The Home Depot Launches the Next Generation of Outdoor Power

Latest in lithium-ion outdoor power tools from EGO and Ryobi make lawn care easier

ATLANTA, April 3, 2014 /CNW/ - The Home Depot^®, the world's largest home improvement retailer, is launching into spring, its biggest selling season of the year. The Home Depot's fifth annual Spring Black Friday is the official kickoff to its busiest season. For the next 11 days, prices on hundreds of the most sought-after spring products will be significantly reduced, including a variety of live goods, soils, mulches and lawn care supplies; outdoor power tools; gardening products; patio and grills.

The Home Depot is focusing on providing customers next generation, quality products that make spring simpler at a good price. To continue to deliver products that answer consumer needs, The Home Depot is excited to announce its newest exclusive partner in lithium-ion outdoor power, EGO. This new line of battery-powered tools is fueled by lithium-ion technology. Lithium-ion tools are lighter, run longer, can be recharged less often and offer a more consistent charge throughout the life of the battery.

EGO is the latest and most powerful line of cordless battery-powered outdoor tools with a 56-volt lithium-ion battery that charges from zero to full charge in as little as 30 minutes. The batteries run the full line of EGO products including a lawn mower, blower, hedge trimmer and string trimmer. In comparison, the average golf cart runs on a 36 or 48-volt battery and the average smartphone takes two hours to charge from zero to full charge.

Not only does the EGO tool platform match or surpass the performance of gas without the noise, fuss and fumes, the products deliver convenience. The tools' cordless design allows for easy maneuvering around trees, fences and decks. And the light-weight folding design allows for easy storage and transportation. The EGO lawn mower, blower and hedge trimmer all fit into the back of a standard size car trunk.

"EGO has the industry's best and most powerful cordless outdoor power tools on the market," said Joe Turoff, EGO vice president. "EGO chose to partner exclusively with The Home Depot because of its reputation for providing consumers with the newest and best tools available."

Additionally, The Home Depot is expanding its long-time exclusive partnership with Ryobi. The Ryobi ONE+ platform runs more than 50 tools that are compatible with one lithium ion battery to make home improvement projects easier to power. This spring, Ryobi is expanding their Hybrid platform by introducing a Hybrid Blower. The Hybrid Blower can be plugged into an outlet for unlimited run time and then switched to an 18-volt battery to navigate the whole yard with ease.

Also new this season is the RYOBI 40v-X Expand-It Cordless String Trimmer – the first cordless string trimmer to have gas attachment capability, easily converting this cordless trimmer to an edger, blower or a cultivator with RYOBI Expand-It attachments.

"This spring and every season, The Home Depot aims to bring the latest tools to market to make the to-do list easier and simpler," said Dana Hudson, The Home Depot senior merchant. "Our continued partnership with Ryobi and our new partnership with EGO are great examples of bringing the best and latest technology to our customers."

The Home Depot is the world's largest home improvement specialty retailer, with 2,263 retail stores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, 10 Canadian provinces and Mexico. In fiscal 2013, The Home Depot had sales of $78.8 billion and earnings of $5.4 billion. The Company employs more than 300,000 associates. The Home Depot's stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: HD) and is included in the Dow Jones industrial average and Standard & Poor's 500 index.

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SOURCE: The Home Depot

News Media: Margaret Watters, Corporate Communications, 770-384-3130, [email protected]; Financial Community, Diane Dayhoff, Vice President of Investor Relations, 770-384-2666, [email protected]

http://www.homedepot.com

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