José Antonio Rodríguez Garza is the man behind the scenes at the beginning of this story.Twenty years ago, this royal executive had the strategic and financial vision to plan the landing of an army in orange aprons in Mexico.However, history places him, today, at the head of the company that arrived in the country two decades ago: The Home Depot.In 2001, the US firm acquired Total Home, a company that was owned by Grupo Alfa and had three stores in Nuevo León, as well as one in Mexico City, with a total of 300 employees.Before the transaction was announced, Rodríguez Garza worked in the Strategic Programming area of ​​the Alfa company, with engineer Ricardo Saldívar Escajadillo, who was the first president and general director of The Home Depot Mexico.Both worked with Armando Garza Sada, president of the industrial group.“I was invited [to join The Home Depot in 2001] and I had to go talk to the engineer Armando Garza.He tells me: 'The truth is, it's a good opportunity, I would decide the same'”, recalls the president and CEO of the self-service chain, in an exclusive interview.Follow the business information in our specialized sectionThis is how Pepe, as he is affectionately called by his relatives, decided to join the company that, in 2018, made him its highest representative in the country, after the retirement of Sergio Gutiérrez Osuna, who, in turn, succeeded to Ricardo Saldivar.“Mexico is a smaller economy than the United States and Canada combined, but the truth is that we have been a very successful acquisition and project.On that side, there is an opportunity to continue growing,” says Rodríguez Garza.The manager moves with his orange apron through the corridors of the Las Torres branch, which was, in 1994, the first Total Home store, in Nuevo León.He is ready to unveil a new goal, two decades after the start of this adventure.Within the next three or five years, the company expects to reach a total of 150 stores in the country, that is, to open 20 new stores, with an emphasis on Mexico City, which will also bring an increase in annual investments.This 2021, the firm expects to close the year with 130 stores, which exceeds the expectation set 20 years ago, which was to open a total of 50 stores in the Mexican Republic, with growth potential that still surprises locals and strangers.The Home Depot is the world's largest "home improvement" chain, with a presence in the United States, Mexico and Canada, through more than 2,200 stores and global revenue of $100.9 billion.The company advances with lead feet and recognizes that it has preferred to maintain a firm and safe growth, which has guaranteed its permanence in the Mexican market and its achievements to date.Today, the strategy also considers the consolidation of its e-commerce offer, a field where Amazon moves skillfully. Successful executiveJosé Rodríguez Garza has passed through several areas of the company, as part of the operations, finance and commercial staff.In addition, for four years, he collaborated with The Home Depot corporate in the United States, to learn how to manage the business.Since his childhood, José Rodríguez saw in his father the best example to follow on his way to becoming a successful executive.The patriarch of the family had a business consultancy in Monterrey, Nuevo León, and corporate lessons were daily in this family environment.Pepe has spent most of his professional career dedicated to finance and strategic planning.His role in the corporate was developed, almost always, behind the scenes, with the analysis of investments.The manager's goal is for the company to continue growing, and develop the Mexican market, to generate economic value, but also of a human nature.The president of the national operation wants to see his teams and the communities where he has a presence grow.The company's strategy is based on three approaches: being the authority on the product, having a flagship service based on associates, and being efficient.It is in the last strategic pillar where Pepe focuses his work.“Our objective is to generate value and gain market share, but to create value for everyone [from the shareholder, to the last link in the business, taking into account customers and suppliers].The three customers The Home Depot targets are: the sales floor consumer, the professional customer (a contracting or housing company, for example), and the tradesman (electricians, painters, masons, and plumbers, to name a few). .The Mexico division participates closely with the corporate in the United States, but with its own operational and logistics team to meet the demand of the Mexican consumer.“We are the best-prepared retail team in Mexico and they give us the freedom [from the United States] to do things,” says the Mexican manager, who explains that, initially, it was feared that the “do it yourself” model (do it yourself) yourself, in English) would be limited in Mexico, a thought that has been contradicted by reality.José Antonio Rodríguez, President and CEO of Home Depot Mexico.September 10, 2021 Photo: © Andrea GamaThe pandemicIn 2015, the chain began selling its products through its e-commerce platform, while, two years later, the site's traffic exceeded the number of visitors to physical stores and, in 2019, the strategy was rethought. of business towards the medium term of the company in Mexico.But no one saw a risk that has always accompanied human beings on the planet: the appearance of viruses that cause pandemics.The course of 2020 was a watershed for all of humanity.The SARSCov-2 coronavirus pandemic brought with it the implementation of social distancing measures to prevent the spread of the virus and prevent greater mortality among the world population.Although these were not the best circumstances to operate, the company (with corporate headquarters in Atlanta, United States) found a golden opportunity to boost its sales, since Mexican households became more relevant in the lives of consumers.The house became a school, office, cinema, restaurant and meeting point for family members.Adapting the spaces to meet the new functions of the home gave way to a growing demand for products to remodel every corner.Only the Association of Hardware Stores and Tlapaleros of Nuevo León reported, in October last year, a 40% increase in sales of businesses in this area, which represent as a hardware market a value of 24,000 million dollars for the national economy. .“We began to accelerate our logistics infrastructure and an interconnected retail strategy was proposed, which leads to reinforcing the entire supply chain […] This means an interesting transformation, which is accompanied by significant investments in technology,” explains José Rodríguez.The chain has become a success story, since, says its president, the firm has increased its sales uninterruptedly for two decades.Despite the health difficulties, the firm has reported double-digit growth during the health emergency.The firm understands that it is one of the most necessary chains in times of natural disasters, due to the type of products and services it sells.This service approach has become a kind of fuel that feeds the chain's development and differentiates it from other businesses.The investments made in the past have begun to bear fruit in a lean time for many firms in Mexico.With the pandemic, the company achieved the objectives that it had set for 2023 in terms of electronic commerce.The category of security products began to show growth, followed by products to remodel."I can tell you that the orders that we made in seven days, now we made them in one," says the manager, who also acknowledges that there were operational failures at the beginning of the health contingency, such as delays in the delivery of products, for example.The company formed groups to solve the yellow lights at the operational level, since 80% of the problems evidenced occurred due to lack of communication with customers;while deliveries were streamlined through new distribution systems, such as the use of motorcycles in Mexico City, in addition to the establishment of agreements with parcel companies.Investments then began to flow into the website, which receives more than 250 million visits;while the physical stores required the hiring of 600 people.The company has 18,500 associates, in contrast to two previous years, when this figure barely reached 16,000 employees.In addition, the company met the new generations of consumers.“The pandemic transformed us for the better and focused us on the basics.As a management team, we began to make many improvements," says José, who points out that about seven out of 10 clients who entered the page are new users of the orange firm's platform. September 10, 2021. Photo: © Andrea GamaEl home depot challengeCompanies like Amazon are stiff competition for traditional firms like The Home Depot.However, the firm advances in electronic commerce and is committed to the knowledge of its associates to satisfy the needs of its clients.“Amazon is a very relevant competitor, and other players are on demand, but I am a firm believer in competition.With the growth we have, it occurs to us to do things and, as they tell us in the United States, saying 'no' is also strategic.What we do is focus on customers”, says the manager.The company has two distribution centers: in Mexico City and Nuevo León, and has started with the opening of regional distribution centers to be closer to stores and professional customers.In 2021, the company's investment is 3,330 million pesos (mdp), 39% more than what was invested in 2020, when this sum was 2,395 mdp.A third of the resources will be used to reinforce the omnichannel strategy, which takes into account technology and infrastructure.The company's website and its application on mobile devices have the technology to measure a space and determine the exact amount of a product to change a floor, for example, or find the ideal water heater for a home."Before, the store was like a warehouse, and now we are seeing how the supply chain is something that we can use, not so much to store, but to deliver directly to our customers," says the manager.Today, the firm is preparing to live its next 20 years in the Mexican market.The opportunity that the executive sees lies in continuing to institutionalize the retail industry and the sale of products to remodel.The University of The Home Depot is a concept that the firm has generated to train store associates and support offices.“It is a success story, both in terms of business, as well as in the development of human capital, and also the development of [the supply chain] in Mexico,” says the executive from Nuevo León.And it is that the golden opportunity for Mexico lies in reinforcing the supply chain and exporting to the global operation of the United States, which requires the willingness of the companies, as well as the support of the authorities.Currently, eight out of 10 suppliers are Mexican, which shows the importance that the development of the actors in the chain has had.“We are in a privileged situation because there is a strategic location for Mexico to reach the United States.So, we have worked developing suppliers to manufacture, or develop products that we have exported”, says the executive.Pepe walks happily through the aisles of the store that saw the birth of The Home Depot's division in Mexico 20 years ago.He buys a couple of pumpkin-shaped lanterns for the upcoming November commemorations, as the orange-aproned army prepares to celebrate two decades and start another market conquest.“I started here in 2001. It is my second family, apart from my wife and two daughters.The truth is, I am delighted to retire right here, as my two predecessors did.But you have to work for this to happen."Subscribe to Forbes MexicoCIOs are creating a new economy by revolutionizing business in areas like data, the future of work...The outbreak emerged just days after Beijing began lifting widespread restrictions that had been...The agency said it welcomes the decision by the Joe Biden administration and the CDC to remove the requirement...