Home improvement giant Home Depot (HD) has absolutely been delivering on the decorations front of late, but not without some competition in the field. And what would you think, were you to discover that one of its biggest competitors in Halloween décor is actually a discount grocer? It turns out that smart shoppers might be looking to Aldi instead for at least one item. Shareholders took this unexpected turn in stride, and sent shares up over 2% in Thursday afternoon’s trading.
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No, Aldi will not be a match for Home Depot in quantity, or in quality, but on one point, it may be an unexpected winner. That point is an inflatable spider. While Home Depot has one, as it turns out, Aldi also has one, which looks reasonably similar. But the key difference, and the one that might make Home Depot shoppers reconsider, is that the Home Depot inflatable spider costs around four times what the Aldi inflatable spider does.
Dubbed the Four Foot Halloween Inflatable Spider, it runs just $12.99 at Aldi. It also boasts built-in LED lighting, and a self-inflating feature that means your spider will always be ready to go, no pump required. Admittedly, Home Depot’s spider is quite a bit bigger—fully two feet bigger, in fact—but the fact that it also costs $54.98 is likely going to change some plans. When you can get a small army of slightly smaller spiders for the cost of one somewhere else, some Halloween plans will favor the bulk spider approach.
Preparing for Christmas
I remember one Labor Day weekend at a mall that has since been demolished, in which one of the anchor stores had some of its Christmas decorations out already. I remember being baffled by this…until I saw Home Depot announce that a Christmastime fan favorite was back in stock. In September.
This particular winner is the Grand Duchess Twinkling Balsam Fir LED Pre-Lit Artificial Christmas Tree. It comes in three sizes and two shapes—your choice of full or slim—and even has a version with artificial snow attached for that “we just hauled it out of the woods” feel. The Grand Duchess enjoyed a viral moment a few months back, and is apparently already trending on TikTok with its new availability. Those interested may want to move fast, as reports note these frequently sell out quickly.
Is Home Depot a Good Long-Term Buy?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on HD stock based on 18 Buys and six Holds assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 10.36% rally in its share price over the past year, the average HD price target of $445.14 per share implies 5.51% upside potential.
