Andrew Weiss, Executive Chair of BHETA comments:

I remember one evening in the early eighties, during a cricket tour, at the home of the parents of one of our team. My teammate’s father was Gurth Hoyer-Millar, then Chairman of Sainsbury’s, who arrived home late, joined us for a beer, and talked excitedly about his latest venture, a DIY store called Homebase.

Little did I know then that I would spend nearly the rest of my working life dealing with that same retailer and now, with concern, be writing about its rise and ultimate fall – and what it could mean for the DIY and garden industry.

The ‘DIY Rush’

The first Homebase store opened in Purley Way, Croydon, in 1981, as a venture between Sainsbury's and Belgian retailer, GB-Inno-BM.  It offered a one-stop shop for home and garden supplies - a relatively new concept in the UK – and it expanded rapidly, along with rival brands such as B&Q, Texas, Wickes DIY, Do-it-All, Payless, Focus DIY, and Great Mills. 

In the nineties, the market inevitably saw consolidation as Homebase acquired Texas, making it the second largest player, Do-it-All took Payless, and Focus picked up most of everything else. Wickes continued to grow organically with its trade-focussed, own brand approach.  B&Q also kept its own ‘big box’ strategy but its owner, Kingfisher, also picked up a small catalogue-based trade counter operation called Screwfix.  

Decades later, Focus had acquired Do-it-All and Great Mills, but ended up in the hands of Hilco, when the brand disappeared, leaving B&Q, Homebase, and Wickes as the three main DIY large retail formats.  Homebase was sold to the Home Retail Group in 2006 and to Wesfarmers in 2016. Wickes became part of the Travis Perkins Group before exiting as a ‘stand-alone’ PLC in 2021. Following Homebase’s disastrous Wesfarmers/Bunnings era, Hilco again stepped in to acquire what was left. 

Talented leadership

Homebase has had some of the industry’s most talented leaders. Following Hoyer-Millar was Colin Parsons, who started the growth, Jim Hodkinson spent some time running the business before moving to B&Q, Terry Duddy of The Home Retail Group oversaw further expansion, Paul Loft continued, and, after Bunnings, Damian McGloughlin took the reins in 2018 and restored the business to profitability by 2020. 

But, what next for suppliers?

The attraction of Homebase was that it sold a wide variety of industry brands across core DIY, decorative and ‘softer’ home improvement and garden plants and accessories.  While CDS Superstores, ie The Range, has bought the brand, IP and around seventy stores with Homebase online continuing to trade, The Range is more variety than core DIY and its ‘centre line’ drifts increasingly towards the value end of the sector. 

Which means there are fewer large-scale retailer options. B&Q is increasingly driven by its own exclusive brand strategy, Wickes, although softening a little on own brand is still focused on its core trade and ‘do it for me’ offer, and neither provide easy sanctuary for DIY brands looking for new retail exposure.  There are of course thousands of excellent DIY / homewares stores as well as increasingly friendly garden retailers.  Some can be serviced direct, and others are looked after by a strong DIY wholesale community.

My concern for the industry

This leaves us however with online and ‘marketplaces’. And here lies my concern. In today’s world these have an important place and Covid demonstrated how vital that place can be.  But Homebase leaves a gap in aspirational DIY retailing, and while it will be interesting to see how that gap will be filled, my hope is that the online marketplace does not become the only option. 

Exciting as it is, it is increasingly price driven and plagued with anonymous ‘me-too’ products that damage consumer confidence. DIY is also a ‘hands-on’ community where many end users, particularly first timers, prefer the quality reassurance of choosing products in store.

Some of the larger supplier brands will inevitably look at the Dyson model and go direct.  It is consumers and no longer suppliers or retailers who dictate the market after all, and thanks to this shift, along with an increasing confidence from suppliers on drop ship capability, which can only accelerate with the growing use of AI, going direct is no longer such a daunting experience.  

But complete reliance on direct B2C will damage the quality of the home and garden industry overall – for all parties.  I hope that the void Homebase’s exit has created can be replaced and that we can maintain consumer trust in both supplier and retailer brands.

For more information about BHETA and the retailer networking, market data, lobbying and business support opportunities it offers, visit the website at www.bheta.co.uk.