The Home Depot announced Monday the launch of its improved Spanish-language Web site.

Espanol.homedepot.com offers know-how information for home improvement projects as well as online specials and Home Depot services.

The retailer cited some Juniper Research data: the Internet is a preferred venue for Hispanics to research and access information, as they are more likely than non-Hispanics to research products online before shopping offline.

Hispanic online spending is expected to reach $21.6 billion by 2011, Home Depot said.

Home Depot and Best Buy are among only a handful of other large U.S. retailers offering Spanish-language online shopping, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Several years ago, Home Depot set up a partnership with Telemundo to create the first Spanish home improvement show and instituted bilingual signage and packaging in its stores. It also conducts bilingual how-to clinics and kids’ workshops in stores located in top Hispanic markets, according to The Wall Street Journal.

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• Macy’s exec addresses store closure rumors
• Downtown Disney store to close
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• 1,000-plus store closures expected after Christmas
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• 2 Irvine store openings
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For more from OC Retail, see list of links on right-hand side of this blog.

Other retail news:

• Seal Beach shopping center looks to fill vacancies
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Home Depot plans to open its 23rd O.C. store in Huntington Beach on Oct. 30.

The store at 19101 Magnolia St. spans about 126,000 square feet, including a 25,000-square-foot garden center. By comparison, the company’s average store size is 140,000 square feet. The new local store will employ 180 workers, said spokesman Kathryn Gallagher.

This is the second Home Depot in Huntington Beach. The first one opened in 1985.

Here’s what Home Depot had to say about opening the Huntington Beach store during a tough housing market:

“We continue to open new stores where it makes sense for our business and the community,” Gallagher said. ”We still intend to open 55 new stores this year.  The 50 mentioned in our release are mostly in 2009 and 2010. We have a more disciplined approach to capital allocation and new store growth. As we increase our focus on existing stores and maintain our continued investment in improving those stores, we will be able to create better shareholder returns.”

For the fiscal second quarter ended Aug. 3, sales at stores open at least a year fell 7.9 percent.

In May, the home-improvement giant said it will close 15 underperforming stores and cancel plans to open about 50 stores in the U.S. None of those are in Orange County, Gallagher said.

To read more about the new Huntington Beach store, CLICK HERE.

(Photo of new Huntington Beach store courtesy of Home Depot.)

More from OC Retail:

• Newport shopping center developer gives some store details
• 20 stores, eateries, etc. to open at new Asian O.C. center
• Will an O.C. women’s clothing chain be discontinued?
• Discount retailer to open big O.C. store
• Brea Mall store closes
• Bella Terra store closes
• Goodbye Chick’s Sporting Goods; Dick’s plans big O.C. store
• Bankrupt shoe retailer closing O.C. store
• First outlet mall in O.C. gives more details on stores
• Bankrupt discount retailer closing big O.C. store

For more from OC Retail, see list of links on right-hand side of this blog.

Other O.C. business news:

• The news on Laguna Hills Nursery closing
• Finally, T-Mobile speaks: 3G Internet coming to O.C.
• Banks seize record number of O.C. homes
• Fresh & Easy workers in O.C. are first to demand union status
• Billionaire sues for $500 million over his tax woes
• Sales tax enforcement targets O.C. ZIP codes
• Irvine Co.’s Bren loses $1 billion! Maybe
• Readers to Sarah Palin: Keep mum about Botox