Homeart

Homeart was a national chain of retail stores with outlets in every state in Australia selling mostly homewares, giftware and electrical products.

Homeart
TypePrivate
IndustryRetail
FoundedMelbourne, Australia (1977)
FounderAart van Roest and Amy van Roest
Headquarters
Bella Vista, Australia
,

Australia
Number of locations
140
Area served
Australia
Key people
Amy van Roest (Director)
ProductsHomewares, Manchester, Giftware, Small Electrical, Furniture, Kitchenware
OwnerAmy van Roest
Number of employees
850
ParentCopperart Holdings Pty Limited

History

The company's origins can be traced back to Melbourne's eastern suburbs and the iconic Croydon Stockyards (flea market) in 1970. On August 1st 1979, Mr and Mrs van Roest's first store to carry the name Copperart was opened on Canterbury Road, Blackburn, Victoria. This was followed soon after by another six stores.

Initially the business sold copper and brassware from around the world, as well as Grandfather clocks and wall clocks. The name Copperart derives from the material the products were made from (Copper) and the name of the original founder Aart, 'Copper' and 'A(a)rt'. Copperart initially sold mostly copper and brass products, but the company expanded in the 1980s to include a broader range of homewares.

2001: rebranding
Previous Homeart logo used from 2001 to 2010

By the year 2000, the product range in the Copperart stores had changed dramatically and bore little resemblance to original concept; the once famous copper and brass had virtually disappeared.[1] In late 2001, Copperart changed its trading name to Homeart. It was felt that the "Copperart" name implied only a small range of copper and related products were stocked, when in fact the stores sold a wide range of products including manchester, clocks, electrical, homewares, dolls, furniture, sports & leisure and outdoor gear.

2010: logo update and changes

In mid-2010, Homeart updated its logo replacing the large roof with a smaller, more subtle one, giving it a more modern look. The font and colour were also changed to a more modern style and distinctive "Homeart" orange.

2015: Closure

In January 2015 liquidators were appointed for the 116 Homeart stores,[2] with the announcement made in March of that year that all stores would close, having failed to find a buyer for the business.[3]

Advertising

Through its regular use of television advertising, Copperart became an iconic Australian company. Copperart used the well-known Pete Smith, best remembered for his voiceovers on Sale of the Century. The Don Lane Show and In Melbourne Tonight, in television commercials during the 1990s. In the 2000s large catalogue distributions were the companies preferred choice of advertising, and television commercials ceased. In late 2009, Homeart aired a television advertisement to promote its goods for the Christmas season.

Pop culture

Copperart was featured several times in the early 1990s on the sketch comedy show Fast Forward. The sketches were parodies of Copperart's television commercials with comedian Steve Vizard lampooning Pete Smith.

References
  1. "Homeart - About Us". Archived from the original on 9 May 2010. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
  2. "Homeart collapse: Homeware retailer up for sale after being placed in administration - SmartCompany". SmartCompany. 28 January 2015. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  3. "All 103 remaining Homeart stores to close, 550 jobs lost - SmartCompany". SmartCompany. 25 March 2015. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
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