Gross. I actually go to Home Depot over Lowe's since they generally have more raw materials and don't bother with a lot of the frilly and design-y things that they do.

and I'm a woman.

It's about time for this change. I go to Lowe's because it is cleaner and better organized. Let's face it, Home Depot caters to a lot of DIY'ers, woman, men, couples. If I was a contractor, I'd probably have more professional resources that caters towards the trade. I don't know how many contractors have told me that Home Depot lumber, sod, etc. is poor quality. They don't shop there unless it's in a pinch. Maybe it varies from market to market but in L.A., there are better places for the pros to get stuff. What's wrong with some fluffy stuff in there?

marcella & i agree -- i much prefer Lowe's. when i re-roofed in 2005, the products at HD were of much lower quality.

The whole tone of that article irritates me. The implication that, since I'm a woman, all I care about are curtains and pillows and will only dare wield a hammer if it's pink just drives me batty.

i felt that too, asm. i'm not handy, but i read a lot so that when i hire someone, i know what they should be doing and generally buy my own supplies. i will say, though, that the very small HD in South Hill, VA has always treated me like a queen, whereas more suburban ones near Richmond tend to be condescending.

Intimidating for any female? I go in all the time and have never felt out of place. I tend to have an idea of what I want and what I'm looking for, I research things (not just hardware store type) before I shop. I would like to see an expanded garden section. If they could get it together there I think they could do really well. When I lived in the Netherlands there were garden centers bigger than Home Depots. And this may sound hokey, but they had a little cafeteria where you could get a coffee and a snack, not unlike Ikea stores. I could easily spend a couple of hours (And lots of money)

If half of your customers are female when you're not catering to a female market, doesn't that mean that you're doing the right thing already to draw them in? I don't go to home depot often because it's so far out of my way, but I've never felt out of place or intimidated there. [It's so much bigger than the usual hardware stores I visit that I actually feel like a kid in a candy store most times.] I think that if they actually did an about-face and started moving in the "feminine" direction I would find the trip to be a complete waste of time and would stop visiting.

I agree with the "gross" comment. HD would have to go a looooong way to clean up the place and change the environment before I'd shop for textiles and decor. The physical environment is ugly, filthy, uninspiring, and not conducive to looking through samples. The limited selection of decor they currently have are mostly ugly.

I'm female. I go to HD to look at power tools...and I enjoy it. I also go because it's closer than Lowe's. Maybe they should think beyond the stereotypes. What they need to do more than cater to female stereotypes is clean up their store, stock better quality of lumber and other supplies, and a wider range of fixtures that look better than "builder grade."

I am a loyal to Home Depot. Why? I am always asked if I need help finding anything, and they actually find it! I have been to Lowes numerous times and can never find an associate, or they never acknowledge me if they are at the desk or on the phone.

My HD is always clean, service is great. The only time I go to Lowes is for mulch if HD runs out.

Jen64, I agree with you. I get *much* better customer service at HD.

What I hate about Lowes and HD is that, for the things I buy, they both have a marginal selection. For example, interior beadboard. HD carries a few selections. Lowes carries a few different selections. Neither of them has an extensive selection. So, I have to shop *both* if I want to see all the varieties or have a specific beadboard style in mind. Same is true for project wood, corbels, lighting, newel posts and so on. I wish one store would just pick it's products and really go all out -offering everything available.

Btw, Hobby Lobby is somewhere between HD/Lowes and BHV. Maybe Ikea is the closest thing we have to BHV? Maybe that's *part* of why it's so successful here?

Bletch. It's no secret to anyone who shops at any of the bigbox home improvement stores that they each have their points of merit and sucklitude. HD has enough issues with their product selection and service as it is. I can't imagine them diverting their focus to trying to attract more female shoppers is going to help that. And a marketing MO based on the helpless, clueless female stereotype is as repulsive as the idea that men should only care about power tools and lumber.

Huh, I usually don't got to Home Depot because I find their customer service is a lot worse than Lowe's and they often don't have what I'm looking for. In fact, I usually drive past a HD on my way to Lowe's. Regardless, that's not where I'm going to shop for fripperies, I got to hardware stores for building supplies that I need in a hurry or are impractical to order online.