Home Depot's total rehab

First the customers revolted. Then housing went into a free fall. Time to slash and burn - unless you're CEO Frank Blake, who thinks an army of orange aprons will save the day.

FORTUNE, September 29, 2008 — The Home Depot's Francis S. (Frank) Blake has one of the biggest jobs in corporate America but one of its least famous faces. Which is what the CEO is counting on one weekday morning when he goes on an undercover mission in Riverside, N.J.: a secret walkthrough at one of his company's 1,970 U.S. stores.

At Home Depot, How Green Is That Chainsaw?

Some environmentalists say that Home Depot is being too inclusive in its new Eco Options marketing campaign

New York Times, June 25, 2007 — Home Depot sent a note a few months ago to the companies that supply the 176,000 products it sells, inviting them to make a pitch to have their products included in its new Eco Options marketing campaign.

More than 60,000 products — far more than obvious candidates like organic gardening products and high-efficiency lightbulbs — suddenly developed environmental star power.

Web Attack

Nastiness online can erupt and go global overnight, and "no comment" doesn't cut it anymore. Here's how to cope

BusinessWeek, April 16, 2007 — Martin S. Sorrell, CEO of advertising agency WPP Group, sues two blogging ex-colleagues for a Web hate campaign in which, he says, they smeared him and his former lover. The Washington Post grapples with a surge in online comments that read like the racist garbage on neo-Nazi Web sites. Home Depot's (HD ) CEO goes into an emergency huddle with his crisis management team after 14,000 bilious customers storm an MSN (MSFT ) comment room.

Can't Sit Through a :30? How About a Five-Minute Ad?†

Brandweek, March 19, 2007 — Corporate videos aren't most people's idea of must-see TV, but a few brands are betting that consumers will seek them out on the Web. everal companies—including Hitachi, The Home Depot and IBM—are producing brief Internet-based documentaries in order to present their products and capabilities, tinged with touches of humanity. Subtlety is the watchword: In some of the videos making the rounds, the brand is not mentioned until two minutes in.

One Tough Customer†

Brandweek, March 19, 2007 — It's a chilly Monday morning in February along the Gulf Coast of Mississippi, where José Lopez is about to embark on a fact-finding mission. As svp and chief customer officer at The Home Depot, Lopez spends an average of six days out of every month in the field, walking the floors at the company's vast network of retail stores and putting in valuable face time with employees.

Home Depot Gets a Fresh Coat of Less-Glossy Paint

New York Times, February 8, 2007 — For six years, it was a perk that Home Depot’s chief executive, Robert L. Nardelli, could not do without: a catered lunch for his top deputies, served daily on the 22nd floor of the company’s headquarters in Atlanta.

You're Fired. Now What?

Forbes, February 5, 2007 — Kevin Rollins can't be feeling good about himself. After two years at the helm of PC maker Dell, he resigned last week, and founder Michael Dell took the CEO job. Rollins' story is an old one: The founding entrepreneur retires, and the new chief executive just can't make the company work. Robert Nardelli, the recently-ousted chief of Home Depot, also struggled when he took over from the company's co-founder, Arthur Blank, in late 2000.

Cappuccino With the 2x4’s?

Christmas decorations, above, food, fuel and cigarettes, and a larger display of appliances are the order of the day at a Home Depot and nearby convenience store in the greater Atlanta area.

New York Times, October 25, 2006 — How does the nation’s largest home improvement retailer weather the worst housing market in a decade?

Home Depot Retooling Image with Home Décor

Chicago Tribune, July 16, 2006 — Home Depot is trying to soften its image and appeal more to affluent female shoppers

new hope for the unhandy

New York Times, December 5, 2004 — On Wednesday afternoon Mike Bukach, a 24-year-old who works in marketing in Manhattan, walked into the Home Depot on West 23rd Street in Chelsea with an odd assignment. His boss was organizing a large publicity event that evening, and he needed 13 fire extinguishers.