The Home Depot launches customer education initiative

The Home Depot earlier this month announced an initiative in all stores to help inform customers about safety and security, as well as the products and tools needed for a healthy home.

According to the company, all new and existing merchandise, along with safety and healthy-living checklists, will be prominently displayed under the headings "Home Safety Zone" and "Healthy Home Zone."

"Our customers told us they wanted more information about how to best take care of their families and their homes," said Richard Dale, global product merchant for home safety and security. "As a long-time advocate for home safety, we have responded by providing simple safety checklists and a designated area in every store where our customers can easily access product to make homes both secure and healthy."

The October campaign kickoff is being held in tandem with National Fire Safety Month.

"We would like people to think of us as their one-stop home safety headquarters for every product they could possibly need to keep their families and homes safe. We will be providing guidance on how to protect and prepare families and homes from fires, hurricanes, floods and other natural disasters," Dale said.

The Home Safety Zone will feature products and information on how to protect the home against fire, carbon monoxide and intrusion. Products include fire extinguishers, smoke alarms, entry alarms, security lighting and other related items. Simple-to-use checklists also will be available in this area.

The Healthy Home Zone will feature products and information to create a cleaner indoor environment. This area will include thermostats, air purifiers, dehumidifiers, water filtration and other related products.

Founded in 1978, The Home Depot reported fiscal 2001 sales of $53.6 billion. The company employs approximately 296,000 associates and has 1,453 stores in 49 states, Puerto Rico, seven Canadian provinces, and Mexico.

Its stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "HD" and is included in the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Standard & Poor's 500 Index.