The Home Depot ® , the world’s largest home improvement retailer, announced that its growing family of wholesale distribution businesses will be united under the common brand HD Supply SM . “The HD Supply brand represents the rich legacy of each company in our division and the expanded opportunity afforded to our customers as a result of The Home Depot’s financial strength, supplier relationships and value-add marketing opportunities,” said Joe DeAngelo, executive vice president/president, HD Supply.

 “A common brand enables us to showcase our unique ability to provide end-to-end solutions for our customers. Our goal is to make it easier for customers to do business with us by providing reliable, efficient service for a larger scope of their project needs.” The wholesale division has been operating at a group level under the HD Supply name for some time, but each business has continued to operate under its existing brand. Throughout the coming months, each HD Supply business will be transitioning to the new brand identity and reaching out to customers to communicate the change. While the brand names of all HD Supply companies will now be streamlined, each still has the same experienced leadership and account teams that customers expect. HD Supply serves professional customers of all sizes – including contractors, municipalities, builders, government entities, industrial businesses and maintenance professionals – with a continuum of products and services, from infrastructure and construction to maintenance, repair and remodel. 

The organization has nearly 1,000 locations across the United States and in Canada, and over 26,000 associates, with projected 2006 sales of $12 billion. “We’ve stated our strategy of repeating on the professional side the same type of industry transformation The Home Depot pioneered in the do-it-yourself retail space,” said DeAngelo. “The combined strength of HD Supply provides the solid platform to get us there. After building leadership positions in a broad range of offerings over the last few years, we are now aligning each business under a single entity capable of providing a complete range of solutions. We plan to draw on the expertise of our combined $69 billion supply chain and best practices to provide professional customers an unmatched supplier relationship.” 

The family of HD Supply businesses provides products and services in the following platforms:

 · Infrastructure: Products and services to construct and support the public works systems for residential and commercial projects

 · Construction: Interior and exterior structural building components for residential and commercial projects, primarily serving plumbing, electrical, mechanical and general contractors; homebuilders; industrial companies; original equipment manufacturers; and commercial businesses

 · Maintenance: Products and services for the routine maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) needs of multifamily housing, hospitality, healthcare, government and industrial facilities

 · Repair/Remodel: Home improvement products and building materials, serving the consumer, professional handyman and light remodeler markets.

 For more about HD Supply, visit www.hdsupplyinc.com.