Home Depot is a staple in the US as one of the most profitable retail giants with over 2,200 stores in 3 countries. The retail giant had net earnings in 2020 of over $110 billion. However, they failed miserably when they tried opening and operating 12 stores across 6 countries in Asia. The main reason of failure is that they did not appeal to the different racial groups and understanding their standpoint from a cultural perspective.
Although global integration is becoming more and more popular for retail giants, a key takeaway is the cultural differences which leads to expansion issues and decreased marketability. For example, China has more men than women by a long shot, as there are a surplus of boys and men to women in the country. With this being said, women like to do more of the house remodeling and touch ups within a house. So Home Depot’s more western/rustic style appeals to more men than women, so it turned the population away from purchasing. In China, women are more attracted to colorful and eye-catching things to buy within a store, which Home Depot is not the place for those types of home touch ups.