Arthur Blank's Story & Private Equity Comments

Arthur Blank’s rise to billionaire status wasn’t easy.

Handy Dan was a home improvement retailer in the 1970s.

Despite financial success, a parent company came in and fired most of senior management, including Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank.

Both decided to pivot and start a DIY-low price store.

In 1979, Bernie and Arthur leased several 60,000 sq. ft buildings in Georgia.

The name of their business? The Home Depot, Atlanta’s Do-It-Yourself Warehouse.

After year 1, The Home Deport only produced $81k in revenue.

To create a more personalized customer experience, Arthur and Marcus would follow people to their car and ask them, “Why didn’t you buy something?”

During this process, customers told them that the Home Depot didn’t have what they needed. Sometimes, the founders would then go buy the missing items and deliver it to their homes.

Two years later, in 1981, Arthur and Bernie raised over $4 million and went public. Shares cost only $12 at the time.

In 1989, Handy Dan Improvement Store went out of business.

In 2023, Home Depot did $153 billion in revenue.

Arthur Blank is now worth $8.3 billion and owns the Atlanta Falcons.

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Recently, Arthur Blank shared his thoughts on private equity in the NFL.

According to Front Office Sports, Arthur believes a PE model would allow a family to keep control of the franchise without having to sell major pieces. In addition, Blank emphasizes the ability to raise funds with private equity involvement.

Currently, the average NFL franchise value is roughly $5.11 billion. The rising evaluations of NFL teams are shrinking the pool of potential owners.

In 2019, Major League Baseball allowed private equity firms to invest in franchises. Two years later, the NBA and NHL followed suit. Is the NFL next?