Despite domestic dominance Home Depot has been reluctant to focus on international expansion.  They have shown growth in Canada and later in Mexico but what makes Home Depot’s model so difficult to perform effectively abroad? The company sites demographic and cultural fits, but surely any retailer finds ways to work within new markets, why is HD and its industry the exception? On a trip to Dominican Republic I saw that construction was thriving in the wealthy Piantini neighborhood in the country’s capital Santo Domingo. Semi-skilled Labor is extremely cheap in the country around $20 a day and the wealthy are buying housing in American price ranges.  I did not see anything resembling a home depot or lower the entire trip any where in the county.  Surely there are attractive market Home Depot should set its site on for expansion.