[blam]

"Sears did the same thing in the ‘70s. Shot themselves in the foot."

My brother says the same was done at Home Depot.

[muawiyah]

Home Depot bought into the distribution channel that moves wholesale to retail or into the hands of construction contractors.

They were losing their shirts.

At the moment they are unloading that piece of business and refocusing on their retail core.

[Vinnie]

My brother says the same was done at Home Depot.

Just 2 days ago my neighbor called Home Depot, where he had bought a front door. The door jamb wasn't wide enough to cover his wall thickness.
Whoever he talked to was oblivious to different thickness walls and made no effort to custom order a door.
Neighbor called Lowe's, the fellow knew exactly what my neighbor needed and special ordered the door.

Most of these sales oriented stores have removed commissions and any incentive for an 'associate' to make a sale.
Today's 'salesperson' simply points a customer toward the correct location and watches that shoplifting doesn't occur.