All,
In the local paper the following appeared:
Nardelli (HD CEO) and wife Susan bought the 20 room, two story stucco mansion in March 2001 for $4.4 million. The Nardelli’s renovated the house and converted the attic to finished storage. It originally had 10 bedrooms, 9 full and eight half-baths, five fireplaces and a pool. Now they’ve got five bedrooms in the main house – three plus a master suite upstairs and a guest suite on the main floor. Nardelli’s office reportedly cost $165,000. Renovation plans complete, the couple next bought out the neighbors. A modest brick ranch next door on a couple of acres of land was purchased in August for $1.5 million. Another property went for $1.75 million, and a parcel of land behind the original house was purchsed for $585,000. The total for the pachage comes to $8,235,000 plus an estimated $10 million or so for the renovation and elaborate landscaping.”
Maybe too much!!
Replies
A far more interesting question is "How much of that $10 million for renovations was spent at HD?"
Rich Beckman
No, the REAL question is "how big of a parking lot are they building in front of the place?"
Dale,
The question you really should be asking is are you happy with the depot's prices/service/product selection. If not then take your business elsewhere. I personally have no problem with those folks spending their money on the big house/estate. I'm sure they created a ton of work for people all up and down the chain form manufacturers to installers. More power to them.
Mark
"Wow"! $10 million makes for a lot of jobs for those people that work in all the businesses and trades required to do the work.
Edited 11/16/2002 11:16:58 PM ET by RLETHRUD
Im glad they are doing good. I dont share the bad seniment against the boxes. Walmart brought us choice in a small town . The boxes brought prices down and availability. I dont care for all of their ways and the time I have to spend at one , but I also remember the crippled self owned lumber yards that only really offered lumber . They hardly ever had the money to stock our needs. Walmart and the boxes bring us choice that we didnt have before and they bring big time management unaccustomed to us . They are in it for the money, and most of us could use that message. I treat them with no respect as they dont have any for me . Its not that some salesman took you out to lunch , its only about price with the big box and I like the game. Im just in this for the money anyway.
Tim Mooney
Well they run a sucessful business. No matter how much I dislike their business it is highly successful and they can enjoy the proceeds from it
At Darkworks cut to size made to burn......Putty isnt a option
I agree with you in not liking every thing they do, and I dont blame you a bit . I hate the time spent at one , but I find myself having to keep returning for choices.
Tim Mooney
Ya Ron, I really like the Class A support I get from them whenever I return a tool that breaks right after I buy it. :o) Let the thunder crack and the waves roar.
We're going on.
uh yea, ..roto zip.
Tim Mooney
"Walmart brought us choice in a small town."
Wally world virtually wiped out our small town. Now instead of 3 or 4 different department stores, we have wal-mart. Instead of 3 or 4 pharmacies, we have wal-mart. They deliberately wiped out all their competition.
The businesses they re-placed cared about the town, and were locally owned. They sponsored soccer teams, gave to the food pantry, and were there when ya needed them. Now were have a cold, uncaring wal-mart that does nothing for the community except suck money out of it.
Some choice.Action may not always bring happiness, but there is no happiness without action. [Benjamin Disraeli]
s--t happens, Sad but true. That act was repeated across america. Let the thunder crack and the waves roar.
We're going on.
I know that our town is much luckier than most . Ms. Walton just gave our college 6 million dollars which they are using to compete against me in rentals. The goverment is competing against me too. I just remember the choices we had before Walmart , and the hours of operation that the old timers gave us. I dont however like the monopoly that walmart hs , but that was the peoples choice. Any one could have done what they have done. People here complain the same as you are , and our town leaders fought every move for a long time. They have treated Walmart as second rate out of town folks. They seldom have anyone working that is full time thus escaping benifits. Yes there is legitamate talk on both sides. Heres a new one for you though;
If Walmart ran the country the gas problem would have been solved , hence the Irag problem in short order. The high paid officials would be working part time with no benifits or they would just hire someone else. I got an email this morning stateing that the high paid officials have given them selves a healthy pay raise in social security benifits to the tune of around 78 thouand per year while I might be able to draw 1000 per month . I remember the old hardware stores that sold bolts and screws for a 200 percent markup. I guess it depends on what you hold dear to your heart ; Your money or your town ?
Tim Mooney
"If Walmart ran the country the gas problem would have been solved"
Don't see any reason to believe that. You'd replace one set of greedy bureaucrats with another set.
"...........old hardware stores that sold bolts and screws for a 200 percent markup. I guess it depends on what you hold dear to your heart ; Your money or your town ? "
I don't agree that there's a huge price difference with the big chains. They like to pound that into everyone's heads through TV ads. DW totally buys it, so it's worked on her. But the quality is far inferior, as is the service.
When I spent my money in my town, I used to know that it stayed there. Now I have no idea where it goes. Full time careers at old stores have been replaced with part time minimum wage positions with no benifits.
Which one of those employees is likely to become a customer of mine? The part time employee of Wal-mart making minumim wage, or the full time person in the old hardware store?
Both my money AND my town are important to me.Dr. Kevorkian for White House physician.
All good points . I even agree , but it was a democatic vote to up hold Walmart and not the old stores. The peoples decision and a new way to do business. Like I said America is changing and anyone could have competed with them and done the same thing. Of course they are fighting internet buying and not having to pay taxes . Really that is their worry now as we dont even have to go to Walmart . Its pretty amazing what can be done on line now. Im fixing to buy a stove part on here . I think the old owners of stores could be selling something online . We have a plant here that evolved out of a garage . They sell catalog mail order and via internet. Get used to it , as the world is changing and always will. Walmart may be in trouble in 10 years.
Tim Mooney
I remember the old hardware stores that sold bolts and screws for a 200 percent markup. I guess it depends on what you hold dear to your heart
Have any old screws or stuff hanging around in the back of your shop? Dig some out and compare them to what you can buy today.
A lot of today's fasteners are crepe compared to what was avialble 30-40 years ago.
I have christmas tree lights my folks bough when I was a kid in the 50's. The one's I've bought the past few year only last a year or 2.
Race to the bottom.
________________________________________________
"I may have said the same thing before... But my explanation, I am sure, will always be different." Oscar Wilde
Edited 11/18/2002 9:31:20 PM ET by Bob Walker
All,
What I find while talking to people and seeing what is in their homes seems to be an underlying theme throughout the previous posts - that is that quality does not matter (very much). Am I correct?
The intent of my original post was just as a news item; the full length article not containing much more substance than what I posted. I buy 90% of my supplies from HD and having to spend a lot of time in the store I know where to go, who to ask and what not to buy.
If someone wants to spend $10 million on a house w/ no kids at home, so be it. I personally think it is a gross misuse of ones income and positioning oneself in a situation where debt could create a misrable life if not managed properly.
Concerning Walmart, I think people want convenience and the ability to buy for multiple areas of their life at one time. And this leads to:
Another question - How many of you are specialist (drywall, plumbing, painting, ...) vs. a 'complete' shop?
I chose to be the later because I want the consumer to call me for all of his needs; therefore, leading to repete business, hopefully.
No more philosophising for this evening. Going to watch the meteor shower tonight - I'll program my camcorder!
dlb
Now instead of 3 or 4 different department stores, we have wal-mart. Instead of 3 or 4 pharmacies, we have wal-mart.
If the citizens of your town had continued to shop at the department stores and pharmacies, they'd still be in business and Wal-Mart would be gone.
Wal-Mart and HD are pretty aggresive competitors, but they don't decide who survives and who doesn't. The consumers decide that when they decide where to spend their money.
The folks in my home town sing the very same tune - about how freakin' Wal-Mart killed this business and that business, how "downtown" has been destroyed, about how great the service was at the old businesses. But Wal-Mart's parking lot has been full since the day it opened, while Rexall Drugs and Danner's department store became instant ghost-towns. Wal-Mart didn't wipe out those businesses, the people who stopped shopping there did.
"Listen, strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government."Jon
I agree that the big W is ugly in all ways. But obviously, there's a huge number of people who want to shop there; if people didn't, the store would be closed. Everyone shops there because everyone shops there. But what goes around, comes around, and sooner or later, people want quality as opposed to the cheapest piece of crap going. Yes, they often have low prices, but the low prices drive the quality down, and the service usually is, well, non existent.
Walmart is to shopping what McDonalds is to eating. Yes, there's one everywhere in the world, but the food is still garbage. Same lack of flavour the world over. That, however, doesn't prevent me from eating it once in a while.
If enough people in your town want decent stores, someone will fill the demand.