Home Depot is the world's largest chain of home centers, with sales of more than $40 billion and over 1,200 giant stores across the United States. Besides offering a huge array of building materials, hardware, electrical supplies, plumb- ing fixtures, and gardening supplies, Home Depot prides itself on offering excel- lent customer service. Home Depot's sales staff, many of whom were former tradespeople such as carpenters or electricians, are carefully trained by Home Depot. All new sales employees go through a five-day training seminar on every- thing from how to greet customers to how to help customers make sure they have all the products they need for the projects they are working on. Home Depot uses the latest computer technology to manage its merchandise and control inventory and has built its reputation as an astute marketer to almost legendary levels among retailers. Indeed, no less an authority then David Glass, the president of Wal-Mart, says that Home Depot is the best-managed retailer in the country. Required How has the emergence of large-scale, technologically sophisticated, and marketing-oriented retailers such as Home Depo changed the retailer's role in the marketing channel? What are the major implications of these changes for manufacturers and customers?