Bunnings Group Limited, trading as Bunnings Warehouse or Bunnings, is an Australian
household hardware
Household hardware (or simply, hardware) is equipment that can be touched or held by hand such as keys, locks, nuts, screws, washers, hinges, latches, handles, wire, chains, belts, plumbing supplies, electrical supplies, tools, utensils, ...
chain. The chain has been owned by
Wesfarmers
Wesfarmers Limited is an Australian conglomerate, headquartered in Perth, Western Australia. It has interests predominantly in Australia and New Zealand, operating in retail, chemical, fertiliser, industrial and safety products. With revenue o ...
since 1994, and has stores in Australia and New Zealand.
Bunnings was founded in
Perth
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...
, Western Australia in 1886, by two brothers who had emigrated from England. Initially, a
limited company
In a limited company, the liability of members or subscribers of the company is limited to what they have invested or guaranteed to the company. Limited companies may be limited by shares or by guarantee. In a company limited by shares, the lia ...
focused on
sawmill
A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...
ing, it became a public company in 1952 and subsequently expanded into the retail sector, purchasing several hardware stores. Bunnings began to expand into other states in the 1990s and opened its first
warehouse
A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the outskirts of cities ...
-style store in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
in 1994. As of 2020, the chain has 375 stores and over 30,000 employees.
Bunnings has a
market share of around 50 percent in the Australian Do-It-Yourself hardware market, with competing chains including
Mitre 10
Mitre 10 is an Australian retail and trade hardware store chain. Operations are based on a cooperative system, where the store owners are members of the national group and each has voting rights. The chain name references the mitre joint. Th ...
,
Home Hardware
Home Hardware Stores Ltd. is a privately held Canadian home improvement, construction materials, and furniture retailer. Co-founded in 1964 by Walter Hachborn and headquartered in St. Jacobs, Ontario, the chain is co-operatively owned by ove ...
and various independent retailers such as Agora Marketplace and
Total Tools
Total may refer to:
Mathematics
* Total, the summation of a set of numbers
* Total order, a partial order without incomparable pairs
* Total relation, which may also mean
** connected relation (a binary relation in which any two elements are compa ...
around Australia.
Bunnings runs community events outside or in its stores, including
sausage sizzle
A sausage sizzle (also referred to as 'sausage in bread' or a sausage sandwich) is a grilled or barbecued food item and community event held in Australia and New Zealand.
A sausage (most commonly beef or pork) is served in sliced bread or a ...
s and
do it yourself workshops.
Michael Scneider was appointed Managing Director, Bunnings Group in May 2017 following his appointment as Managing Director, Bunnings Australia & New Zealand in March 2016. Prior to this, he led the store operations teams across Bunnings Australia and New Zealand, after joining Bunnings in 2005.
History
Pre-Wesfarmers history
In 1886, brothers Arthur and
Robert Bunning
Robert Bunning (13 December 1859 – 12 August 1936) was a Western Australian businessman involved in the construction, timber, and sawmill industries. He co-founded Bunning Bros, predecessor to the modern-day retailer Bunnings Warehouse.
Early ...
left London to settle in
Perth
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...
, and soon gained a government building contract, which led to the founding of a group of building companies which later became Bunning Bros Pty Ltd. They purchased their first sawmill the following year in the
south west of Western Australia, and over the next few years, they concentrated more on sawmilling and timber distribution and less on building.
The company expanded to include several new mills around Western Australia. In 1952, Bunnings became a public company, expanded into retailing and purchased several hardware stores.
[ In 1970, Bunnings bought the merchandising and sawmilling operations of Hawker Siddeley. In 1983, it bought out ]Millars Timber & Trading Company
Millars' Karri and Jarrah Company (1902) Limited, commonly known as Millars, was a Western Australian focused timber and timber railway company.
Millars' Karri and Jarrah Forests Limited was a public company incorporated in London in July 1897 w ...
and, in 1990, the Alco Handyman hardware operations. In 1993, Bunnings bought a company that operated Harry's and Lloyd's in South Australia, Campbell's in Queensland, and McEwans in Victoria and New South Wales. (This company had been spun off from Harris Scarfe
Harris Scarfe is an Australian retailer that sells bed linen, kitchenware, homewares, electrical appliances and apparel. It has a e-commerce retail presence in Australia and is considered a multi-channel lifestyle and homewares store.
Founded in ...
in 1989). Many of the stores acquired were subsequently closed, with only the best-performing sites being retained.
1990s
Bunnings Limited was bought out by Wesfarmers
Wesfarmers Limited is an Australian conglomerate, headquartered in Perth, Western Australia. It has interests predominantly in Australia and New Zealand, operating in retail, chemical, fertiliser, industrial and safety products. With revenue o ...
in 1994. In late-1995, the 'Red Hammer' symbol was introduced and is still in use today. In June 1996, the company's trademark slogan "Lowest Prices Are Just The Beginning" was introduced. In February 2020, the company discontinued the use of the slogan.
After the acquisition, the first Bunnings Warehouse was opened in the Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
suburb of Sunshine by Victorian premier Jeff Kennett and Joe Boros, the managing director of Bunnings. This was quickly followed by three other Melbourne stores. Subsequently, new warehouses have been opened, on average, every three months across Australia. Development in Sydney and Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...
proved more difficult than in other areas, as large blocks of land in the metropolitan area were limited.
In 1997, the remaining smaller-format McEwans stores were renamed Bunnings.
2000s
In August 2001, Wesfarmers bought the Howard Smith Group, including BBC Hardware (previously Nock & Kirby
Nock & Kirby was a Sydney-based retail store trading in hardware and general household goods.
History
Nock and Kirby began as a partnership of Thomas Nock and Herbert Kirby in 1894. It became a limited liability company in 1906. It had a subsi ...
) and big-box offshoot Hardwarehouse. This supplemented the Bunnings national network by several dozen stores, many of them large Hardwarehouse stores in Sydney, Brisbane and New Zealand. Hardwarehouse had been dominant in New South Wales and Queensland, but the purchase complemented Bunnings' prior domination in Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
, where Hardwarehouse had only seven stores to Bunnings' twenty at the time of the buy-out. At the time of purchase, the market leader was Mitre 10
Mitre 10 is an Australian retail and trade hardware store chain. Operations are based on a cooperative system, where the store owners are members of the national group and each has voting rights. The chain name references the mitre joint. Th ...
with a 12% market share, but the inclusion of the Hardwarehouse and BBC Hardware stores brought Bunnings market share to 13.5%.
Hardwarehouse and BBC Hardware stores retained their branding for a year, while television advertisements were tagged with each of Bunnings Warehouse, Hardwarehouse and BBC Hardware during this transition period. Lower-volume stores were closed and, in 2002, the remaining Hardwarehouses were renamed Bunnings Warehouse.
The Howard Smith Group purchase also included Benchmark Building Supplies, a New Zealand chain of 32 stores, including nine Auckland stores. These were also closed or rebranded as Bunnings by 2003. Until then, Bunnings had just three New Zealand stores. By 2008, it had 14 large warehouse stores in the country.
From 2004 to 2008, Bunnings purchased and re-branded Mitre 10
Mitre 10 is an Australian retail and trade hardware store chain. Operations are based on a cooperative system, where the store owners are members of the national group and each has voting rights. The chain name references the mitre joint. Th ...
stores in Griffith
Griffith may refer to:
People
* Griffith (name)
* Griffith (surname)
* Griffith (given name)
Places Antarctica
* Mount Griffith, Ross Dependency
* Griffith Peak (Antarctica), Marie Byrd Land
* Griffith Glacier, Marie Byrd Land
* Griffith Rid ...
, Kempsey, Randwick and Wodonga
Wodonga
( Waywurru: ''Wordonga'') is a city on the Victorian side of the border with New South Wales, north-east of Melbourne, Australia. It is located wholly within the boundaries of the City of Wodonga LGA. Its population is approximately ...
, Magnet Mart in Griffith and a Mitre 10 Mega
Mitre 10 is an Australian retail and trade hardware store chain. Operations are based on a cooperative system, where the store owners are members of the national group and each has voting rights. The chain name references the mitre joint. The ...
store in Modbury
Modbury is a large village, ecclesiastical parish, civil parish and former manor situated in the South Hams district of the county of Devon in England. Today due to its large size it is generally referred to as a "town" although the parish co ...
. In 2008 the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is the chief competition regulator of the Government of Australia, located within the Department of the Treasury. It was established in 1995 with the amalgamation of the Australian Trad ...
(ACCC) looked into its acquisitions of five Mitre 10 stores, as it deemed the purchases would be anti-competitive. In February 2009, the ACCC allowed the purchases, finding that the acquisition of the Mitre 10 stores did not significantly alter the level of competition in the relevant market.
2010s
Over time, some smaller-format Bunnings stores have gradually been closed. However, six new stores were opened in Victoria in 2015, mainly in smaller regional markets and inner-suburban areas.
2020s
In mid-May 2020, Bunnings announced it would close seven stores in New Zealand in Ashburton, Hornby
Hornby may refer to:
Places In England
* Hornby, Lancashire
* Hornby, Hambleton, village in North Yorkshire
* Hornby, Richmondshire, village in North Yorkshire Elsewhere
* Hornby, Ontario, community in the town of Halton Hills, Ontario, Canad ...
, Hastings
Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England,
east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...
, Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...
, Rangiora
Rangiora is the largest town and seat of the Waimakariri District, in Canterbury, New Zealand. It is north of Christchurch, and is part of the Christchurch metropolitan area. With an estimated population of Rangiora is the 30th largest urba ...
, Te Awamutu
Te Awamutu is a town in the Waikato region in the North Island of New Zealand. It is the council seat of the Waipa District and serves as a service town for the farming communities which surround it. Te Awamutu is located some south of Hamilt ...
, and Putāruru
Putāruru is a small town in the South Waikato District and the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. It lies on the western side of the Mamaku Ranges and in the upper basin of the Waihou River. It is on the Oraka Stream 65 kilometre ...
with the loss of 145 jobs as a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
. This left Bunnings with 41 New Zealand stores, including 12 in Auckland.
In Australia, Bunnings unsuccessfully lobbied the Victorian state government to exempt its 168 stores from closure during the second Melbourne lockdown. However the company was allowed to continue fulfilling online orders, and subsequently its online business expanded and grew due to continuing demand despite various periods of restrictions around the country.
In 2021 the ACCC ruled that the purchase of Beaumont Tiles outlets would not reduce competition as Bunnings was not currently in the field in a big way. Bunnings has said it will continue to run Beaumont Tiles the way it has been and with the same management team.
In November 2021, both Bunnings and Officeworks
Officeworks is a chain of Australian office supplies stores operated under parent company Wesfarmers.
The company was established in 1994 by Coles Myer, which became Coles Group before it was acquired by Wesfarmers. Its head office is located i ...
partnered with the Flybuys Loyalty program
A loyalty program is a marketing strategy designed to encourage customers to continue to shop at or use the services of a business associated with the program. Today, such programs cover most types of commerce, each having varying features and ...
to allow customers to collect points at both stores.
Operations
Since the development of the Bunnings Warehouse stores, three general operational formats exist Bunnings Small-format Store (SFS), Bunnings Warehouse (WH) and Bunnings Trade Centre (TC). The smaller "Bunnings" stores stock a more limited range of hardware, whereas the larger "Bunnings Warehouses" contain a more comprehensive hardware range and garden supplies, including plants. The big box format accounts for 167 stores of the network of 280.[
Bunnings Warehouse offers a variety of additional services, both in-home and in-store. The in-home services are mainly installations, assembling, quotes and consultancy for multiple products. The in-store services include a hire shop, spare parts enquiry, colour matching, key cutting, pool water testing and gas swapping.
Bunnings also provides gardening, craft, and woodwork do it yourself (DIY) workshops for children in-store, as well as for other groups in schools, nursing homes, and hospitals. The Bunnings staff are available to community groups for assistance with DIY projects.
]
Sausage sizzles
On weekends (and weekdays at some sites), Bunnings outlets regularly host sausage sizzle
A sausage sizzle (also referred to as 'sausage in bread' or a sausage sandwich) is a grilled or barbecued food item and community event held in Australia and New Zealand.
A sausage (most commonly beef or pork) is served in sliced bread or a ...
s and cake stalls for community groups and causes. It has become an intrinsic part of the Bunnings Warehouse brand, and iconic in Australian culture.
In 2018, chief operating officer Debbie Poole sparked a public debate when she suggested "onion be placed underneath sausages to help prevent the onion from falling out and creating a slipping hazard”. She insisted it would not "impact the delicious taste or great feeling you get when supporting your local community group".
Finances
Bunnings reported AU$16.871 billion in revenue for the fiscal year 2020–2021, which was a 12.5% revenue growth from the 2019–2020 fiscal year, where Bunnings reported AU$14.999 billion in revenue.
UK and Ireland
In February 2016, Bunnings' parent company Wesfarmers bought the United Kingdom-based hardware chain Homebase
Homebase is a British home improvement retailer and garden centre with stores across the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. Founded by Sainsbury's and GB-Inno-BM in 1979, the company was owned by Home Retail Group from October 2006, un ...
for £340 million. The chain's 265 stores in the UK and 15 in Ireland were intended to be rebranded with the Bunnings name within five years. The first Bunnings store in the UK was opened at the end of January 2017 in St Albans, four months later than planned to ensure the adopted format was suited to the UK public. The company planned to use that store as a test model prior to fine-tuning and expanding in that region. In April 2017, they bought a former B&Q store in Folkestone to be the fifth Bunnings store in the UK.
On 25 May 2018, after mounting losses, Wesfarmers sold the UK and Ireland Bunnings/Homebase operation to Hilco
Hilco Global is an American financial services holding company. It operates over twenty businesses and specializes in asset valuation, advisory, monetization, and disposition services. Headquartered in Northbrook, Illinois, it has offices th ...
for a nominal sum of £1. The 24 stores already rebranded as Bunnings reverted to the Homebase name, with some later closing under an agreed company voluntary arrangement
Under UK insolvency law an insolvent company can enter into a company voluntary arrangement (CVA). The CVA is a form of composition, similar to the personal IVA ( individual voluntary arrangement), where an insolvency procedure allows a compa ...
. The failure of Bunnings in the UK and Ireland has been called "the most disastrous retail acquisition in the UK ever".
House brands
House brands of Bunnings include:
* Ozito: Power tools and garden products (since 1993)
* Click: Electrical fittings and accessories (Australian and New Zealand)
* Matador: Barbecues and accessories
* Saxon: Gardening and landscaping products
* Eiger Electrical: Electrical fittings and accessories (UK and Ireland)
See also
* Charles Bunning
Charles R. Bunning (1 March 1905 – 3 June 1994) was a Western Australia, West Australian businessman who played an early significant role in the development of major retailer Bunnings.
Biography
Charles was a son of Robert Bunning, an English ...
, played an early role in the development of Bunnings
References
External links
Bunnings Warehouse home page
Bunnings Warehouse NZ home page
Bunnings Warehouse UK home page
Bunnings Trade home page
Bunnings Property Trust home page
{{Retailers in New Zealand
Hawker Siddeley
Home improvement companies of Australia
Home improvement companies of New Zealand
Retail companies established in 1952
Wesfarmers
Australian companies established in 1952
1886 establishments in Australia
Companies based in Melbourne