Australian retailer House opens for business in the UK

Homewares retailer House has opened their first UK store in the Westgate Shopping Centre in Oxford, with a second to follow shortly at Meadowhall in Sheffield.

Undeterred by Wesfarmers' disastrous acquisition of Homebase, the 40-year-old Australian company has opened their first UK store selling 4,000 sku's including kitchenware, gadgets and small electrical appliances. House prides itself on employing “foodies and individuals with the passion to cook and entertain”, and trains staff so they know the products “inside and out”.

It has also launched an online retail store and plans to open four more outlets before the end of June 2018, with an ambitious target of 75 UK stores employing up to 1,000 people within three years.

See the Australian House website here.

(As yet, we've not been able to find the UK website).

Executive chairman and chief executive Steven Lew said the rollout will be swift and strategic "Physical stores are not dead, they are only dead if the retailer cannot adapt its model, and landlords and business partners are not willing to work together in their mutual best interests."

House was founded in Australia in 1978 and is now part of the Global Retail Brands group. Along with sister retail chain Robins Quality Kitchenware, House currently trades from 170 stores in Australia and markets itself as a kitchen, cooking, dining and entertaining specialist.

Wesfarmers entered the UK market when it paid £340m for Homebase in February 2016 but the poor performance of the hardware venture forced it to make £500m of recent writedowns and to put money aside for up to 40 potential store closures.

Source: Insight DIY Team

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