Home Depot managed to avoid a branding fiasco right out of the gates, according to Wyatt.
The company archivist said that she doesn't "think we'd be chatting today if they'd gone with" one of the originally proposed company names: Bad Bernie's Buildall.
The proposed name would have come complete with a logo featuring a man in a striped prison uniform. Wyatt said that the idea fit into the marketing trend of depicting unhinged or outrageous characters selling products at low prices (think Crazy Eddie).
So where did Home Depot's far more understated name come from?
Wyatt said that early investor Marjorie Buckley came up with the idea. Inspiration struck when Buckley and her husband were driving around and passed a train depot that had been turned into a restaurant.
Wyatt said that Marcus and Blank loved the name's "down-to-earth, no-frills" quality, and the rest is home improvement history.