There's nothing quite like witnessing a Bunnings store for the first time. Coming from overseas, it was overwhelming, and bizarrely exhilirating: the sheer size of the stores and the depth of ranges set Bunnings apart from the outset. As a British person, who's been known to occassionally put up a wonky set of shelves, I can unequivocally say that nothing in the UK compares.
Could Masters ever really compete?
Rumour has it – up in Sydney's Castle Hill suburb, which has latched on like a starving baby to home reno mania – that Masters had its eye on a prime piece of real estate, due to come on the market some 18 months in the future. Bunnings swooped in across the road, at the top of the hill, and pipped Masters to the post, setting up a store so big that local pre-schoolers call it the 'Hammer Shop'; so visible is the logo from anywhere else in the area.
Market domination is Bunnings strategy, and when your competition is owned by a chain so beleagured as Woolworths, it's easy to play dirty and take the lead. Bunnings has also developed a shrewd advertising, marketing and experential strategy: simple ads fronted by its staff, in-store DIY classes, child-friendly play zones and cafes, and of course, a low pricing strategy underpinned by blanket media coverage.
But will transfering this success to the UK be simple, however impressive Bunnings may be? The store's parent Wesfarmers has all but acquired Homebase – the 265 store-strong home improvement and garden retailer, which comes up second place in the list of British players, behind market leader B&Q.
Interestingly, B&Q's adverts – going back to 2009 at least – featured down-to-earth staff making the whole DIY concept sound easy, and so too it toyed with in-store classes and playzones. It's widely known to the the cheapest outlet too. The only real thing that splits Bunnings and B&Q is real estate: Bunnings has aircraft hanger size stores – B&Q's are far more modest and Homebase even more so.
Bunnings won't be able to enter the UK market with the same strategy it utlises here without accusations it's ripping off B&Q. It also won't be able to bank on 'big is best' because Homebase sites are far smaller.
“The opportunity to enter this attractive market through the acquisition of Homebase has been comprehensively researched and carefully considered by Wesfarmers and Bunnings,” says Bunnings managing director of Richard Goyder.
It would be fascinating to see what that research showed.
Wesfarmers confidence is admirable, but it is quite likely it might fail to hit the hammer on the head (couldn't resist).
Compare and contrast B&Q and Bunnings ads below:
B&Q:
Bunnings