Home Depot adds 1,500th store, plans more growth

ATLANTA - The Home Depot says it has opened its 1,500 store -- this one in Abilene, Texas -- and is on target to add 200 locations and 40,000 jobs by the end of this fiscal year. <br> <br> Twenty years ago, the country&#39;s largest home improvement store chain operated ten stores and had roughly 4.2 million customer transactions. Last quarter, the chain had 1,471 stores that handled 286 million purchases in the United States, Canada and Mexico. <br> <br> The new store that opened Thursday is the company&#39;s 117th in Texas. <br> <br> Atlanta-based Home Depot, which has 280,000 employees, says it plans further growth this year in several key markets, including Texas, California, New York, Florida and Indiana.

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