I've passed by my local homebase (southampton)in the hope of seeing the Bunnings name appearing over the door but no luck yet.
TV ads are still only showing the homebase name. Looking at the Bunnings uk website they only show two stores open both in St Albans (seems strange?) and no details of a rollout plan for new store conversions etc.
Seems a very laid back take over.
Anyone know any more or may have a store conversion going on near them?
In message , Bob Minchin writes
Not been there yet. Double page advert in local press.
They seem to be making a lot of changes inside my local stores - so that I can longer find anything I want! - but it still says Homebase on the outside.
Why spend money when they own the new name? Bunnings sounds like a baker. Brian
They're struggling with the IT. Homebase outsourced their IT to Fujitsu a couple of years ago, and a lot of the people who knew how everything worked left in disgust. Now there are few people left who know how stuff works to assist with the Bunnings migration.
Our nearest one is still branded Homebase, although it did have some own label branded stock that indicated Bunnings in the small print on the back.
FWIW They are currently advertising on job sites for shop staff for Hemel Hempstead and Milton Keynes.
Their Head office is also in Milton Keynes, so maybe they are keeping their initial deployments geographically relative to test the water. No sense starting at the other end of the country!
Sez ... "There are plans to open four pilot locations in UK by June, with 10 stores set to be created by the end of the year"
As was Home Retail Group, the owner of Homebase.
Do they need to change the name? Not sure Homebase had a particularly bad name, and most will never have heard of Bunnings.
international identity. If they keep it as Homebase, how will visiting Aussies know where to shop?
In order of "likelyhood to stock cushions, rather than cement", the UK shed choice list is
I'm not sure this will change. Bunnings has a fluffy sound to it.
however, the cushions at Homebase are, in our local one, sold by the Laura Ashley concession. This is about to close under the new ownership and I'm seeing far more "hardware" than there used to be.
Apparently they have made a loss since removing all home furnishings to rep osition the business around power tools (OK a short term loss in such circu mstances is to be expected). So they probably want to change the name as th ese days people expect to find cushions in Homebase. Not sure how they base a business competely around power tools - but it cou ld be good for us DIYers. Simon.
I've given them a look-in several times (I have to go past homebase to get to SF/TS) and been generally disappointed, they seem to keep cramming the aisles with relatively cheapo own brand stuff, I think I've only bought one thing in there since the takeover.
... or even likelihood...
I'd say they'd be very hard pushed to compete with Lidl/Aldi in this. Except in always having them in stock. Which means they likely have to charge more them.
how much IT do you need to go to a shop and change the sign on the front?
tim
Not a lot, but that's not really the point. If it says Bunnings on the front, you'd expect your till receipt to say Bunnings and not Homebase. And their computers would have to be told about the changed product ranges and pricing.
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