ATLANTA, -- The Home Depot, the world's largest home improvement retailer, today announced two executive appointments. <p> Eric Peterson, a 10-year Home Depot veteran, has been named President,Strategic Markets, based in Atlanta. In this new position, which will report to Bob Nardelli, chairman, president and CEO, Peterson will be responsible for optimizing operations, in-store merchandising, store prototypes and human resource strategies within targeted growth markets. Peterson most recently served as Division President of the company's Northwest division based in Seattle, WA. <p> With this move, the company also announced that it will consolidate its smaller Northwest division into its Western division creating one combined operating business. Bruce Merino, a 20-year Home Depot veteran, is being named to lead this newly merged division. Most recently, Merino served as President, Western Division. Since joining the company in 1984, Merino has served in a variety of functional and divisional leadership positions. The new Western division includes 335 existing Home Depot stores, employs nearly 46,000 associates, and will be headquartered in the existing Orange County, CA facilities.<p> The combined division will result in greater operating efficiencies through the consolidation of support functions at the California offices and the closure of the company's Seattle Store Support Center (SSC) office. The Company said it expects approximately 100 jobs to be impacted by the closure and that it will provide these employees with job placement assistance. "We are making every effort to assist our associates who are impacted by the move,including exploring other Home Depot opportunities, job fairs and career development seminars," said Bruce Merino, President, Western Division.<P> The Company also said the consolidation would not have any impact on its customers or result in any store closings or reduction of store jobs. In fact, the company says it plans to add four new stores in the state of Washington over the next year to supplement its existing 28 stores. Those new stores will result in the company creating an additional 800 new jobs and bringing total employment to more than 6,000 in the state of Washington. No material financial impact is anticipated as a result of this division consolidation. <p> Founded in 1978, The Home Depot is the world's largest home improvement specialty retailer and the second largest retailer in the United States, with fiscal 2002 sales of $58.2 billion. The company employs approximately 300,000 associates and has more than 1,650 stores in 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, eight Canadian provinces, and Mexico. Its stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: HD) and is included in the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Standard & Poor's 500 Index.
