Ever wondered why Home Depot has sucked so much in the past years? A post-mortem on former Home Depot CEO Robert "Big Bob" Nardelli's departure lays it out. Home Depot:

• Cut experienced sales staff, which often consisted of retired plumbers, electricians, etc
• Replaced with inexperienced, cheaper staff
• Siphoned resources from consumer side to focus on selling to professional builders

While Home Depot has pledged $350 million to improve customer service, long term trends suggest their heart lies elsewhere. Says NYT:

"Home Depot argues that the $200 billion do-it-yourself market is mature. Professional builders represent a $410 billion market."

— BEN POPKEN

At Home Depot, the New Chief Needs to Sell an Old Story to Wall Street [NYT]