A MAJOR retailer has launched a big closing down sale as two more stores will shut amid 35 closures this month.
Homebase will close its branch in Basingstoke this weekend, with the store officially closing on March 1.
Homebase will close its branch in Basingstoke this weekend[/caption]
The branch has launched a major closing down sale in efforts to shift stock before it’s gone for good.
According to a report in the Basingstoke Gazette, a sale of at least 50% off is currently being carried out.
It could be a chance to nab a bargain on its range of chairs and kitchen and outdoor goods.
Locals were sad about the departure, with one writing: “How many more shops are we going to lose in Basingstoke.”
However, it is not all doom and gloom as the branch is set to be transformed into a B&Q, with all staff being transferred as part of the process.
The hardware brand owned by Kingfisher said it would takeover five Homebase stores after it collapsed.
The stores are in Altrincham, Basingstoke, Biggleswade, Leamington Spa and Worcester.
The branch is not the only Homebase store to launch a major closing down sale ahead of its departure form the high street.
Its branch on Easlea Road, Bury St Edmunds is offering discounts of up to 70% as it prepares to close for the last time today Friday, 28 February.
Homebase fell into administration in November, but part of the estate was reduced by billionaire Chris Dawson, the owner of The Range and Wilko.
As part of the rescue deal, he looked to retain “up to” 70 stores and save 1,600 jobs as well as the Homebase brand, leaving 74 branches and roughly 2,000 employees at risk.
Just a week later, Teneo, Homebase’s administrators placed the 74 stores up for sale.
Although the company established a deadline of November 29 for potential buyers to acquire these branches, not every store has been saved.
Previous analysis by The Sun reveals just 57 stores were excluded from being listed for sale and could potentially have been part of CDS’s rescue plan.
Yet, CDS has only confirmed the rescue of 12 stores so far, leaving the total number of saved locations unclear.
These locations might have been earmarked for rescue by CDS Superstores, the owner of The Range and Wilko.
In January, Homebase closed 20 stores, seven of which had already been acquired by supermarket giant Sainsbury’s in August 2024.
A further 35 sites are now set to close this month.
Last month, B&Q agreed to buy five of the chain’s branches that were for sale.
Currently, 26 Homebase stores remain on the market, while the future of another 43 stores that were never listed for sale remains uncertain.
What is happening to the stores bought by CDS?
CDS Superstores 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.
It is re-purposing and opening some of the former Homebase stores under its The Range brand.
The new stores will feature products usually found in The Range but some will also contain “Garden Centres by Homebase”.
Others will feature “Kitchens by Homebase” spaces.
The hybrid branches have already started opening with CDS saying it wants to open three a week over the coming months.
The company plans to open at least 50 before the end of April.
CDS has already confirmed nine former Homebase locations out of the up to 70 which have opened.
Stores have opened in Birmingham, Felixstowe and Blyth.
Pictures of one of the new stores in Bournemouth were revealed earlier this month when it opened.
CDS said the move to take on up to 70 Homebase sites would see 1,600 staff keep their jobs.
RETAIL PAIN IN 2025
The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury’s hike to employer NICs will cost the retail sector £2.3billion.
Research by the British Chambers of Commerce shows that more than half of companies plan to raise prices by early April.
A survey of more than 4,800 firms found that 55% expect prices to increase in the next three months, up from 39% in a similar poll conducted in the latter half of 2024.
Three-quarters of companies cited the cost of employing people as their primary financial pressure.
The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has also warned that around 17,350 retail sites are expected to shut down this year.
It comes on the back of a tough 2024 when 13,000 shops closed their doors for good, already a 28% increase on the previous year.
Professor Joshua Bamfield, director of the CRR said: “The results for 2024 show that although the outcomes for store closures overall were not as poor as in either 2020 or 2022, they are still disconcerting, with worse set to come in 2025.”
Professor Bamfield has also warned of a bleak outlook for 2025, predicting that as many as 202,000 jobs could be lost in the sector.
“By increasing both the costs of running stores and the costs on each consumer’s household it is highly likely that we will see retail job losses eclipse the height of the pandemic in 2020.”
