Texas Homecare
Texas Homecare was a chain of do it yourself stores in the United Kingdom and Ireland which once rivalled B&Q, Do It All and Great Mills. The firm operated from 1972 until 1996, with some stores lasting until 1999.[1]
 | |
| Type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1972 |
| Founders | Manny Fogel Sydney Fogel Gerald Fogel |
| Defunct | 1996 1999 (last few stores) |
| Fate | Acquired |
| Successor | Homebase |
| Headquarters | Holborn, London, United Kingdom |
| Parent | Ladbrokes (1986–1995) Sainsbury's (1995–1999) |
History
Texas Homecare was first established in 1972 by Manny, Sydney and Gerald Fogel, who had previously founded the high street specialist paint and wallpaper chain Home Charm.[2] Taking their lead from America, they revolutionised the market of do it yourself in the United Kingdom with the introduction of the DIY Shed style outlet in the country.
Mervyn Fogel, co founder and managing director for over twenty five years had his vision of turning the small family business into an entire retail empire for do it yourself stores. Texas specialised in higher volume, lower margin do it yourself products. The company had been adversely affected by the recession and depressed housing market. Ladbrokes officially acquired the chain in April 1986, which they sold within nine years.[3]
Texas boosted boosted sales in February 1992 with quite an iconic deal that promised customers who spent £1,500 or more on any kitchen, and collected their certificate to prove it, in the fact that they would be refunded every penny in ten years’ time provided they applied within set dates, resulting in an outrage in March 2002 from customers whom initially accepted the offer ten years earlier.[4][5]
Acquisition
Ladbrokes first put the firm up for sale in January 1995 and later in the month, J Sainsbury bought out Texas Homecare and with its acquisition, Homebase hoped to hold around 10% of the total do it yourself market in the United Kingdom at the time of the purchase.[6] However in May 1995, it was announced that only twenty six stores of Texas were to close with limited redundancies. J Sainsbury then found that full conversion to the Homebase format was an investment worth making, and therefore allowed £50 million for the task.[7]
By the time of the purchase, Texas had more than 11,600 staff and Homebase only had 4,500 in comparison, culminating in an important 7,100 staff difference between the two retailers. These stores were rebranded and redesigned to the format of Homebase, the first to be converted being in February 1996 in Longwell Green, Bristol, which has since closed down.[8]
A few other stores were sold off to other retailers; including the store in Merry Hill in the West Midlands which closed in 1995, which was then split between PC World and Currys instead of being converted.[9]
The last sixty stores of Texas Homecare were converted to Homebase in 1999, and the name Texas vanished from high streets, shopping malls and retail parks.[10] The former chief executive of Texas Homecare, Ron Trenter, made an unprecedented bid for Homebase in August 2000, which was sold off within four months.[11]
Advertising
In its early years, Texas was famous for its television advertising slogan: Texas — THE BIG ONE!. In later years, Texas used the fictional character named Texas Tom in its advertising. During the beginning of the 1990s, this campaign was altered slightly to refer to Tom's Place: Only At Tom's Place!.
See also
References
- Nigel Cope (18 April 2019). "Woolworths to BHS - the old favourites vanished from our struggling high streets". mirror.co.uk. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
- Steven Fogel (16 October 2015). "Joseph Gerald Fogel". pressreader.com. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
- Nigel Cope (13 January 1995). "Sainsbury's tipped to buy Texas". The Independent. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
- Frizzell (16 November 2002). "The driveway cashback scheme that went off the road". theguardian.com. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
- Osborne Clarke (19 March 2002). "Glittering Ryanair and Texas Homecare offers lose lustre". marketinglaw.osborneclarke.com. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
- Nigel Cope (25 January 1995). "Sainsbury's buys out Texas DIY". The Independent. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
- In Brief (16 May 1995). "International Briefs; In Brief". nytimes.com. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
- Dudley News (20 March 1996). "Sales on rise as Texas bids to open wider range". irishtimes.com. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
- Dudley News (14 November 2014). "From steelworks to shopping mecca: 25 years of Dudley's Merry Hill". expressandstar.com. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
- J Sainsbury plc (1998). "J Sainsbury plc: Annual Report And Accounts 1998" (PDF). annualreports.com. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
- Kate Rankine (25 August 2000). "Ex-Texas chief may join Homebase bid". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 4 November 2016.