Homebase presents quarterly figures

The British DIY retail chain Homebase announces a slight 0.3 per cent drop in sales to £ 389 mio (€ 488 mio) for the second quarter of 2008. Like-for-like sales are 8.3 per cent down. Homebase numbered 345 stores at the end of the second quarter, following two new openings and two closures. Parent company Home Retail Group puts a figure of £ 829 mio (€ 1.041 bn) on Homebase sales for the first six months. This amounts to a 10.3 per cent decline compared with the same period last year, or 2.9 per cent like-for-like.