steady improvement from sales to builders, remodelers, and other pros. According to Carol Tome, CFO and executive vice president of corporate services, the company’s pro earnings grew twice as fast as DIY in 1Q, and “actually expanded that gap a bit in the second quarter.” She didn’t provide numbers.
“Strong comps across several lumber and building material categories, as well as categories like pipe and fittings, power tools, and wire” helped pro sales “outpace the company average,” said Ted Decker, executive vice president of merchandising. Lumber is also doing well, as Decker reported lumber prices are near “all-time highs.”
The Home Depot is also investing more into pro-oriented services, rolling out the Interline catalog of products throughout 1,958 locations. Of those, 1,500 offer next-day availability, and 458 offer two-day delivery. Tome also noted that last August pros appeared to be on vacation because The Home Depot saw lower sales from that group. This year, she says “Pros are not on vacation. The stores are busy and our sales are quite good.”
“Our deeper level of engagement with the Interline customers has helped to drive sales growth that outpaced the company average in the quarter,” said CEO and President Craig Menear. “We believe that the work that we are doing to enhance the service capabilities for the unique needs of our pro customers continues to resonate.”
