History
The do-it-yourself home improvement concept may not have been born 25 years ago, but few would dispute that it took flight with the opening of the first Home Depot stores in Atlanta on June 22, 1979. The bright orange warehouse opened an entirely new world to people wanting to do things for themselves, but without deep pockets or enough confidence in their ability. The vision of Home Depot founders Bernie Marcus and Arthur M. Blank was to give customers everyday low prices with experienced tradespeople offering straight advice on how to get projects off the ground.
With an enormous success on its hands, the company went public in 1981 and today trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “HD.” It is included in the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index.
