|
Home Depot Starts Selling 3-D Printers in Stores
[BLOOMBERG] Home Depot Inc., the world's largest home-improvement chain, will start selling 3-D printers today in stores for the first time, pushing deeper into a market that was once the domain of engineers and hobbyists.Home Depot is selling devices from MakerBot, a 3-D printer maker acquired by Stratasys Ltd. last year, in 12 locations as part of a pilot project, the companies said. The effort will include stores in California, Illinois and New York. "It's a pilot for us to test a potential disruptive technology, and to make sure we are on the forefront of a new innovative product," Joe Downey, an online merchant at Atlanta-based Home Depot, said in an interview. The move builds on Home Depot's decision to offer the MakerBot printers on its website three months ago. Though the devices aren't likely to create a major new source of revenue, the chain is betting that they'll appeal to forward-thinking contractors and do-it-yourselfers. Customers can use the printers to create parts and supplies that might be handy for repairs, such as cup holders, U-clips and pipe-stakes. Posted by: Fred 2014-07-15 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=395598 |