Homebase: A Quarter Of Stores To Be Closed

[trt]

The owner of the DIY chain Homebase is to close a quarter of its stores over the next three years, leaving thousands of jobs hanging in the balance.

The one near me has just had an Argos shop open inside, for click and collect.

[janbee]

I hadn't heard this news. Another load of people on the scarp heap

[woofgang]

not really surprised, the one near us has tumbleweeds rolling around the floor!

[Baldric]

Don't think I've ever been to a Homebase Store, B & Q always gets my business, or failing that Wickes. There's just not anything appealing about them. Bad luck on the Staff though!

[EcclesCake]

I rarely venture into one as there are far better DIY suppliers in the area.

Past experience has suggested they are scratching around trying to find a niche for themselves and failing miserably, and other income streams from the likes of Laura Ashley and Argos. I honestly do not think I have found a staff member than could advise me beyond telling me where the paint aisle was.

It is a shame for the staff but I suspect they are mostly transient part-timers who would in many cases move on or out naturally.

[Buenchico]

Homebase gained a reputation for being expensive, and for having a poor product range, when it was part of Sainsbury's. Now that it's part of the same group as Argos, its managers have failed to rebrand it sufficiently to get people to give it another try.

[WELSHYORKIE]

The Homebase in Holyhead closed a while ago and is now a B&M Store

[woofgang]

Chris, I keep giving it another try because its my nearest DIY store. Apart for christmas when the decorations are worth a look, I never manage to spend money in there and believe me, I can spend money in the middle of a desert!

[Georgiesmum]

Our local one closed a while ago, now it is a B & M store.

[weecalf]

Are argos and homebase not sister companies .Perhaps they could join and call them selves "Go home"

[New Judge]

Homebase has been deciding for some years whether it is a DIY shop, a furniture store, a garden centre, a design centre, a soft furnishers or a Christmas store. They try to do all of these, do none of them very well and as result most people go elsewhere. They are going the way of Woolworths. Nobody really had a reason to go to Woolworths. Nobody said "I'll go down to Woolworths to get that". So it is with Homebase.

It is yet another example of poor retail management in the UK and the industry will continue to decline unless it shapes up and provides customers with what they want and expect. The big supermarkets are in decline and Homebase is close behind.