Homecenter: A Guide to Shopping at Homecenter in Colombia

We provide a guide to shopping at Homecenter in Colombia with tips to save money. Homecenter is like a combination of a Home Depot and Bed Bath & Beyond stores found in the U.S.

You can think of Homecenter as being a home improvement store similar to a Home Depot in the U.S. But a Homecenter store in Colombia also has many home furnishings similar to a Bed, Bath & Beyond store in the U.S., including items for bathrooms, bedrooms and kitchens.

So, a Homecenter can best be described to foreigners from the U.S. as a combination of Home Depot and Bed, Bath & Beyond stores in the U.S.

I have shopped many times at this home improvement store chain in Colombia. And when I first furnished an apartment in Medellín over eight years ago, I bought many things at Homecenter stores.

Homecenter has a total of five large stores in Medellín and the Aburrá Valley. When we published our guide to shopping at Exito, several readers asked for a similar guide to shopping at Homecenter, so, here it is.

Inside the Envigado Homecenter store

More About Homecenter

Sodimac Homecenter is a Chile-based home improvement warehouse chain. Besides Colombia, this home improvement chain also has stores in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Uruguay.

In addition, this home improvement chain is owned and operated by Chile-based Falabella. And Falabella is the largest retail company in Chile and is one of the largest retail companies in Latin America.

Falabella is a huge company with nearly 500 stores and over 40 shopping malls. The stores include over 110 department stores, over 250 home improvement stores and over 120 supermarkets branded as Tottus. Also, Falabella owns Banco Falabella, which offers banking services including bank accounts, credit cards and insurance products.

Small home appliances for sale

What Can You Find in a Homecenter Store?

These home improvement stores are very large warehouse-style stores, which are broken up into many departments and sections.

You will find everything from tools, home improvement products, lumber, cabinets, flooring, kitchen items, bathroom items, bedroom items, furniture, appliances, pet products, auto products, cleaning products, paints and so much more.

Here are several photos from inside a Homecenter store:

Patio furniture for sale

Grills for sale

Lumber for sale

Towels and bathroom items for sale – things you won’t find in a Home Depot in the U.S.

Furniture for sale

Appliances for sale

Tankless gas water heaters for sale

Homecenter in Medellín and Colombia

Homecenter has over 35 stores in Colombia. In Medellín, it has three stores. Also, it has stores in nearby Bello, Envigado and Rionegro. In addition, there are only three malls in the Medellín metro area with a Homecenter store in the mall: Los Molinos mall in Belén, Puerta del Norte mall in Bello and the new Viva Envigado mall.

Homecenter in Viva Envigado Mall

This home improvement warehouse chain also has stores in Colombia in Armenia, Barranquilla, Bogotá, Bucaramanga, Cartagena, Cali, Cúcuta, Giradot, Ibagúe, Manazales, Monteria, Neiva, Palmira, Pereira, Santa Marta, Tulua, Villavicencio and Yopal.

How to Save Money and Time at Homecenter

Here are six tips to save money and time and make things easier when shopping at this home improvement store in Colombia:

1. Shop the sales. Homecenter frequently has sales. The sales are frequently advertised on flyers that are posted at the stores and also available in the stores. You can also find information about sales on the company’s website.
2. Bring your own bags. Unfortunately these home improvement stores in Colombia no longer provide plastic bags at the checkout like the grocery stores do. They have some bags in the store to buy but you can save money by bringing your own bags.
3. Shop during the day on weekdays. If you shop during the weekday when most people are at work, the lines will be the shortest and it will be easier to find staff in the stores to help you.
4. Download the Homecenter app. This is a helpful mobile app that lets you take photos of barcodes in the store to find out the prices of items and information about products. This app is available on Google Play and the Apple App store.
5. Homecenter has a low-price guarantee. These stores have a policy where they will beat a price in another store for the same item by 10 percent. But you need to provide an official quote from the other store or a catalog, advertising flyer or invoice from the other store at the time of purchase.
6. Find out the Spanish words for what you are looking for. The staff in these home improvement stores are helpful but most of them don’t speak English. So, find out the Spanish words for things you are looking for or have photos on you smart phone.

Homecenter will generally have prices that are lower than in other shops in big malls or boutique stores. However, it is possible to beat some of the prices at Homecenter in the home improvement section of El Hueco in El Centro.

But instead of the convenience of finding everything in one place in Homecenter, in El Hueco you will need to search in many small stores to find what you are looking for. Plus El Hueco is much more chaotic.

Inside the Homecenter at Los Molinos mall

How to Get to Homecenter in Medellín and the Aburrá Valley

This home improvement chain has five stores in Medellín and the Aburrá Valley as follows:

1. Medellín – Calle 44 # 65-100, near the Suramericana metro station on Line B.
2. Belén, Medellín – Calle 30A # 72A-126 in the Los Molinos Mall, and near the Los Alpes line on the Metroplus line 1 or 2.
3. Medellín – Av. Los Industriales # 14-135, near the Poblado metro station on Line A.
4. Envigado – Carrera 49 # 32B Sur-24 in the Viva Envigado Mall, near the Envigado metro station on Line A.
5. Bello – Diagonal 51 # 34 – 16, Puerta del Norte Mall, and near the Niquía metro station on Line A.

Three of these stores are located in malls and all five are located near Medellín metro system stations.

In addition, there is a store in Rionegro at Calle 43 # 54-139, which isn’t too far from the José María Córdova international airport.

Also, most taxi drivers will know where these big home improvement stores are located. And it is normally easy to catch a taxi at one of these large stores. Also, these stores do deliveries.

Website: https://www.homecenter.com.co/

Hours: Monday to Friday: 8 am (7 am in a few locations) to 9 pm. Sunday and holidays: 8 am to 8 pm.

The Bottom Line: A Guide to Shopping at Homecenter in Colombia

If you are familiar with Home Depot and Bed Bath & Beyond in the U.S. you will have a good idea of what to expect in these popular home improvement stores in Colombia.

The bottom line is that Homecenter is convenient for home improvement projects and also when furnishing an apartment.  When I furnished an apartment in Medellín I bought a few pieces of furniture, curtains and many bedroom, bathroom and kitchen items at Homecenter.

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