HomeBase testing here as well

Phil Levine

Tuesday, April 25, 2000 | 10:47 a.m.

Metro Las Vegas will serve as a testing ground for a new marketing concept launched this week by home improvement giant HomeBase Inc.

Later this week, two of the company's three Las Vegas stores will begin liquidating current inventory as they prepare to launch the new House 2 Home retailing initiative.

Local HomeBase stores included in the pilot program are at 570 North Stephanie St. and 2260 South Rainbow Blvd.; three Southern California-based stores are also included in the initiative. The company's other local store at 1720 East Charleston Blvd. is not part of the program.

Following the conversion, the revamped stores will feature only products that fall under four broad categories: outdoor living, indoor living, home decor and seasonal goods.

Michele Feller, spokeswoman for the Irvine, Calif.-based retailer, said there were several reasons why Las Vegas was chosen as a test market for the new project.

"The demographic makeup of our customers in the metropolitan Las Vegas area certainly made it an attractive market to test this type of project," she said.

"As well, the climate in Las Vegas is slightly different from Southern California, and that provides a contrast for us (in terms of consumer demand.)"

The company will shift its focus from raw building products -- such as lumber -- to home accessories not currently for sale, including linens, towels and flatwares.

"We will still sell some building products such as paints, but the real emphasis will be placed in the home accessories area," said Feller.

The liquidation process is slated to begin this week. Once that is completed, the two Las Vegas stores will close for about 60 days in preparation of the new product launch.

Feller said approximately 200 employees at the two Las Vegas stores will be given the option of working at the new House 2 Home outlets, or transferring to another HomeBase store.

HomeBase currently employs about 300 people in its Metro Las Vegas locations.

By narrowing its product focus, HomeBase hopes to capture a larger share of the $125 billion home improvement industry.

The company has specifically set its sights on the $33 billion outdoor living category. HomeBase officials say the outdoor living sector is one of the fastest growing areas of home consumer goods with no single dominant retailer.

Feller said the success of the House 2 Home pilot project will determine whether the company expands the program to its other retail outlets.

"We'll be watching closely to see what happens in Las Vegas and the other stores where we are testing this program," she said.

"If it works well, we'll examine the possibility of expanding (the program) into other markets."

HomeBase currently operates 88 stores in 10 Western states. Last year, the company reported total sales of about $1.5 billion.