The home depot is a remarkable growth story. In the late 1970s, co-founders Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank invented the large-scale home improvement category and helped set off the wave of big-box shopping that has changed the face of retailing in the United States and around the world. Growing from a handful of stores in 1979 to over 1,890 in 2004, The Home Depot is now the world's third largest retailer (after Wal-Mart and France's Carrefour Group) and the number one home improvement retail chain in the United States, more than double the size of its largest direct competitor. The company ranked thirteenth on the 2003 Fortune 500 list of US companies, up from its twenty-third ranking in 2001.

With more than 325,000 “orange-blooded” associates, The Home Depot is the eighth largest employer in the United States. In the last two years, the company has created over 20,000 net new jobs, more than any other US business. Since its founding, the company has employed over 1.2 million people.

The company's financial growth has been equally staggering. Annual sales in 1979 were $7 million; today, The Home Depot rings up that sum in just one hour. Sales have grown tenfold in twenty-five years and are expected to top $70 billion in 2004, marking another record year. Along the way, the company became the youngest retailer ever to reach $30 billion, $40 billion, $50 billion, $60 billion, and soon $70 billion in revenue.