354950--4/3/2008--HOME_DEPOT

related topics

{product, market, service}

{regulation, change, law}

{cost, operation, labor}

{condition, economic, financial}

{customer, product, revenue}

{financial, litigation, operation}

{personnel, key, retain}

{operation, international, foreign}

{gas, price, oil}

{cost, contract, operation}

{cost, regulation, environmental}

The state of the housing, construction and home improvement markets, rising costs, a reduction in the availability of financing, weather and other conditions in North America could adversely affect our costs of doing business, demand for our products and services and our financial performance. We rely on third party suppliers, and if we fail to identify and develop relationships with a sufficient number of qualified suppliers, our ability to timely and efficiently access products that meet our high standards for quality could be adversely affected. If we are unable to effectively manage and expand our alliances and relationships with selected suppliers of brand name products, we may be unable to effectively execute our strategy to differentiate ourselves from our competitors. Any inability to open new stores on schedule will delay the contribution of these new stores to our financial performance. The implementation of our supply chain and technology initiatives could disrupt our operations in the near term, and these initiatives might not provide the anticipated benefits or might fail. We may not timely identify or effectively respond to consumer trends, which could adversely affect our relationship with customers, the demand for our products and services and our market share. The inflation or deflation of commodity prices could affect our prices, demand for our products, sales and profit margins. If we cannot successfully manage the unique challenges presented by international markets, we may not be successful in expanding our international operations. Our success depends upon our ability to attract, train and retain highly qualified associates. Changes in accounting standards and subjective assumptions, estimates and judgments by management related to complex accounting matters could significantly affect our financial results or financial condition. Increased competition could adversely affect prices and demand for our products and services and could decrease our market share. We are involved in a number of legal proceedings, and while we cannot predict the outcomes of such proceedings and other contingencies with certainty, some of these outcomes may adversely affect our operations or increase our costs. Our costs of doing business could increase as a result of changes in federal, state or local regulations.

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354950--4/3/2008--HOME_DEPOT_INC