Throwback Thursday: Turf Wars in Atlanta

The March 9, 1987 issue of National Home Center News, the forerunner of HBSDealer, reported on a story that reflected the aggressive adolescence of the home center industry.  

“Builders Square and Home Depot are maneuvering in preparation for their first battle here,” the article reported.

At the time, Home Depot operated six stores in Atlanta. Builders Square, a San Antonio-based subsidiary of Kmart, was preparing to open two stores while converting a Kmart into a third.

“The moves represent the first time Home Depot, founder of the warehouse home center concept, has been challenged on its home turf by another warehouse operator,” the article reported.

To put it mildly, Home Depot was prepared for the attack. The article reports: “[The Home Depot] has launched a drive to renovate all four of its older stores into units that more closely resemble its new prototype …. The renovations involve changing the aisles from side-to-side to front to back, installing new fixturing, and repositioning doubled-up registers into a single line.”

Here’s a map of Home Depot locations in the Atlanta area today.