HomeBase

Infobox_Defunct_Company
company_name = HomeBase
company_
foundation = 1983
defunct = 2002
fate = Liquidation
location = Irvine, California
industry = Retail
products = lumber, tools, hardware, garden supplies & plants
homepage = None
type = Public

HomeBase was a home improvement warehouse chain in the Western United States based in Irvine, California.

History

Robert J. McNulty and George Handgis founded the chain as a warehouse club called the HomeClub, opening the first two stores in Norwalk and Fountain Valley, California in 1983. It went public in 1985, trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol HBI.

In 1985 it was acquired by Zayre, a Framingham, Massachusetts-based discount department store chain. After Zayre was acquired by Ames, HomeClub was spun off under a new company called Waban Inc., which also owned BJ's Wholesale Club. In 1991 it discontinued its membership program and adopted the HomeBase name shortly thereafter.

The chain expanded to 89 stores by the mid-1990s, becoming the sixth largest home improvement retailer in the United States. Although it outperformed competitors like Orchard Supply Hardware and Builders Square, it could not match the growth or pricing power of Home Depot or Lowe's. On December 5, 2000, after several dramatically unprofitable years, it announced that 67 stores would be converted to a home decorating superstore chain, House2Home, and the remainder closed. House2Home would fare no better and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and was subsequently liquidated in early 2002.

References

* " [http://www.allbusiness.com/north-america/united-states-california-metro-areas/294277-1.html Hardware wars heating up in Los Angeles, Orange Counties] ," "Los Angeles Business Journal", August 2, 1999
* Canlen, Brae, " [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0VCW/is_1_27/ai_69441380 HomeBase seeks new shelter from competitive storm] ," "Home Channel News", January 8, 2001.