With home sales down, and with that, sales of home improvement materials, Home Depot’s timing in reinvesting the money made in part by selling off HD Supply may be raising some eyebrows. CEO Frank Blake spoke with The Wall Street Journal about the big decisions he has made and why it was important that they be made now.
 
Blake told the paper that the decision to invest more than $3 billion in company improvements over the next two years was not a difficult one to make. There’s absolutely a benefit in making changes during a downturn,”he said. “It’s easier for everyone to understand the need for the change when things are tougher and the risks are lower.”
 
Blake has already used proceeds from the HD Supply sale to implement a new centralized distribution system. …