Homebase

Infobox Company
company_name = Homebase Limited
company_
company_slogan = Make A House A Home
company_type = Subsidiary of Home Retail Group
foundation = 1979 (as Sainsbury's Homebase)
location = Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire
Wallington, London
key_people =
industry = Retail Home improvement
products = DIY Tools Paint & Decor Furniture Homewares Outdoor Living Kitchens Bathrooms Gardening
revenue =
operating_income =
net_income =
num_employees =
parent = Home Retail Group
subsid =
homepage = [http://www.homebase.co.uk/ www.homebase.co.uk/]
footnotes =

Homebase is a British home improvement store and garden centre, with 320 stores across the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. It is well known by its green and orange colour scheme. Its main competitors are B&Q and Focus and in Ireland B&Q, Atlantic Homecare and Woodies. Some Homebase stores have a Laura Ashley Home Section. It is also the only store in the UK which sells Farrow & Ball paint other than Farrow & Ball's own showrooms

History

Homebase was founded by Sainsbury's supermarket chain and Belgian retailer GB-Inno-BM in 1979 as Sainsbury's Homebase, to bring supermarket-style outlay to the British DIY market. Its first store was in Croydon, opening on the Purley Way on 3 March 1981. Homebase was tripled in size in 1995 with the acquisition of the rival Texas Homecare from the Ladbroke Group plc. These stores were rebranded and redesigned to the Homebase format, the first to be converted being in Longwell Green in Bristol in February 1996 and the Last 60 Texas stores were converted to Homebase in 1999. There are now over 300 nationwide stores.

In October 1999 Sainsbury's bought Hampden Group plc, the franchisee of seven Homebase stores (former Texas stores) in Northern Ireland and three stores in the Republic of Ireland.

Sainsbury's sold the Homebase chain in December 2000 in a two-fold deal worth £969 million. Sales of the chain of stores to venture capitalist Schroder Ventures [cite press release | title =Homebase sale completed | publisher =J Sainsbury plc | date =2001-03-02 | url =http://www.j-sainsbury.co.uk/index.asp?PageID=424&subsection=&Year=2001&NewsID=109 | accessdate =2006-11-21] generated £750 million and sale of 28 development sites, which had been earmarked for future Homebase stores, were sold for £219 million to rival B&Q's parent company, Kingfisher plc. At the time, the chain had 13% of the UK market, behind B&Q and Focus Do It All.

Homebase was later sold on to GUS plc (formerly Great Universal Stores plc) in November 2002 for £900 million, where it formed part of the Argos Retail Group. On 10 October 2006, GUS completed a demerger between its two businesses Experian and ARG. ARG was renamed as, and Homebase now operates as part of, the Home Retail Group.

In early October 2007 it was announced that Home Retail Group, had signed a contract for the purchase of 27 leasehold properties from Focus DIY. The purchase price being paid is £40m in cash. The properties are expected to be transferred over the period up to 31 December 2007 and will then be re-fitted to the Homebase fascia over the course of several months in readiness for the peak spring period. No other infrastructure and no merchandise stock are being acquired as part of the transaction, although staff in these Focus stores will transfer across to Homebase.

upply Chain

Homebase has three main supply depots in the UK. Octavian Park (Small parts) , Lydiard Fields (Large, Bulky items) and Park Farm (Furniture, plus other bulky items). There are also numerous other depots located in the UK for other stock items.

Homebase also receives direct deliveries to its stores from manufacturers and Vendors.

References

ee also

* Texas Homecare

External links

* [http://www.homebase.co.uk/ Official website]
*BBC News: [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/2497923.stm GUS snaps up Homebase]
*BBC News: [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/1082731.stm Sainsbury's sells Homebase]
* [http://www.applegategardens.co.uk/ Official garden design website]