Londonderry News

Home Depot began in 1978 when Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank envisioned a store where do-it-yourselfers could shop for everything they would need in one place. With the help of Ken Langone, an investment banker, and Pat Farrah, a “merchandising guru”, the team was able to open their first store in Atlanta, Georgia. On June 22, 1979, Home Depot opened its doors. Shelves were stocked with over 25,000 SKUs, much more than any other hardware store at the time, and empty boxes acted as fillers, making the store looked like it offered more than it really did.

Marcus and Blank have stood by their “customer bill of rights” from the very beginning. It was, and still is, their philosophy to make sure their employees are forming relationships with their customers, rather than just completing a transaction. They feel that customers should be offered the right assortment, quantities, price and trained associates. Each of their associates undergo training to ensure they know the products. As Blank says, “It is your business, your division, your market, your store, your aisle, and your customer.”

Home Depot grew fast, with their 100th store opening just 10 years after their first in 1989. By 1994, Home Depot crossed the border to Canada when they opened Aikenhead’s Home Improvement. Moving into Mexico in 2001, they celebrated the opening of Total HOME. In China, in 2006, they opened their 12 store chain, Home Way. Currently, they own 1,972 stores in the United States (including Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands), Canada, China, and Mexico.

Name brand products available include Ryobi tools, RIDGID tools, LG appliances and Cub Cadet and Toro lawn equipment. With more than 40,000 different products offered throughout each store, Home Depot offers more than just materials for the serious do-it-yourself-ers. They provide access to pre-screened independent contractors for projects ranging from roofs and floors to windows. They allow qualified professionals to access services and support through loyalty programs, volume discounts, and direct ship and credit programs.

Home Depot offers clinics every Saturday and Sunday, at every store, for those interested in learning how to do home improvement projects ranging from drywall repair to closet organization. Kids Workshops are also offered on the first Saturday of every month, at every Home Depot location. These workshops are for children aged 5 to 12 and provide knowledge on tool safety, as well as the esteem to complete a do-it-yourself project. Kids will build items like toolboxes, window birdhouses, and firetrucks. Both the Kids Workshops and the How-To Clinics are free.

After a three year process of planning and discussions, Home Depot was able to open it’s door in Londonderry, New Hampshire. Several heated debates took place on topics such as the color of the roof, the affect the store would have on traffic flow on Route 102, and whether Home Depot should be allowed to store products and equipment in an outdoor garden area, as it had in so many of its other locations. The color of every roof of Home Depot store had been orange in the past. The Home Depot in Londonderry was the first to ever be allowed to have a green roof. Home Depot’s attorney was fighting to allow products and equipment to be stored outside, while Londonderry Officials were strongly against it. After one of the Officials photographed five or six different Home Depots that were not allowed to store outdoors, it was determined that every piece of equipment must remain under the roof line. For three to four months, the topic of the intersections on Route 102 was debated. When discussions were complete, the intersections were redone to help with the flow of traffic. By the time the Town Officials and Home Depot were in agreement, Home Depot no longer was looking at only what was good for their company. They started to see what was also good for the community of Londonderry, as well.

In 2003, Home Depot opened on the corner of Route 102 and Gilcreast Road. While the average Home Depot building was 105,00 square feet, the one in Londonderry measured 114,814 square feet. The building, completed about 2002, is located on about 30 acres of land. The building, and it’s land, is estimated at nearly 14 million dollars. Including the 99 restaurant, Staples, and Dunkin’ Donuts/Baskin Robbins also located on the land brings the total value to nearly 16 million dollars.

Following the long process of approvals for this site the Town of Londonderry and the Planning Board has streamlined approvals without sacrificing quality construction and design requirements.  Projects proposed in Londonderry now take considerably less time from concept to site plan approval.

For more information about the products The Home Depot offers, a list of dates for any of the workshops, or to shop online, visit The Home Depot website.

Welcome to Londonderry, New Hampshire where “Business is Good. Life is Better!”