Which home improvement chain was founded in 1978 by Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank? The Home Depot is the home improvement chain founded in 1978 by Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank.
Marcus and Blank developed the concept after they were dismissed from leadership roles at the regional home-improvement retailer Handy Dan. With investment banker Ken Langone’s help, they raised funding for a new kind of store: a large warehouse carrying an unusually broad selection of do-it-yourself and professional building supplies.
The Home Depot’s first two stores opened on June 22, 1979, in the Atlanta area, in Doraville and on Memorial Drive in Decatur. The founders’ original idea was to offer the product range of a warehouse at prices that would attract homeowners, while also providing advice and assistance to customers tackling projects themselves.
The wording names Marcus and Blank, but they were not the only people involved in the company’s founding. Ron Brill, Pat Farrah, and Ken Langone are also credited as co-founders or key early participants. That does not change the quiz answer: Home Depot is the chain identified by the question.