Competitive Edginess - Okay, so there's a Home Depot opening in Manhattan and the NYT is all atwitter. But the most interesting piece of the article is the quote from my old coworker about how Home Depot and Restoration Hardware are not competitors:

"Dave Glassman, director of marketing for the Restoration Hardware chain, which has a 14,000-square-foot store a block from the Home Depot, said the new Home Depot 'will give us more foot traffic, and increase the reputation of the entire neighborhood as a retail district featuring things for the home. We don't see Home Depot as a competitive threat.'

Mr. Glassman may not be quite so sanguine when he walks his competitor's new store and studies the array of 1,200 different styles of cabinet hardware, more than at any other Home Depot..."

Somehow, I think comparison and quotation in the NYT is going to be viewed as a positive PR move for RH, even if Home Depot creams them in the drawer pull segment of the market.