Thursday, November 14, 2019

News: Hammer blow - Homebase closing Rotherham store

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The tumultuous timeline of a Rotherham retail unit has taken another downward turn with Homebase confirming that it is to close.

Rothbiz reported last August that the DIY retailer merry-go-round at Parkgate had come full circle with Homebase returning to the 70,000 sq ft unit at Northfields.

Just over a year later, the Homebase store is now "in clearance/closure mode."

The closure follows on from Australian retail giant, Wesfarmers, opening and closing a Bunnings Warehouse in the unit in the space of five months. It announced that it was selling up and pulling out of the UK market.

Following a comprehensive review of the business, Wesfarmers announced that it had agreed to divest the Homebase business in the United Kingdom and Ireland to a company associated with Hilco Capital.

The store at the Northfields Retail Park at Parkgate was formerly occupied by B&Q having been purposely built for them. It was vacant since June 2016 when B&Q cut back its UK store numbers.

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Opening in December 2017, the first Bunnings opening in the North of England, created 80 new full and part-time jobs. It was rebranded as Homebase in August 2018.

Following the sale of Homebase, one of the UK's leading home improvement and garden retailers, in June 2018, the management team restructured the business and is implementing a comprehensive turnaround plan.

The plan included a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) which saw the closure of 47 significantly loss-making stores (which did not include Rotherham at the time) and securing rent reductions on an additional 70 stores.

Homebase, which acquired struggling chain, Bathstore in August, has confirmed that four Homebase stores are closing: Brecon, Horwich, Kidderminster and Rotherham.

Andy Coleman, CFO of Homebase, said in April: "Central to our turnaround plan was the need to reduce our cost base through a series of difficult but necessary measures and we have already removed £100m of fixed costs from the business.

"These changes combined with our improved operational execution are already bearing fruit with EBITDA [earnings before taxes] losses declining by nearly £140m in the second half of 2018. We are encouraged by the progress we are making on our turnaround plan and believe that we now have a stable platform in place to support future growth."

Homebase website

Images: Tom Austen

9 comments:

Anonymous,  November 14, 2019 at 6:55 PM  

I went in last week and noticed they had a big area of clearance stock and did not have what I wanted in stock. Wickes will be happy this side of Rotherham.

Anonymous,  November 16, 2019 at 12:11 PM  

Well you’re just a delight aren’t you! Did you stop to think of the people losing there jobs or are you too far up your own ar*e to think of this

Anonymous,  November 19, 2019 at 9:58 PM  

Bit harsh we was only saying :-?

Unknown November 29, 2019 at 4:46 PM  

It’s awful that it’s shutting down, but beware bargain hunters, I’ve been going in there weeks now. Some stock is still m ore expensive now with 20% off than you can buy elsewhere. Some even on line with free Delivery. The management are conning people.

Unknown December 2, 2019 at 4:34 PM  

Interesting just wanted to know when it will close its doors for good

Anonymous,  December 8, 2019 at 10:02 AM  

Sorry to see its closing..we need a DIY SHOP IN ROTHERHAM at Parkgate....not just on the outskirts

Unknown December 28, 2019 at 9:49 AM  

It's now closing end of January, I got a few bargains yesterday

Anonymous,  February 23, 2020 at 7:53 PM  

In Homebase Worle,Weston-super-Mare there is a closing down sale that has been going on since September 2019! originally was closing on 20 Dec.19 now could be August 2020. is this legal to have a so called closing down sale for a year? They are total con merchants who treat their staff and customers with total contempt.

Anonymous,  June 12, 2022 at 9:25 AM  

I am not surprised to see that Homebase in Rotherham is going if customer service has proved similar to my experience many years ago! I purchased a bathroom unit there many years ago and the half of the hinge fittings on the main unit were missing! I phoned and wrote to the store and it was ignored! These doors are still standing in front of my unit - I am now in my mid eighties!!

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