Homebase lives on as CDS revives DIY chain within newly branded the range stores

Homebase is set to return in a slimmed-down format after the DIY chain’s collapse last month, with its new owner CDS confirming plans to reopen 70 former stores under the Range Superstores banner.

Each outlet will preserve the Homebase name in garden centre sections, and some will also incorporate Homebase-branded kitchen departments.

CDS, founded by ex-market trader Chris Dawson, intends to launch the first three converted stores on 17 January in Pollokshaws (Glasgow), Christchurch (Bournemouth) and Kings Heath (Birmingham), followed by 10 new openings per month from February. Headquartered in Plymouth, the privately owned retailer operates around 220 sites in the UK and Ireland under the Range and Wilko brands.

Homebase’s online presence will come under CDS’s control in early 2025, and Teneo – the administrator of the defunct chain – is seeking buyers for 49 outlets not included in the deal. During the transition, those remaining stores will continue trading under the Homebase name.

Alex Simpkin, chief executive of CDS, said: “We’re fully committed to retaining the best of Homebase’s heritage while introducing the broader product range and value that customers expect from us as the Range.”

The Homebase acquisition comes on the heels of CDS’s purchase of the Wilko brand in September 2023, after the budget homeware retailer fell into administration. CDS has since opened seven Wilko stores, primarily on high streets and in shopping centres, and plans further locations next year. However, targets to open 40 Wilko outlets this year have been scaled back due to tough competition in the discount retail sector and challenges in finding suitable premises.

Industry observers suggest the dual acquisitions of Wilko and Homebase could prime CDS for a stock market debut, a step it explored but later abandoned some years ago. Simpkin says the company’s “substantial investments in infrastructure” have prepared it for the “next phase of growth.”

He adds that the group is well positioned financially to expand into hundreds of potential sites, moving beyond the more traditional retail parks favoured by the Range to test a variety of store formats and locations.

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Homebase lives on as CDS revives DIY chain within newly branded the range stores