Editing Homebase (section)

===Sainsbury's ownership===
Homebase's concept was created by the supermarket chain [[Sainsbury's]] and [[Belgium|Belgian]] retailer GB-Inno-BM in 1979. The goal was to bring a supermarket style layout to the British Do It Yourself (DIY) market. The first actual store was in [[Croydon]], opening on 3 March 1981, located on [[Purley Way]], originally as '''Sainsbury's Homebase'''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Homebase owner to close up to 60 stores in CVA |url=https://www.insightdiy.co.uk/news/homebase-owner-to-close-up-to-60-stores-in-cva/6361.htm |access-date=2 March 2025 |website=www.insightdiy.co.uk}}</ref>

Early in its history, Homebase used its Sainsbury's experience to move into using central warehouses from which to deliver its stock. By the 1990s, it was receiving the vast majority of its stock into central warehouses, then delivering it to stores.

Homebase tripled in size in January 1995, when Sainsbury's bought rival store group [[Texas Homecare]] from [[Ladbrokes Coral|Ladbrokes]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/sainsburys-buys-out-texas-diy-1569729.html|title=Sainsbury's buys out Texas DIY|last=Cope|first=Nigel|date=26 January 1995|website=The Independent|access-date=4 November 2016}}</ref> These stores were rebranded and converted to the Homebase format, beginning in February 1996, with the store in [[Longwell Green]], [[Bristol]]. The transformation was completed by 1999.

By the time of the purchase, Texas had staff totalling 11,600, and Homebase had 4,500.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/sainsburys-tipped-to-buy-texas-1567974.html|title=Sainsbury's tipped to buy Texas|last=Cope|first=Nigel|date=13 January 1995|website=The Independent|access-date=4 November 2016}}</ref>

In October 1999, Sainsbury's bought Hampden Group, the franchisee of ten Homebase stores in Ireland. 

From 1999, Homebase used former ''[[Men Behaving Badly]]'' couple [[Neil Morrissey]] and [[Leslie Ash]] as a couple. Morrissey and Ash were the face of the brand for six years, until March 2005.

In August 2000, the former chief executive of Texas Homecare, Ron Trenter, made an ultimately unsuccessful bid for Homebase.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/4463032/Ex-Texas-chief-may-join-Homebase-bid.html|title=Ex-Texas chief may join Homebase bid|last=Rankine|first=Kate|date=25 August 2000|website=The Telegraph|access-date=4 November 2016}}</ref> In September 2000, [[Focus DIY|Focus Do It All]] considered acquiring Homebase, but instead decided to acquire [[Great Mills (DIY)|Great Mills]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/focus-targets-homebase-after-wickes-yields-to-pound289m-bid-700102.html|title=Focus targets Homebase after Wickes yields to £289m bid|last=Shah|first=Saeed|date=1 September 2000|website=The Independent|access-date=28 February 2017}}</ref> The next month, [[Home Depot]] joined the race to acquire Homebase,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/4467112/Home-Depot-in-Homebase-race.html|title=Home Depot in Homebase race|last=Bennett|first=Neil|date=1 October 2000|website=The Telegraph|access-date=13 November 2016}}</ref> but was not successful.