Companies Economy International The Buzz Street Sweep Corrections Pre-market Trading After-hours Trading US Stocks Bonds and Interest Rates Currencies Commodities Mutual Funds World Markets Subscribe to Real Money Newsletter Subscribe to Money Magazine Money Magazine Real Estate Taxes Jobs Ask the Expert Money 101 Autos Mutual Funds The Help Desk Loan Center Best Places to Live Subscribe to Money Magazine Ask the Expert Ultimate Guide to Retirement Retirement Calculators Rules of Retirement Best Funds Best Places to Retire Fortune Tech Apple 2.0 Google 24/7 Techmate Tech Talk Questions & Answers Innovation Nation Small Business Video 50 Best Places to Launch Resource Guide Next Little Thing Subscribe to Fortune Magazine Fortune 500 Fortune Tech Fortune Finance Investing Management Executive Interviews Rankings Log in Register Log Out Profile Alerts Newsletters My Watchlist Home Depot was clearly a casualty of the housing collapse, as fewer home purchases and a weak consumer led to a big drop in sales.

But the crisis didn't turn out to be all bad. In the slowdown the nation's leading home-improvement retailer worked to fix its core business by boosting the efficiency of the firm's supply chain and upgrading customer service.

Of course, those efforts may not bear fruit until housing fully heals. And who knows how long that will take?