Sales for the third quarter of fiscal 2006 totaled $23.1 billion, an 11.3 percent increase from the third quarter of fiscal 2005.

Total sales in the retail segment grew 1.1 percent to $19.7 billion. Comparable store sales declined 5.1 percent in the third quarter. The U.S. retail home improvement market has slowed significantly due to a slowing overall economy, declining home prices and equity extraction, and slowing housing turnover.

Total sales in HD Supply grew by 159 percent to $3.5 billion, driven by acquisitions as well as organic growth.

“Our sales performance was softer than we anticipated, but I believe we are making the right decisions to strengthen our core retail business and build our HD Supply platform to ensure that we emerge even stronger when the housing cycle rebounds,” said Bob Nardelli, chairman, president and CEO.

During the quarter, the Home Depot opened 26 new stores, including one relocation, with two new stores in Canada and one new store in Mexico, bringing the total store count to 2,104. As of the end of the quarter, approximately 10 percent of the company’s store base was in Canada and Mexico, as compared to 8.9 percent for the same period last year. As in the United States, the company continues to be the market leader in Canada and Mexico.