The Home Depot, Inc. (HD), Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (LOW): Pick Your Winner in August Home Improvement Sweepstakes

Winners and Losers

My prediction is that The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) wins the August sweepstakes in unvarnished numbers and future expectations, particularly if Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) buys Orchards. If Orchards goes at auction to someone else, yet to appear, Lowe’s has a lot to fear from Orchards competition that nibbles at Lowe’s territory and retail concept.  Lowe’s, trailing in Q1 results, lower “turns”  –  3.9 to The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) 4.6 and with a smaller base, really needs to focus on its own game, not management of a new Orchards business or somehow integrating demoralized Orchards staff into theirs. Sears, a near hopeless basket case will see further declines in Q3 as its sales flounder and its competition circles on all sides.  Perhaps Sears gets a respite by moving Craftsman inventory through Orchards as long as Orchards survives.

Predictions, prognostications and other fairy tales….  my April prediction for the demise of  Orchards was pretty dead on, maybe even too conservative considering the fact that it filed for bankruptcy in June.  It’s all clear fairly soon, no matter what the crystal ball says.

The article Pick Your Winner in August Home Improvement Sweepstakes originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Charlie Wagner.

Charlie is a member of The Motley Fool Blog Network — entries represent the personal opinion of the blogger and are not formally edited.

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