Home Depot picks Las Vegas for national Internet sales test

Phil Levine

Tuesday, April 25, 2000 | 10:47 a.m.

Las Vegans seeking home improvement products may soon have no need to leave home.

Home Depot, the nation's largest home improvement retailer, plans to test market its new online shopping services in Las Vegas this summer. The city will serve as the pilot market for the company's nationwide rollout of online shopping.

"We chose Las Vegas as the test market for this project because it's a dynamic housing market with a good cross-section of people," said Home Depot spokesman Don Harrison.

"There's also a lot of remodeling taking place there, and so it seems like a logical place for us to look at testing this project."

The Atlanta-based retailer operates five stores in Las Vegas and one in Henderson.

Founded in 1978, the company has 967 stores in 45 states and last year reported sales in excess of $38 billion.

Home Depot's entry into the world of e-commerce is to begin in July.

Harrison said the company made the decision to sell goods online in early 1999, but revised plans after asking customers what they wanted.

"Our initial plans were to dip our toes in the water, and only offer a select amount of products online," he said.

"But customers said they didn't like that, and that they wanted the same shopping experience (online) they could get in our stores."

In response to that demand, Home Depot plans to offer a full array of products online.

Customers buying home improvement products on their computers will have the choice of picking up their goods in person or having them delivered to their homes.

"We were not going to build an online store in a vacuum," said Harrison. "We want to give our customers the widest possible array of choices, and that includes how they receive their goods."

Despite recent volatility in the high technology sector, many traditional retailers are turning to the Internet to boost their bottom line.

In February, one of Las Vegas' largest shopping center owners revealed plans to provide online retail information to potential shoppers.

Customers at the six Las Vegas shopping centers owned by San Diego-based Pan Pacific Retail Properties will soon be able to access product information and special offers from their home computers.

Last fall, Chicago-based General Growth Properties -- owner of Las Vegas' Meadows and Boulevard malls -- launched its Mallibu.com portal website. The site is designed to provide shoppers a gateway to 125 regional mall websites.

Although Home Depot is the first large home improvement retailer to enter cyberspace, it may soon have company.

A spokeswoman for Lowe's Companies Inc., the nation's second-largest home improvement chain, said her company is also examining the possibility of selling online.

"We haven't made any official announcement of our plans, but we are looking into expanding our role on the Internet," Suzanne McCoy said.

The Wilkesboro, N.C.-based company recently opened its first Las Vegas store in Summerlin. Lowe's operates 560 stores in 37 states nationwide.

A representative of Irvine, Calif.-based HomeBase Inc. said her company is also considering a move into the world of e-commerce.

"It's (online marketing) something we're certainly looking in to," said HomeBase spokeswoman Jennifer Love.

HomeBase operates 88 stores in 10 states, including three in Metro Las Vegas.

Home Depot's Harrison said expanding the company's presence in the world of e-commerce may require additional bricks and mortar space in Las Vegas.

"I wouldn't discount the possibility that we will need to build a distribution facility (in Las Vegas)," he said.

"We'll take it as it comes, but we view (product) fulfillment as one of the key ingredients to success."