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NORM RICHLAND BIU, TEXAS Home Depot's newest version of its Expo Design Center showed the retailer's tweaking of the format for the past nine years has paid off. Now Expo is ready to ran with an expansion plan that will nearly double its store count this year.
Two Expo openings in late January in the Texas cities of North Richland Hills and Houston brought the division's store count to 15. By the end of the year, a total of 11 stores will be added in the new markets of Boston, San Francisco, New Jersey and Detroit.
The design center concept specializes in offering a broad range of upscale home remodeling projects for higher-income consumers whereas Home Depot warehouse stores target the DIYer.
Expo has continually evolved toward a more upscale interior design showroom format, offering such high-ticket items as $4,475 Shonbek chandeliers, $3,800 wicker patio sets and custom kitchen and bath renovation projects that range in price from $7,000 to $150,000. The high ceilings and warehouse look of the earlier Expos has been refined with better presentations featuring...