Competitive Advantage Case Study

Battle of the Titans: Lowe’s vs Home Depot

OR

Abstract:
The do-it-yourself market was beginning to take shape after the Second World War. The post-war economy also gave rise to another form of competition: large, chain-owned hardware stores known as home centers and resulted in an upsurge of the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) market. Lowe’s was a dominating player in the home improvement market. When Home Depot opened its warehouse stores, it was an instant hit and other companies copied the format. Lowe’s also tried copying the format in order to prevent downfall of its business. Lowe’s effort paid off. In 2000, Home Depot’s glory started fading and Lowe’s was gaining momentum especially in the American home improvement market. To revamp itself, Home Depot was investing on store modernization and also in attracting women customers. On the other hand, Lowe’s was expanding aggressively into new markets and the company also had plans to enter Canada. With the home improvement market reaching its saturation, analysts wondered who would sustain. Stiff competition was another major challenge, so the question was who would succeed?

Pedagogical Objectives:

• To discuss about the retailing industry and housing market in the US
• To provide an overview of the various strategies adopted Home Depot and Lowe’s
• To analyse the competition between Home Depot and Lowe’s.

Keywords : Home Improvement market; Core Competency & Competitive Advantage Case Study; Home centers; Home Depot; Lowe’s; US retailer; Home Depot vs Lowe’s; HR initiatives; Technology enabled supply chain; International Expansion; Frontrunner; data warehousing