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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
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 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... read more Book Description
One of the greatest entrepreneurial success stories of the past twenty years When a friend told Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank that "you've just been hit in the ass by a golden horseshoe," they thought he was crazy. After all, both had just been fired. What the friend, Ken Langone, meant was that they now had the opportunity to create the kind of wide-open warehouse store that would help spark a consumer revolution through low prices, excellent customer service, and wide availability of products.
... read more Synopsis
In the tradition of Andy Grove's "Only the Paranoid Survive", this book presents the colorful, entertaining, entrepreneurial tale of a company that grew from nothing to $30 billion and 1,000 stores in 20 years. About the Author
Bernie Marcu is a cofounder of The Home Depot and currently serves as chairman of the board. From the company's inception until 1997, he served as CEO. With his wife, Billi Marcus, he founded the Marcus Foundation and the Marcus Developmental Resource Center, which provides support services for mentally impaired children and their parents. He is chairman of the Centers for Disease Control Foundation. He sits on many boards of directors, including the New York Stock Exchange, and participates in... read more
Customer Reviews
Avg. Customer Review:
Number of Reviews: 16
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other readers!
Incredible
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Reviewer:
A reader
from humble tx
February 17, 2000
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as an associate of the home depot, i found this book to be an accurate portrayal of the home depot. it has re-emphasied my passion and intensity for the company. as an associate, there are many stories that i can relate to and i am thankful for bernie and arthur and the carrer they have provided for me.
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i'm not a hardware store fan, but this book was GREAT
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Reviewer:
bginnj
from east windsor, nj
January 27, 2000
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it contained a lot of fine ideas that could be used by anybody in any business . . . in particular, if you're a business owner (and/or entrepreneur), you should definitely read this . . . you wont' be disappointed.
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1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Quality Material
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Reviewer:
Glenn J. Wiener
from Westchester, NY
January 22, 2000
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I just finsihed reading this book and it is undoubtedly high quality material. Anyone reading this book gets a very informative history of the Home Depot and the two owners behind it. You also get a clear picture of the management style of the company as well as what their priorities are. I am not a do it yourself person when it comes to home maintenance so last wekend I decided to view the experience from the inside of one of Home Depot's stores. Not expecting to buy anything, I left with four items that I could use for my apartment. Let me tell you, the associates are all fairly nice people and the shelves are stacked up high. Was everything perfect in the store, no, but we all could improve ourselves in someway. Anyway, as a shareholder in the company, I am proud to say that this is a company that is going to be around for a long time. And this book truly depicts the Home Depot environment very well as it focuses on a very large audience.
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1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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This business truly started as a dream
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Reviewer:
ztinad@aol.com
from Philadelphia, PA.
January 6, 2000
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These two gentlemen who started The Home Depot had been executives at another home center company, but when they were fired and a friend pushed them to start Home Depot, they truly had nothing, but an idea, a dream. They really had no money, and had to go out and find it. For anyone who has ever had to do that to start your own business, believe me it ain't easy! I know I did it!. Read this story, you won't be sorry!
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2 of 2 people found this review helpful.
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See all 16 customer reviews...
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