STATEMENT from Bernie Marcus, Co-Founder, The Home Depot, About the Resignation of Bob Nardelli.

ATLANTA -- "As co-founder of The Home Depot, I left the company in 2002 and at that time the company had become not only a great brand in the home improvement industry but in all of retailing. Under Bob Nardelli's leadership, it has remained number one in the industry and has grown to more than 2,000 retail stores with more than 355,000 employees. I know Frank Blake as both an executive and an administrator, and I have the utmost confidence that his leadership and people skills will continue the legacy of The Home Depot. Although I have not officially been associated with the company for several years, I believe I am still one of the single largest shareholders and I have supported the Board and its executive decisions. I do support the mutual decision made by the Board and Bob Nardelli."