Home Depot Global Business Plan

Home Depot Global Business Plan

When opening a Home Depot in a country in which there has never been a Home Depot before, the corporation must consider many things before moving forward with the project. With a company as large as Home Depot, it is imperative that the company evaluate the human resource management and cultural factors, supply chain management, research and development, information technology, and legal and ethical considerations. Moreover, Home Depot needs to evaluate the politics, economic, finance, social, health, environmental, cultural and terrorism of the host country and risks that would affect to the organization. All the topics are critical to the success of the new opening.

Home Depot is the largest home improvement retailer in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. The company entered Canada in 1994 and Mexico in 2001 through a combination of acquisitions and organic growth. They also operate 12 stores in six cities in China as a result of an acquisition made in December 2006. The global expansion demonstrates how The Home Depot combines its vast knowledge of the home improvement industry with the needs, shopping trends and customs of each unique geography to best serve customers (homedepot.com, 2008).

Home Depot Australia is exactly what this country’s Do-it-yourselfer needs. With over 2700 stores in three countries, Home Depot Australia will carry largest amount of merchandise at the best prices because it will use all of Home Depot’s corporate buyers and suppliers. The plan would be to eventually open over 75 stores all in the different sizes to meet the needs of the different regions of this country.

Mission Statement

Home Depot’s business is very simple—we help people improve the places where we live and work. Our business is also large, complex and growing: we employ approximately 325,000 associates who interact with millions of customers; we have stores in thousands of communities in three different countries; we sell tens of thousands of home improvement products made from a vast array of materials and natural resources; and we source and purchase these products from thousands of suppliers across the globe In the end, our definition of corporate responsibility is very straightforward—we seek to be both profitable and responsible and to balance the needs of our communities (homedepot.com,2008).

Physical environment

Australia is a continent that lies between the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean and has a total area of 7,686,850 sq. km., land of 7,617,930 sq. km.; slightly smaller than the US 48 states. Australia has 25,760 km. of coastline. The climate is generally arid to semiarid, temperate in south and east and tropical in the north. The terrain is mostly low plateau with deserts and fertile plain in southeast. The lowest point is Lake Eyre – 15 km. and the highest point is Mount Kosciusko of 2,229m.

Social, Health, and Environmental

Australia has a population of 20,600,856 with a median age of 37.4 years. Life expectancy for males is 77.86 years and 83.75 for females. Ethnic groups include 92% white, 7% Asian and 1% Aboriginal and other. Religions include 26.4% Catholic, 20.5% Anglican, 20.5% other Christian, 1.9% Buddhist, 1.5% Muslim, 1.2% other, 12.7% unspecified and 15.3% none. The literacy rate is 99% of age 15 and over can read and write.

Australia has a world class healthcare system. The HIV/AIDS adult prevalence rate is 0.1% with 14,000 people living with HIV/AIDS and an AIDS death rate of less than 200.

Soil erosion from overgrazing, industrial development, urbanization and poor farming practices are prevalent. The soil salinity is rising due to the use of poor quality water. Desertification and clearing the forests for agricultural purposes threatens the natural habitat of many unique animal and plant species. The Great Barrier Reef off the northeast cost, the largest coral reef in the world, is threatened by increased shipping and popularity as a tourist site. Limited natural fresh water resources are also an issue (Central Intelligence Agency, 2008).

Australians have among the highest life expectancy in the world and most have ready access to comprehensive healthcare of high quality (U.S Department of State, 2002). Globalization helps the way the administrators think with how to use of resources to improve social, health, and environmental issues.

The physical environment of Sydney is cosmopolitan. The city is surrounded by beaches, lush hinterlands and wine regions. Sydney is the gateway to business in Asia Pacific. The climate is stable and Sydney is ranked first in South Asia for quality of life (Sydney guide, 2008). 60 % of Australia is used for agriculture and grazing. Soil and climates are one of