HOMEBASE is preparing to close a popular branch that is loved for its friendly staff, with more stores set to close for good too.

The DIY retailer is to shutter six branches in December and has launched huge closing down sales with discounts worth up to 60%.

GettyHomebase has revealed that it will close another site with more shutting in the future[/caption]

Stores in Sutton Coldfield, Bromsgrove, Cromer, Fareham, Newark and Rugby will also close over the busy festive period.

Three more Homebase sites in Derry/Londonderry, Inverurie, and Omagh are also set to close in the coming months, but Homebase hasnt confirmed when this will occur.

But now, shoppers in Glenrothes near Fife in Scotland will soon need to find a new DIY retailer to visit as their local store is set to close early next year.

Visitors have taken to social media to share their shock over the decision to close the store.

One shopper said: Homebase will be missed.

Another added: Oh no I love Homebase the staff are so kind, helpful and friendly.

A third cried: Sad to see Homebase go.

While a Facebook user wrote: What a pity. I’ll miss the Homebase garden centre.

But the local wont be left with an empty unit, as Sainsburys is set to take over the site shortly after it shuts.

Once converted, the new store is expected to be approximately 24,000 sq ft in size and will employ a team of around 100 Sainsbury’s colleagues.

The store will also feature an Argos store inside the supermarket, enabling customers to choose from thousands of Argos products for immediate purchase as well as use click and collect to order from the retailer’s full Argos, Habitat and Tu ranges.

Sainsbury’s said it will guarantee an interview for any Homebase colleagues placed at risk of redundancy due to the closure.

Patrick Dunne, Sainsbury’s director of property, rocurement and EV ventures said: This store will showcase some of the best of Sainsbury’s, and we’re excited to bring a new store to Glenrothes for the first time.

We look forward to sharing more details about our plans with the local community in the coming weeks.

It comes after 10 Homebase stores were sold to Sainsburys after the company agreed to acquire them from the DIY chain in August.

Once all stores are closed, Sainsburys will convert the units into new supermarkets.

The conversion of these sites is anticipated to create more than 1,000 new jobs.

Once they are converted, the shop floor area of the stores will range from approximately 15,000 to 40,000 square feet and will add a total of around 235,000 square feet to its supermarket trading space.

Sainsburys plans to open the first of these new stores by next summer, marking a significant expansion for the supermarket chain.

The Glenrothes store has been acquired since the original announcement, taking the total number of Homebase stores turning to Sainsburys to ten.

The Homebase sites set for conversion are located in:

Sutton Coldfield
Bromsgrove
Cromer
Derry/Londonderry
Fareham
Inverurie
Lowestoft
Newark
Omagh
Rugby
Glenrothes

HISTORY OF HOMEBASE

1979: Homebase was founded by the supermarket chain Sainsburys 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 Sainsburys acquired all 241 Texas Homecare stores 1996-1999: All Texas Homecare stores were converted into the Homebase format 2001: Sainsburys 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

UP FOR SALE

The sale of these stores follows reports that Homebases owner is looking to sell the company.

Hilco Capital, which purchased Homebase from Wesfarmers in 2018 for £1, was believed to have started a formal sale process after being approached by The Range.

Other retailers that have previously shown an interest in Homebase include B&M, the London-listed discount retailer.

Its understood that this sale process is still ongoing.

Homebase currently operates around 144 locations across the UK.

The DIY chain was founded by the supermarket giant Sainsburys and Belgian retailer GB-Inno-BM in 1979.

The first store opened in Croydon in April 1981 and was located on the Purley Way.

The company steadily grew and, in 1989, opened its 50th store in Norwich.

By 1995, Homebase had 82 stores, and Sainsburys acquired 241 Texas Homecare stores, which were soon converted into the Homebase format.

Homebase then operated as a subsidiary under the Home Retail Group from October 2006 until 2016.

Australian retailer Wesfarmers and owner of the Bunnings brand purchased Homebase for £340million in February 2016.

However, by 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.

In May 2018, Hilco bought the hardware store chain for just £1.

Prior to the Hilco takeover, Homebase had 250 stores at its peak and 11,500 staff.

However, the brand soon returned to profit after it entered a CVA agreement and restructured its business.

Homebase has closed 106 stores since it was taken over by Hilco Capital in 2018.

HOMEWARE CHAINS STRUGGLE

It has been a tricky time for home improvement chains, both large and small.

This is because shoppers have been cutting back on spending following the pandemic.

Plus, the recent turmoil in the housing market has meant that homeowners arent 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 in July.

Tapi purchased 54 of the chains 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.

Why are retailers closing shops?

EMPTY shops have become an eyesore on many British high streets and are often symbolic of a town centre’s decline.

The Suns business editor Ashley Armstrong explains why so many retailers are shutting their doors.

In many cases, retailers are shutting stores because they are no longer the money-makers they once were because of the rise of online shopping.

Falling store sales and rising staff costs have made it even more expensive for shops to stay open. In some cases, retailers are shutting a store and reopening a new shop at the other end of a high street to reflect how a town has changed.

The problem is that when a big shop closes, footfall falls across the local high street, which puts more shops at risk of closing.

Retail parks are increasingly popular with shoppers, who want to be able to get easy, free parking at a time when local councils have hiked parking charges in towns.

Many retailers including Next and Marks & Spencer have been shutting stores on the high street and taking bigger stores in better-performing retail parks instead.

Boss Stuart Machin recently said that when it relocated a tired store in Chesterfield to a new big store in a retail park half a mile away, its sales in the area rose by 103 per cent.

In some cases, stores have been shut when a retailer goes bust, as in the case of Wilko, Debenhams Topshop, Dorothy Perkins and Paperchase to name a few.

What’s increasingly common is when a chain goes bust a rival retailer or private equity firm snaps up the intellectual property rights so they can own the brand and sell it online.

They may go on to open a handful of stores if there is customer demand, but there are rarely ever as many stores or in the same places.