Housewares Business-to-business magazine for housewares retailers and their suppliers
Housewares retailer Habitat launched a Mini Habitat store in the Hove branch of Homebase in East Sussex on Friday December 19.
To mark the opening of the outlet on Old Shoreham Road, shoppers were offered 20% off purchases, and local businesses provided seasonal refreshments, on the day in-store.
The opening comes three and a half years after Habitat closed its branch at Churchill Square in Brighton.
The brand was bought from Habitat’s administrators by the Home Retail Group, which owns Homebase and Argos.
This is the 36th new Mini Habitat store, following on from a roll-out across England and Scotland. Measuring 2,500sq ft, it is being run as a stand-alone shop featuring an edit of Habitat’s full collection of furniture, lighting, accessories, textiles and tabletop. Customers are have the option to browse the entire Habitat collection via a new i-Pad service with the guidance of Habitat staff from which they can order additional products for collection at a later date.
Speaking of the new Mini Habitat store opening, managing director Clare Askem said: “I’ve been wanting to bring Habitat back to the Hove and Brighton area since we took ownership of the brand in 2011. The Mini Habitat format has already proved incredibly popular elsewhere in the UK as new customers are discovering our well-designed, affordable products and old fans are re-connecting with us through these new local stores. It’s a very exciting time and I’m delighted that we’re returning to the area and hope that everyone will enjoy seeing us back in the city.”
Carl Richmond, store manager at Homebase Old Shoreham Road, said: “Both colleagues and customers are excited that Habitat is making a return to Brighton and Hove.”
