Home Depot To Hold Store Mgr. Meeting in Vegas

Location, location, location.

It's a mantra for Home Depot in placing stores. Now it's a dilemma for the chain's mid-March annual store manager's conference slated for Las Vegas.

Bill Liss, 11Alive Business & Consumer Editor spoke with Brad Shaw, a senior executive at Home Depot.

"The fact that you've closed Expo; that you've cut back on your support staff across the country, the selection of Las Vegas for a meeting of Home Depot sends quite a message. Why Las Vegas?" we asked.

Mr. Shaw replied:

"Had we known 3 years ago what we know now; what we are going through as a Company and as a Country, with the broader economic conditions, of course we would not be going to Las Vegas, no doubt about it."

But for Home Depot, it's now too late and too expensive to change things.

"The fact is canceling the meeting now this late and this close to the meeting date would actually cost just as much as having it," Mr. Shaw said.

Although Home Depot attendees are booked two to a room; no spouses or guests are invited; and 12-hour workdays, there will be free time.

"As people see store managers and sales executives of Home Depot running around Las Vegas, in and out of hotels and possibly coming in and out of the casinos, they are Home Depot people--they tell people they are here for a Company meeting--doesn't that concern you despite the cost, doesn't that worry you about the message that's going out there," we asked.

"It's a great question Bill. It's our job to convey the message of what the meeting is and isn't," Mr. Shaw said.

"Are you perhaps going that extra mile in putting out any type of guidelines?" we asked.

"We are actually having conference calls with our store managers between now and the event to really set the guidelines," Mr. Shaw replied.

For Home Depot, an acute awareness of where they are going to insure a low corporate profile.