Page 45 - HW AUGUST 2019

global eyes
Bullish Homebase buys Bathstore
AFTER NO LITTLE speculation, last month Homebase confirmed it was buying the Bathstore bathroom specialist chain which had continued trading under administration since late June.
Ryan Grant, of Bathstore administrator BDO, has said of the retailer’s failure: “Despite significant investment into the business over the past five years, Bathstore has struggled to overcome the well-documented challenges facing the UK retail sector.”
It’s noteworthy that Bathstore rival Better Bathrooms also fell into administration earlier this year.
As well as 44 of the 130+ Bathstore sites, the deal entails Homebase taking control of Bathstore’s website (which will continue to operate in its own
right), intellectual property, and all remaining stock.
Although that leaves almost 90 Bathstore sites trading only until stock runs out, the prospects look brighter for the almost 30 year-old Bathstore brand.
For example, it’s reported that Homebase will open a “significant” number of Bathstore concessions within its stores over the next year and a half, which should strengthen both the Bathstore brand and Homebase’s own bathroom offering in one fell swoop.
UK commentators have been saying that the acquisition is evidence of Homebase turning itself around, an outlook that former B&Qer and Bunnings appointment, current Homebase CEO, Damian McGloughlin, is happy to subscribe to: “We are absolutely delighted
to welcome Bathstore into the Homebase family,” he’s said.
“With a reputation for quality service and excellent products, Bathstore complements Homebase’s reinvigorated range.
“Since the launch of our turnaround plan just over 12 months ago, we have been focusing on reintroducing the popular ranges and products that our customers have been crying out for.
“Through strong cost management and improved shop keeping we are committed to making Homebase the best place to shop for everything you need for your home and garden projects.
“As a result of the hard work of the Homebase team, our turnaround is ahead of plan.
“While we still have a significant amount of work to do, the customer response to our new ranges has been very encouraging and we are on track to break even this year against a loss of over £100 million last year.”
www.homebase.co.uk www.bathstore.com
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AUGUST 2019 | NZHJ 43