Manhattan Swank Meets Do-It-Yourself

NEW YORK —  Shortly after Home Depot opened its first two Manhattan stores late last year, Ken Richmond noticed something about his decidedly upper-crust clientele.

Some of them couldn’t hang a picture.

“Maybe I’ve never hung a picture if I live in a $7-million condo,” sympathized Richmond, manager of the 59th Street store across from Bloomingdale’s.

Although he offers plumbing and home improvement classes similar to ones taught at other Home Depots, Richmond also teaches his customers to use anchor bolts -- not simply nails -- to fasten picture frames to Sheetrock.

And for the spackle-challenged whose fallen pictures had gouged a chunk out of their walls, he had the appropriate remedial course: Repairing Your Walls.

With its oversized orange cubes having settled in suburbia long ago, Home Depot Inc. is counting on urban beachheads in cities like New York to lead the way to further growth.

Mindful that what works elsewhere probably won’t in Gotham, the home improvement retailer has molded its two Manhattan stores to the finicky and pampered tastes of its new quarry.

Forget concrete floors and hulking warehouse feel. These floors glisten. And amid the paint and screwdrivers, shoppers can create a $500,000 kitchen and pick out designer lamps and one-of-a-kind rugs.

The stores have doormen (de rigueur for high-end retail) and concierge desks. Situated in the basement of a new high-rise, the 59th Street entryway doesn’t even resemble a traditional Home Depot. Products are on display in museum-style cases. The name of a drill and flashlight set is the “title” while the manufacturer is the “artist.”

“It’s almost like a Home Bloomingdale’s,” Maureen Early Vlak said as she shopped for a light bulb with her 17-month-old son.

Vlak knew the 59th Street store was different from other Home Depots, but couldn’t say exactly how because she had never been in one of its suburban outlets.

A big challenge for Home Depot is coaxing people to pick up a wrench when their previous idea of home repair has been to pick up a phone to call the super.

One customer asked store manager Richmond to recommend the best hammer. Richmond said that was a tip-off that the man didn’t know what he was doing because he should have asked what the best hammer was for a specific job, Richmond said.

“In the burbs you don’t get those questions,” Richmond said. “People in Midtown Manhattan are not used to doing it yourself.”

Richmond wouldn’t divulge specific figures but said sales had increased each month since his store opened in December.

Indeed, Manhattanites seem to have taken to the store.

Jennifer Schlesinger, who was shopping with her mother and daughter, used to have problems finding what she needed at neighborhood stores.

“It was very difficult to get any kind of hardware,” she said. “I had to ask my mom to buy things in Long Island.”

When selling her apartment recently, Schlesinger pointed to the store’s proximity as a selling point.

Though Richmond well knows the affluence and the time pressures of his customers, he’s still occasionally surprised at their buying habits. For example, Home Depot offers same-day delivery in Manhattan.

“People will buy a plant for $30,” Richmond said. “And spend $21 to have it delivered.”