Product Description

Arthur Blank and Bernie Marcus were both fired in 1978 by corporate raider Sandy Sigiloff. Blank, a CPA, and Marcus, an ex-pharmacist, were devastated. Bernie, heartbroken and virtually broke, fell into a deep funk. Arthur considered becoming a private CPA. Both thought a former associate was crazy when he told them: "You've just been hit in the ass by a golden horseshoe".

They proved him right. Blank and Marcus both recovered from their professional downturn to found The Home Depot, a phenomenally successful business with 1,000 locations, 200,000 employees, and $30 billion in sales. The Home Depot story is one of the great entrepreneurial tales of the last twenty years -- how incredibly determined and creative people built a business empire from nothing. It's an inspirational tale of two people who had to beg for capital to begin and grow their business but never forgot their principles.

The Home Depot today is one of America's toughest, most growth-oriented companies, but one with a huge sense of responsibility to its employees and to the communities in which it operates. Well over 1,000 Home Depot hourly associates are millionaires (from stock options and other benefits) who continue to work at the store level. When disasters like the Oklahoma bombing or Hurricane Andrew hit local communities, Home Depot employees don't call central headquarters for permission to do something. They close the store and take personal action.

The Home Depot is a category killer -- but one you can love. It is "Toys 'R Us for adults" and the founders, Arthur Blank and Bernie Marcus, are the "Ben and Jerry" of the retail world.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #294855 in Books
• Published on: 2001-07-03
• Released on: 2001-07-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 356 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780812933789
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Amazon.com Review
Built from Scratch is about two businessmen who achieve the American Dream by fundamentally changing the realm of home-improvement retailing. Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank, cofounders of the Home Depot, explain how they established the first national chain in the industry by concentrating on low prices, customer service, and strong leadership values.

Ultimately, this is a book about grit and determination. "Building the Home Depot was a tough, uphill battle from the day we started," they write. "No one believed we could do it and very few people trusted our judgment." The two cofounders launched the company only after they were fired by a California hardware retailer because of politics. The Home Depot lost $1 million in its first year of operation in Atlanta. Today it's one of the great successes on Wall Street, with more than 700 stores across the country and 160,000 employees.

One reason the book is so engaging is that it includes corporate anecdotes. A favorite: the company banned wild parties after several employees were demoted and a couple were fired in the wake of a drunken annual managers' meeting. Another yarn involves Sears, which made one of the worst financial mistakes in retailing history when it passed on a deal to purchase Home Depot in the early 1980s. The authors are self-serving at times; for example, they whine too much about paying $104.5 million to dispose of a sex-discrimination lawsuit. But there's no denying the smashing performance of Big Orange. Marcus and Blank paint a story with some sparkling advice for practically anyone in business. --Dan Ring

From Library Journal
When Chris Roush approached Marcus and Blank about his book on Home Depot (Inside Home Depot, LJ 1/99), they denied him access, preferring to tell their own story. While it is more folksy and humorous, it essentially covers the same information, with the addition of intimate details of many business relationships and dealings. Blank, the company's president, chief operating officer, and chief executive officer, and Marcus, the chairman of the board, began Home Depot in Atlanta with little backing. But their shrewd merchandising ideas and ability to work with key players not only surprised many in the industry but created a corporate culture that competitors are now trying to emulate. The authors candidly discuss setbacks, including a multimillion dollar discrimination settlement, as well as ideas gone awry. Most libraries should have at least one of these books on Home Depot, and larger public libraries and business collections should consider both.ASteven J. Mayover, Free Lib. of Philadelphia
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews
A pair of hardware merchandising buddies chat about how they built one of the most successful big-box retailers ever. These moguls of do-it-yourself did it themselves: they built the Home Depot. In two decades, they built their business from the ground up to employ 200,000 ``associates'' in nearly 1,000 locations. It's a kick-ass company, they are proud to announce, and indeed, it is. It has eliminated distributors and wholesalers from its network. It browbeats manufacturers for uncommon price concessions and rebates while great quantities of inventory are drop-shipped directly to their outlets. Founders Bernie and Arthur and their cohorts are fierce competitors, and they tell you so with broad grins. They allow managers much latitude, they say, even as they stress the tight reins on merchandise, distribution, finances, and infrastructure. The story is in the words of Arthur and Bernie, and their words are interchangeable. It's all colloquial lumberyard schmoozing, and the scurrying metaphors are pleasantly mixed: ``I opened the door and [he] ran with it,'' and ``sometimes they run with a red herring and get burned with it.'' Some words are jerry-built to fit: associates are ``inculturated'' with Home Depot valuesbut you get the idea. The inculturation stresses care for the customer in particular and corporate decency in general. (It seems to work.) Bernie and Arthur thrive on merchandising and playing with the big boys, like Ross Perot and the late Sam Walton, but they don't neglect the details. They acknowledge that many mom-and-pop stores haven't been able to survive the Home Depot's thorough competition. The message is that the day of mom and pop has passed (though Bernie and Arthur are now considering opening small neighborhood shops now that the old folks are gone). A garrulous handyman chronicle of a ubiquitous corporation, this text is constructed of plain pine, without a coat of writer's varnish, by a couple of guys in orange aprons. (8 pages b&w photos, not seen) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Customer Reviews

Great learning tool for any business
I began reading this book out of mild interest and found a number of lessons that I could use in my career as the trainer for a large Canadian pet organization. A great read and a great learning tool for all, not just those in the home improvement field.

Just like HD, this book is a huge success
HD understands what low cost, customer service really means. After reading this book if you don't become a shareholder then I question your investment strategy.

COUPLE OF REGULAR GUYS -- Yeah Right!
The most horrific thing about this book is its title. My assumption in reading the reviews for this book (and reading its title) was that it would tell how some regular guys built the Home Depot from scratch, starting with an idea and building it into an empire.

Instead what you get is the CEO and CFO of another home improvement company starting Home Depot along with an investment banking friend that lands them in front of a potential investor that happens to be a billionaire (Ross Perot). Somehow they don't seem like just regular guys anymore.

The information in the book is okay, but it was really hard for me to get past this outrageous title that is nothing more than a lie. There are better business books out there on how to start a successful company from scratch. Try Sandra Kurtzig's CEO: How to Build a $200 Million Company from the Ground Up.