Hilti Proshops exit Home Depot stores

In a sea of orange smocks, the Hilti store-within-a-store format at many Home Depots had injected a splash of red-shirted Hilti sales reps.

That color combination is fading to black, as Tulsa, Okla.-based Hilti’s “Proshops,” as they are called, are pulling out of the world’s largest home improvement retailer.

The Hilti Proshops had been a fixture at Home Depot for about 13 years. Hilti products will continue to be available online through the Atlanta-based retail giant.

The decision to split was mutual, said Hilti spokeswoman Carla Briggs.

“Over the past month, the Home Depot and Hilti have reviewed our business arrangement in light of the fast-changing retail industry and our respective business models and objectives,” Briggs said.

Hilti, which has more than 1,100 direct sales force team members and 105 Hilti Center locations, said it will not look for another retailer to take Home Depot’s place. Nor would the company describe the level of sales generated by its Proshops in Home Depot.