Irvine, CA, Aug. 6—HomeBase, Inc. ‘s grand opening last weekend of three new House2Home home decorating superstores in Northern California completes a multi phase conversion process from its HomeBase home improvement warehouses that began in December. The company is now operating 42 House2Home home decorating superstores in California, Arizona and Nevada.

"We’re pleased to have completed the conversion to the new House2Home format, within one to two weeks of our original schedule and close to our original cost estimates," said Herbert Zarkin, chairman, president and CEO. "This has been a tremendous effort performed by many dedicated team members, whom we wish to thank for their hard work and long hours.

"While the customer response to the stores and their wide product selection has been very positive, the level of ongoing sales at the stores after their grand openings has been lower than originally expected. We believe this is primarily due to the challenging economic environment facing most retailers today."

Accordingly, the company expects to report a loss of approximately $1.00 a share in the second quarter ended July 28, the majority of which reflects costs associated with the conversion project. Previously, the company was anticipating a loss of up to $0.80 a share in the quarter. Actual results for the quarter will be reported August 14.

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