A MAJOR DIY retailer is closing an additional eight stores, with some shutting their doors for good today.
Homebase is offering clearance sales of up to 90% off at all affected locations as part of its closing down events.
Eight more Homebase stores are closing in the next three days[/caption]
The DIY chain entered administration in November but was partially rescued by billionaire Chris Dawson, owner of CDS Superstores, the parent company of The Range and Wilko.
Dawson’s intervention aimed to preserve “up to” 70 stores, safeguard 1,600 jobs, and retain the Homebase brand.
However, this left 74 branches and approximately 2,000 employees facing an uncertain future.
Just a week later, Teneo, the administrators for Homebase, placed the 74 stores up for sale.
To date, however, CDS has only confirmed the rescue of 26 stores, leaving the exact number of saved locations unclear.
Meanwhile, a handful of other retailers have stepped in to purchase some of the stores that were not included in the chain’s rescue deal.
Among them is B&Q, which has agreed to buy eight of the chain’s branches that were put up for sale.
Additionally, on Friday, Wickes announced that it had acquired five more stores, including a former Homebase location that had closed prior to the chain entering administration.
However, three Homebase stores are set to close their doors for the final time today (March 1). These include:
- Farnham, Guildford Road
- Truro, Treliske Industrial Estate, Oak Lane
- Basingstoke, Winchester Road
The Farnham and Truro stores will shut permanently after no buyer was found.
However, the Basingstoke store will soon reopen under the B&Q banner, following its purchase by the competing DIY chain in January.
On Sunday, March 2, two more Homebase locations will close their doors for the final time:
- Bracknell, Wokingham Road
- Letterkenny, Neil T Blaney Road
The Bracknell store will close permanently after no buyer was found, while the Letterkenny store will undergo a refit before reopening as a B&Q.
On Monday, March 3, three more Homebase stores will close
- Bury St Edmunds, Moreton Hall Estate
- Dunfermline, Halbeath Retail Park
- Leeds, Moor Allerton Centre
All of these stores have been purchased by Wickes and will soon reopen under its branding. All jobs at these locations will also transfer to the new owner.
Which stores have been saved by The Range?
CDS Superstores, owner of The Range, previously said it would buy “up to 70” Homebase shops.
It has also taken on the Homebase brand and relaunched its website with thousands of products up for sale.
Despite this, The Range initially announced in January that it had only formally acquired 12 former Homebase stores.
These locations included sites in Bournemouth, Glasgow, Birmingham, Newton Abbot, Felixstowe, Blyth, Leicester, Stroud, Blandford, Penge, Woking, and Leighton Buzzard.
Last week, The Sun exclusively revealed that a further 14 sites had been bought by The Range.
Former Homebase stores in Ashbourne, East Dereham, and Staines reopened under The Range banner on February 14.
On February, three more stores in Bicester, Huntingdon, and Reigate reopened their doors as The Range.
Ex-Homebase sites in Eastbourne, Oxford, and Morecambe welcomed shoppers again on February 28.
These will soon be followed by new stores in High Wycombe, Selby, and Bodmin on March 7.
Finally, Homebase locations in Edinburgh (Craigleith) and Horsham will reopen under The Range branding on March 21.
Once these additional stores reopen, the total number of former Homebase locations confirmed as acquired by The Range will rise to 26.
The new stores feature products usually found in The Range but some contain “Garden Centres by Homebase”.
Others locations feature “Kitchens by Homebase” spaces.
HISTORY OF HOMEBASE
- 1979: Homebase was founded by the supermarket chain Sainsbury’s and Belgian retailer GB-Inno-BM
- April 1981: The first store opened in Croydon
- October 1981: The second store opened in Leeds
- 1989: Homebase opened its 50th store in Norwich
- 1995: The chain boasted 82 stores and Sainsbury’s acquired all 241 Texas Homecare stores
- 1996-1999: All Texas Homecare stores were converted into the Homebase format
- 2001: Sainsbury’s sells Homebase but retains a 17.3% minority stake until 2002
- 2006: Homebase operated as a subsidiary under the Home Retail Group from October 2006 until 2016
- February 2016: Australian retailer Wesfarmers owner of the Bunnings brand, purchased Homebase for £340million
- February 2018: Wesfarmers reported losses relating to the takeover of £57million in the year to June 2017, and soon decided to implement a review of the business
- May 2018: Hilco bought the hardware store chain for just £1
- 2018-2024: Homebase has closed 106 stores since it was taken over by Hilco Capital
Why are DIY chains struggling?
It has been a tricky time for home improvement chains, both large and small.
It comes as shoppers have been cutting back on spending following the pandemic.
Plus, the recent turmoil in the housing market has meant that homeowners aren’t as focused on DIY projects as they once were.
In the spring, Kingfisher, which owns B&Q and Screwfix, revealed that annual profits had slumped by more than a quarter.
The company reported a 25.1% drop in underlying pre-tax profits to £568million for the year to January 31, 2024.
Window and door specialist Everest called in administrators in April, leaving customers in the dark about their orders.
Last year, the group had previously cautioned profits would slip after a 36% drop in pre-tax profits from £1billion to £611million in the 12 months to January 2023.
Rival Wickes also reported a 31% fall in profits to £52million on flat revenues of £1.55billion for 2023.
Windows and doors company Safestyle collapsed into administration in October last year.
The company has a manufacturing site in Wombwell, near Barnsley and 42 sales branches and depots across the country.
Flooring retailer Tapi recently struck a multimillion-pound rescue deal to save the Carpetright brand and dozens of stores last month.
Tapi purchased 54 of the chain’s stores and two warehouses in a pre-pack administration deal that saved 300 jobs.
However, the deal did not include 200 other stores which all closed their doors.
