HomeBase Closing Four Area Locations

PORTLAND-Four local HomeBase stores will close along with 21 others across the nation as the Irvine, CA-based retailer begins to rethink the pace of its store conversions in the face of a slowing economy and a tightening credit market. The stores were to become House2Home outlets as part of the company’s last-ditch switch from home improvement to home furnishings.

The decision to convert only 42 of its 89 stores instead of 67 of them means more than 2,600 workers will be let go. The layoffs, including 140 at its headquarters, represent more than 25% of its work force.

Locally, stores will close in Vancouver, Portland, Beaverton and Clackamas. Stores in Seattle will close as well. HomeBase president Herbert Zarkin explained the move by saying “diminished consumer confidence has caused us to question our entry into colder-climate markets, where the outdoor living category of the House2Home concept has yet to be tested.”