Author's product rating: 
| Advantages: |
Excellent value, Good quality branded products, Convenient locations |
| Disadvantages: |
Gets very busy - long queues |
| Recommend to potential buyers: |
yes |
INTRODUCTION
My nearest Home Bargains is in St.Annes which is quite near to Blackpool. Their used to be a shop called HALFPRICEORLESS.COM in the centre of Blackpool, however this closed due to the refurbishment of the shopping centre there. Home Bargains is a discount retailer with fantastic prices throughout. They sell many great lines such as everyday products and one-offs at fantastic prices!!
HISTORY
Home Bargains is owned by TJ Morris which are based in Liverpool. They started with stores called HOME & BARGAIN which was later changed to HOME BARGAINS. The HALFPRICEORLESS.COM venture was operated in the early 00s. HALFPRICEORLESS.COM was a website, which did exactly what it said on the tin! It sold branded goods at half the recommended retail price; they also opened stores under this name for a short while on the high street, in the form of two branches in Blackpool and Lancaster. This website was shut down in 2001. However, they continued to open stores under the branding of HOME BARGAINS.
FIRST EXPERIENCE - HALFPRICEORLESS.COM
I went in HPOL in Blackpool for the first time in about 2001, what really struck me was the great prices. They had many good regular lines such as toiletries, gardening, sweets & drinks, household e.t.c. They also had one-offs which were often brilliant value! I once got a chrome bin which was £50 in B&Q, was just £19.99 in HPOL. However the downside was the sheer volume of people entering the store - however I can't blame them! The other downside was the poor checkout design and I’m not being fussy! There was no orderly queue and it usually was in such a mess!! There were people queuing from all directions in such a tight space and when you finally got to the checkouts no conveyor belt.
The Second Experience - HOME BARGAINS
I was quite shocked when HPOL moved out of Blackpool. However the shopping center ordered it to go, so it had to go, which was a shame. I thought it had gone for good, so I had to make trips to stores elsewhere, like Preston and Lancaster. But to my surprise, last year (2006) a new store opened in the town of St. Anne’s which is south of Blackpool. It was located in the main street (St.Annes Square) in a site which was previously occupied by ICELAND. When I heard the news I quickly went to take a look. I went midweek and it was fairly quiet! The thing that first struck me was that it was a lot bigger than the BPL one was. It was much better designed with wide aisles and a light airy feel. It was clean, tidy and above all well organized (Unlike BPL). It has a much bigger product range than the BPL one had.
HB PRODUCTS
The HOME BARGAINS in St.Annes sells Toiletries (e.g. Shampoo, toothpaste, deodorant e.t.c.), Household products (e.g. cleaners, air freshness, washing machine/dishwasher tablets, toilet roll e.t.c.), Essential clothing (vests e.t.c.), pet food, Home ware (mostly excellent value one-offs e.g. canvas artwork), Toys & Games, Sweets (e.g. Chocolate, crisps), Some groceries (soup, beans e.t.c.), Drinks (e.g. coke, unusual cheap drinks e.t.c.), Alcohol,
BRANDS/QUALITY
Most of what HOME BARGAINS sells is branded. Brands range from well known brands such as FAIRY, LYNX, SURE, VO5, COLGATE, COCA-COLA e.t.c. which are always of a good quality, even if they have foreign text on. There are also more exclusive brands, which can be one-offs, such as BAYLIS & HARDING, TRESEMME, MOP (MODERN ORGANIC PRODUCTS), DEBENHAMS, MARKS & SPENCER and CHEF'S PRODUCTS (e.g. GORDON RAMASY) e.t.c. These are usually of very good quality. They sell unknown brands such as HOME LIVING (homeware), WORKZONE (tools) and SALON CHIC (shampoo) e.t.c. They also sell some foreign brands, which I have found to be quite good.
PRICES/BUYSMost of what HB sells are very good value, and I can honestly say I have never been ripped off. For example,
- Coca-Cola 330ml can (RRP49-79p) 27p
- Sparkling Mineral Water 250ml (RRP 40p) 10p
- KP assorted crisps (RRP29p) 9p
- HARIBO STARMIX (RRP £1.19) 59p
- FAIRY ACTIVE BURSTS 30 (RRP £6.49) £3.29
- BAXTERS SOUP (RRP 79p) 29p
- LOTUS THIRST POCKETS (RRP 2.99) £1.49
- Canvas artwork £2.99/£1.99
STARBUYS
These are located at the front of the store and at the end of aisles. They are usually fantastic value. They are always half the recommended retail price and usually less. For example LINDT MINI EASTER EGGS (RRP 79p) HB price 10p! Things like this sell very quickly, and STAR BUYS are always changing. The key to STARBUYS is to buy it when you see them, because you risk losing out!!
CUSTOMER SERVICE
Mostly the checkout assistants are fairly friendly. I have found the staff during the week are better than at the weekends. At weekends it is usually very busy so staff are also very busy. However they are usually polite and smile, but there are a few exceptions!! I once emailed TJMORRIS to find out if QUALITY SAVE (MANCHSTER + CHORLEY and others) were owned by TJMORRIS and therefore the same as HOMEBARGAINS. I thought this as the branding and products were similar. I received a very polite email of Tom Morris himself! He replied thanking me for my email and that QUALITY SAVE is not owned by TJMORRIS but is supplied by them! Great customer service and the mystery is now solved!
STORE LAYOUT & DESIGN
The HB in St. Anne’s has 5 full aisles and 2 half aisles. It operates a kind of one way system which most HB stores do. You are forced to travel down the first aisle, and then you are free to roam. Baskets and trolleys are located next to the door. There are four checkouts, which is not very many! The Checkouts are much better designed than the ones in HPOL were in Blackpool. They have a proper mini conveyer belt and your goods are packed for you! This is 100% better than Blackpool HPOL was! There are even signs saying that if there is three or more people in a queue they will open another till. This is great, but is rarely done and usually all checkouts are open anyway at busy times!
COMPETITORSIn St. Anne’s alone there is another hard discount retailer which applies the same concept. It is called B+M Bargains and it operates all round the north west of England. There is even one which has replaced by local somerfield! It sells a similar range of products to HB. However there stores are not fitted out nice at all and are messy and old. There headquarters are near BLACKPOOL AIRPORT so there are quite a few stores near me! I found their prices to be slightly more expensive than HB on some things and slightly cheaper on others. For example,
- Pringles Crisps (RRP £1.49) B+M 69p HB 49p
- FAIRY ACTIVE BURSTS (RRP £6.49) B+M £2.99 HB £3.29
Another similar store is Wilkinson which offers good value, but is certainly not as good as B+M and HB
OVERALLHOME BARGAINS offer excellent prices on the things we need everyday. HB is a great alternative to places like Tesco. However, the one-offs are the ones to really look out for; they can save you a fortune!!
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