Texas Homecare was a chain of

do it yourself "Do it yourself" ("DIY") is the method of building, modifying, or repairing things by oneself without the direct aid of professionals or certified experts. Academic research has described DIY as behaviors where "individuals use raw and semi ...

(DIY) stores in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. The firm operated from 1972 until 1996, with some stores lasting until 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. Using an American business model as inspiration, they revolutionised the UK's DIY market. Texas specialised in higher-volume, lower-margin DIY products. However, in the 1980s the company was adversely affected by the recession and depressed housing market, and was acquired first by

Ladbrokes Ladbrokes Coral is a British gambling company founded in 1886. Its product offering includes sports betting, online casino, online poker, and online bingo. The business is split into two divisions, UK and International. UK operations are c ...

and later by

J Sainsbury plc J Sainsbury plc, trading as Sainsbury's, is the second largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom, with a 14.6% share of UK supermarket sales. Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company ...

, before merging with and being replaced by

Homebase Homebase is a British home improvement retailer and garden centre with stores across the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. Founded by Sainsbury's and GB-Inno-BM in 1979, the company was owned by Home Retail Group from October 2006, unti ...

Acquisition

Having acquired Texas Homecare in 1986, Ladbrokes sold the business to

J Sainsbury J Sainsbury plc, trading as Sainsbury's, is the second largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom, with a 14.6% share of UK supermarket sales. Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company ...

in 1995. At the time of the purchase, Texas had more than 11,600 staff, while Homebase had c. 4,500. As part of the acquisition, 26 Texas stores closed and Sainsbury's converted the remaining stores to the Homebase brand. The conversion to Homebase was completed in 1999, when the Texas Homecare brand was discontinued. In 2000, the former chief executive of Texas Homecare, Ron Trenter, made an unsuccessful bid for Homebase.

Advertising

In its early years, Texas was famous for its television advertising slogan: 'Texas — THE BIG ONE!'. In later years, the company used a fictional character, Texas Tom, in its advertising. During the early 1990s, this campaign was altered slightly, referring to 'Only At Tom's Place!'.

References

External links

Texas HomecareTexas Tom TV advert from the 1980s
{{Sainsbury's 1972 establishments in the United Kingdom 1999 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Retail companies established in 1972 Defunct retail companies of the United Kingdom Home improvement companies of the United Kingdom Retail companies disestablished in 1999 Sainsbury's 1986 mergers and acquisitions 1995 mergers and acquisitions

History

Acquisition

Advertising

See also

References

External links