Home Bargains is a chain of discount stores founded in 1976 by Tom Morris in Liverpool, England, as Home and Bargain. It is the trading name of TJ Morris Ltd, stocking up to 4000 branded product lines and employs over 17,000 people from head office staff to warehouse staff and shop staff.

In 2013, the company estimated they served over three million customers and published a record breaking turnover of £1 billion which was subsequently increased by 50% just three years later in 2016. Home Bargains were ranked in sixth place in a Which? list of 100 Top Stores, making them the highest ranking discount retailer in the United Kingdom and according to their website, the largest employer within Merseyside.

History

The retailer was founded by owner Tom Morris in 1976 as a single store called Home and Bargain^[3] in Old Swan, Liverpool when aged just 21. The name was changed to Home Bargains in 1995 with accompanying blue-and-red corporate identity, created by relative (and professional graphic designer) Anton Morris.^[3]

Morris started the business by obtaining a bank overdraft, with typical average takings initially reaching around £85 per week and was estimated in 2014 to have a personal wealth of £2.05 billion,^[4] which, by 2016, had increased to over £3 billion, making him at that time the second richest man in the North West of England.^[5]

Morris, who was reported to have still owned an 89% stake in the business as of 2013, operates the company with his brother Joe.^[7] The business has since grown to become one of the largest privately owned companies within the United Kingdom, selling a variety of household items including food, clothing and games to name a few^[6] across up to 4000 product lines.^[4]

Customer numbers were estimated to be in excess of three million in 2013, with items sold typically consisting of 70% regular lines and the rest as one-off product lines.^[7] The retailer was ranked 6th in a Which? list of 100 Top Stores, making them the highest ranking retailer within the United Kingdom.^[6]

Growth

The retailer gained approval in January 2008 to construct new headquarters in Merseyside, which it estimated would create seven hundred jobs at the Axis business park, Croxteth, as it constructed a ten storey distribution centre and retail training facility.^[7]

A £70m distribution centre began construction in October 2013 in Wiltshire, England, as a duplicate of their {{convert|700000|sqft|abbr=on}} facility that they had opened at its Liverpool headquarters some years prior, in order that their expansion plans could be maintained.^[7]

Business operations

Sales strategies

The strap line of the retailer is "Top Brands, Bottom Prices", with operations director Joe Morris explaining their business model of acquiring stock at the same cost price as the larger supermarkets, but selling them to the public at a cheaper price.^[8]

In August 2011, Home Bargains opened a website to enable customers to shop with them online.^[9]

Stores and branding

In January 2009, the retailer acquired 14 former Woolworths stores from the failed chain Woolworths Group. These stores include Cardiff and Port Talbot in Wales. In Fife, Scotland, two former Woolworths stores have been opened in shopping centres in Glenrothes and Kirkcaldy.

Corporate affairs

National expansion

The retailer had aspirations to expand in countries outside of England in 2007, though owner Tom Morris was keen to ensure such expansion was controlled to avoid the risk of over expansion.^[10]

The retailer announced in October 2008 that preparations are underway to expand into Scotland for the first time, opening their first store in Rutherglen in December 2008. There are plans to invest more than £10m in its first group of stores, and by March 2009 the company aims to have six stores within the Glasgow area, employing more than two hundred people.^[11]

In February 2010, the company's £25 million Northern Ireland expansion plan was announced, with plans to have opened up to 25 stores by 2015 to add to their then portfolio of 190 stores.^[12]

Financial performance

The retailer has seen strong sales growth over the past few years, with turnover more than doubling in a four year period (2011 to 2015).^[20]

In 2009, the firm was aiming to be turning over £1bn a year by 2015, having grown the number of its stores to 350, with the potential for 600 across the United Kingdom.^[13] Their turnover exceeded the £1billion mark in 2013, two years earlier than initially anticipated. The retailer aims to reach the £2billion annual turnover mark by 2020.

Affiliates

Home Bargains is also the supplier of similar discount chain Quality Save, whom it supplies all stock, shop fittings, trolleys and tills.^[15]

Sporting ventures

From 2013 until 2016, Home Bargains were kit sponsors of National League side Tranmere Rovers in a "six figure" deal, replacing long term sponsors Wirral Council.^[16] The sponsorship ended when Rovers signed a three year sponsorship deal with B&M Waste Services.^[17]

Litigation

The retailer was fined over £20,000 in February 2017, after being caught selling phone chargers that risked exploding. The chargers had been imported from China yet had not undergone sufficient safety checks by the retailer, despite Trading Standards having carried out five failed safety checks on the product.

Despite being able to produce a Chinese test certificate indicating that a sample product was safety compliant, Home Bargains subsequentally admitted to three offences of electrical safety through the sale of unsafe chargers during 2015.^[18]

References

External links

• {{Official website|http://www.homebargains.co.uk/}}