How Bunnings Took Over Australia

[PG2]

Originally Posted by OneMadMan

Yes, nodding in agreement... BUT..

There is a minimum spend. The last fastening shop I visited (about 6 months ago) had a minimum spend of $75. I needed one of these:

image

Did the 'bolt shop' have one? Yes.

How much was it?

$75.. for a 20mm female to female hex nut.. Seriously?

So what's a man to do?

I went "on the line" to get it. I did, and yes, it was in AU, Victoria as it turns out.. and it cost me twelve gorillas... $1.50 for the hex adapter, and the rest in postage.. for the odd size velcro sanding pad to restore the headlights on the FG.. instead of becoming 'Arnie' doing it in 4 stages by hand. Blah blah blah.

Yes, 'bolt / fastening shops' serve their purpose... for the OWNERS, not the customers.

Every business is at the end of the day for the owner.

$75 minimum spend? I am not saying that this is not true but I have never heard of anything like that before. Which shop was it? You are not defaming them by simply posting up the fact that they have a minimum spend.

[Interceptor]

I suspect the issue may have been more that the part needed wasnt a regular enough seller to be a stock item, and may have required a particular order quantity hence pushing the sale up to $75

[Citroënbender]

I’m a regular at Lee Bros Engineering, in western Sydney. They long ago dropped their minimum spends, etc. They will post if you order online or by phone, which can be helpful as they are closed weekends.

IMO Australia has got what it deserved with the cultural cringe that embraced foreign goods over local products, and our committed dismantling of most manufacturing capabilities.

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by roKWiz

Both examples open Saturday and have these things called telephones.

How much of a dunderhead do you need to be if you have to go looking for stuff on a Sunday.

I would think I could be organised enough so I had everything at home to cover that 1 day.

But agree to a degree.

Sadly, most younger people don't think like that, its oh, I need xyz and I want it NOW.

That's one of the things that benefitted me working weekends, whenever I had a day off, everything was open.

[DFB FGXR6]

Whenever I need specific bolts or fasteners, there is a small independent in town I always go to because I know that going to Bunning's would be a complete waste of time. Yes, closed on Sunday and Saturday afternoon, but that's why you plan ahead. Quite often, what I need is so insignificant that they give it to me for free or a donation to the Friday afternoon lunch fund. I also bought my main tool set from them, not mention several other tools and assorted stuff.

[Crazy Dazz]

Firstly, whether by accident or clever planning, Bunnings expanded at the right time and has ridden the wave of "home renos" where every woman and her dog aspires to star on "The Block" or has her own youtube channel. Renovating for the fun of it is now big business.

Another critical thing they did, a few decades back, was launching the Bunnings Property Trust.
The single biggest issue facing small shopholders is that they are completely at the mercy of their landlord and/or centre management. It's one of the great "conundrums." Shopping Centres and Industrial Complexes are only popular because of their tenants. Yet the more popular the tenants, the more rnet they have to pay. Bunnings did away with all that, and eventually reabsorbed the Property Trust.

Bunnings also skates around the law they sell a large range of electrical and plumbing gear, all of which is illegal for homeowners to install.

Above all, they offer convenience for the DIY person who wouldn't otherwise know where to look. Want to replace the rollers on your 20 year old sliding door? Well Bunnings has the part for you.

And the thing is, that pricewise, they aren't that bad. I'm someone that likes to shop around, and I'm happy to look online, on ebays, and even Aliexpress if its something simple. And Bunnings is very competitive on most things.

Plus their no-questions return policy is very handy. Not sure which size you need? Buy both, and return the wrong one next week.

I've been fortunate, spending most of my life living close to nurseries. Where I am now, I have nurseries I could walk to if I wanted, and given the zoning that way, they're be around for a long-time yet. So I've never bought plants from Bunnings. But for some people, I imagine it's also a convenient solution.

[Itsme]

Originally Posted by John 13

"I deleted a couple of sentences, reducing the footprint"
I have a local independent hardware store, incidentally on my way to a Bunnings. In the remote possibility that I would ever darken the door of the Bxxxx store. This business still stocks bulk screws and bolts in their boxes and is always prepared to sell the items in small quantities. In fact it is not unusual for auto parts shops to recommend this hardware store when sourcing metric and UNF bolts/nuts for motor vehicles.

I acknowledge there will be a few independents around that does still do the old way, but they would be far & few.
Have not seen one in my area since the early 90's where I had about 4 of them, all now, long gone, even my local Mitre10 store has got out of the retail side, only concentrating on timber building materials.

[Itsme]

Originally Posted by Crazy Dazz

Bunnings also skates around the law they sell a large range of electrical and plumbing gear, all of which is illegal for homeowners to install.

It is not against the law to sell products to people whether they are licensed or not licensed, never has been nor will it ever happen.
Nothing stopping anyone going to plumbing or electrical wholesalers to purchase products.

[danzvtil]

As someone who used to stocktake at an old fashioned hardware, nails and screws sold by weight, no one makes money out of this, labour intensive, wastage,shrinkage just wouldn’t work now, you’re looking back with rose tinted glasses.Bunnings ranging follows volume, they aren’t interested in some obscure high tensile bolt that a weird beard buys once a year.

[b0son]

Originally Posted by roKWiz

Both examples open Saturday and have these things called telephones.

But not a website, and not on Sunday when I actually need them. You follow your customers, you dont expect them to follow you.

[arm79]

Originally Posted by danzvtil

As someone who used to stocktake at an old fashioned hardware, nails and screws sold by weight, no one makes money out of this, labour intensive, wastage,shrinkage just wouldn’t work now, you’re looking back with rose tinted glasses.Bunnings ranging follows volume, they aren’t interested in some obscure high tensile bolt that a weird beard buys once a year.

I was wondering when someone was going to point this out.

People forget that labor is expensive. Which ultimately makes it expensive, read too expensive, to run a business in "the old ways".

Here in Hervey Bay we had a large range of independent stores that sold small chunks of Bunnings range. Irrigation stores, bolt stores, rural supplies stores, tool shops, etc, etc. Cumulatively these stores covered the entire Bunnings range, at 50% of the price. They were cheap and quality.

But they are all slow. If I wanted a hose from the irrigation sore I had to wait for them to cut it. Only ever one or 2 staff in the store, I'd be waiting 20 mins for someone to serve me. Or have a handful of stuff and have to wait 10 mins to be served. But the stuff was good, support small business and it was cheap.

One day I had to wait 15 mins for someone to cut me 2m of hose and their prices had gone through the roof. 2m of hose for twice the price of Bunnings and a 15 min wait. Rinse and repeat at other stores. (Personally I think the price increases are more greed on part of the owners than actual cost rises, but that's another story.)

I don't have to time or inclination to spend all that time waiting for someone to serve me, only to pay the same or more as at Bunnings.

So unfortunately Bunnings is the first stop now. Only visit the other stores when I need something out of the norm I know Bunnings don't keep.

They've built a model that is quick, cheap and effective. Somewhere I can walk around for an hour and get pretty much everything I want from a number of options and go home. Not have to spend hours driving from one side of town to the other to various shops.

The ability for "old school" operators to run on an "old school" model is lost to time now.

I suppose another way to look at it is the old school milk bars. It was something they were talking about on MMM radio yesterday or today.

Bloke said he loved licorice bullets and could remember going to the milk bar with 1c or 10c (cant remember which) and for that amount of money getting 100 bullets. The shop owner would pull the big tub out of the display and count out 100 lollies and put them in a bag. Hopefully not 90 and **** of the customer or 110 and cost him money.

How long would it take to serve that one kid for 10c. Or a half dozen kids at 10c each? 5 or 10 mins for 60c in takings...

These days the business cost for that same 5 to 10 mins would be $5 to $10 and that doesn't include the lollies.... Or the ****ed off customers waiting behind to be served.

[PG2]

Originally Posted by arm79

I was wondering when someone was going to point this out.

People forget that labor is expensive. Which ultimately makes it expensive, read too expensive, to run a business in "the old ways".

Here in Hervey Bay we had a large range of independent stores that sold small chunks of Bunnings range. Irrigation stores, bolt stores, rural supplies stores, tool shops, etc, etc. Cumulatively these stores covered the entire Bunnings range, at 50% of the price. They were cheap and quality.

But they are all slow. If I wanted a hose from the irrigation sore I had to wait for them to cut it. Only ever one or 2 staff in the store, I'd be waiting 20 mins for someone to serve me. Or have a handful of stuff and have to wait 10 mins to be served. But the stuff was good, support small business and it was cheap.

One day I had to wait 15 mins for someone to cut me 2m of hose and their prices had gone through the roof. 2m of hose for twice the price of Bunnings and a 15 min wait. Rinse and repeat at other stores. (Personally I think the price increases are more greed on part of the owners than actual cost rises, but that's another story.)

I don't have to time or inclination to spend all that time waiting for someone to serve me, only to pay the same or more as at Bunnings.

So unfortunately Bunnings is the first stop now. Only visit the other stores when I need something out of the norm I know Bunnings don't keep.

They've built a model that is quick, cheap and effective. Somewhere I can walk around for an hour and get pretty much everything I want from a number of options and go home. Not have to spend hours driving from one side of town to the other to various shops.

The ability for "old school" operators to run on an "old school" model is lost to time now.

I suppose another way to look at it is the old school milk bars. It was something they were talking about on MMM radio yesterday or today.

Bloke said he loved licorice bullets and could remember going to the milk bar with 1c or 10c (cant remember which) and for that amount of money getting 100 bullets. The shop owner would pull the big tub out of the display and count out 100 lollies and put them in a bag. Hopefully not 90 and **** of the customer or 110 and cost him money.

How long would it take to serve that one kid for 10c. Or a half dozen kids at 10c each? 5 or 10 mins for 60c in takings...

These days the business cost for that same 5 to 10 mins would be $5 to $10 and that doesn't include the lollies.... Or the ****ed off customers waiting behind to be served.

I'll add to this...

What about before there were supermarkets? You used to go into a corner store and the person behind the counter would pick the groceries off the shelf and give them to you.

Imagine doing that now.

[arm79]

Originally Posted by PG2

I'll add to this...

What about before there were supermarkets? You used to go into a corner store and the person behind the counter would pick the groceries off the shelf and give them to you.

Imagine doing that now.

Most definitely, its hard to imagine doing that now. One side is the business perspective of how expensive it would be... But also need to consider how small the range of options there was then compared to know.

Once upon a time if you wanted breakfast cereal it was Weeties, Corn Flakes or Weetbix. Now I have a choice of at least 50 different options all in one spot. No "old ways" model could support the choices on offer now.

The other thing I like about Bunnings compared to smaller stores is I know exactly what I will pay before even walking in the store. Or at a minimum, while I'm there there are price tags on everything. I have the option of walking away without a disapproving look.

To me, there aren't many things more annoying that not knowing what something is going to cost. Once you've blindly taken the leap, there is no turning back once its done.

Going back to the hose from the irrigation store, I'd hate having to wait 15 mins just to get a price, only to walk out because its too expensive... Or do a ring around of 5 stores looking for the best price.

But I also think that's part of the trap of a small store. It seemed to be a favourite trap of pretty much every business here in Hervey Bay. Very reluctant to give a price, the best you'd get would be "won't cost much and it will be done quickly". But in the end, the definition of "quick and won't cost much" is completely subjective and you realise you've been scammed and your stuck.

[b0son]

Originally Posted by arm79

Very reluctant to give a price

I've noticed this is the case with most industrial suppliers. They have what appears to be an online store, but the best they can provide is 'enquire for price'. One thing I dont do is waste my time 'enquiring'. I shortlist those with a price. My default assumption is a price isnt advertised because it isnt competitive.

[Interceptor]

Originally Posted by b0son

I've noticed this is the case with most industrial suppliers. They have what appears to be an online store, but the best they can provide is 'enquire for price'. One thing I dont do is waste my time 'enquiring'. I shortlist those with a price. My default assumption is a price isnt advertised because it isnt competitive.

The "Enquire for price" is most likely because the item was at some point either a stock line that has been removed from their stock list, or was a custom order for someone, and the listing on the website has been generated by default when everything was loaded onto the website.

Why "enquire for price"? If that item isnt currently stocked, then it means there is no valid pricing on it untill the business you want to buy from asks for a quote from their supplier. Theres simply no way of knowing if they'll be able to get the same price, if theres been a price increase or if the item is even still available.

It no different to why you're looking for pricing. You know the item exists, you know what price you paid last time, but you no longer have any of that item and you want to buy more, so you check your suppliers for pricing.

[b0son]

Originally Posted by Interceptor

The "Enquire for price" is most likely because the item was at some point either a stock line that has been removed from their stock list, or was a custom order for someone, and the listing on the website has been generated by default when everything was loaded onto the website.

No, every item on their site is the same. No pricing. I don't understand why you would bother creating a site with the entire product catalog, detailed item info, etc, but fall over at the final hurdle - being able to actually sell the item.

[Interceptor]

Originally Posted by b0son

No, every item on their site is the same. No pricing. I don't understand why you would bother creating a site with the entire product catalog, detailed item info, etc, but fall over at the final hurdle - being able to actually sell the item.

Try the Repco website sometime.... enter your car details to allow you to search for the correct parts for your car, search for a seal, and all of a sudden its giving you results for parts for a HQ holden..

[John 13]

Originally Posted by Itsme

I acknowledge there will be a few independents around that does still do the old way, but they would be far & few.
Have not seen one in my area since the early 90's where I had about 4 of them, all now, long gone, even my local Mitre10 store has got out of the retail side, only concentrating on timber building materials.

Sounds like Costa's Mitre 10 in Hoppers Crossing.

[Itsme]

Originally Posted by John 13

Sounds like Costa's Mitre 10 in Hoppers Crossing.

You got that right.

Cheers

[aussiblue]

I keep wanting to say Bunnies took over Australia on Christmas day 1859 when Thomas Austin released 13 European wild rabbits on his estate, Winchelsea, Barwon Park, Victoria.

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by arm79

I was wondering when someone was going to point this out.

People forget that labor is expensive. Which ultimately makes it expensive, read too expensive, to run a business in "the old ways".

But they are all slow. If I wanted a hose from the irrigation sore I had to wait for them to cut it. Only ever one or 2 staff in the store, I'd be waiting 20 mins for someone to serve me. Or have a handful of stuff and have to wait 10 mins to be served. But the stuff was good, support small business and it was cheap.

One day I had to wait 15 mins for someone to cut me 2m of hose and their prices had gone through the roof. 2m of hose for twice the price of Bunnings and a 15 min wait. Rinse and repeat at other stores.

I don't have to time or inclination to spend all that time waiting for someone to serve me, only to pay the same or more as at Bunnings.

This sounds like the local Water Dynamics we had in town. The crucial word there is HAD, they are now long gone. Similar story to you, as in early on you would be in and out with what you needed in short order. But then the amount of staff running the shop dwindled to the point where you'd be waiting 15-20min to be served, quite often for a single item that you needed for a repair. Time is money and all.

Then there was the fact you couldn't really serve yourself, even though I'd go in there with a list of stuff I needed for a job and knew exactly where everything was on the shelf. But they didn't put prices or barcodes on anything on the shelf. So, you had to have the staff member with you so they could write it down on a pad of paper and enter it manually onto the computer. This isn't like it was 20 - 30 years ago, they were just so out of date.

So unfortunately Bunnings is the first stop now. Only visit the other stores when I need something out of the norm I know Bunnings don't keep.

They've built a model that is quick, cheap and effective. Somewhere I can walk around for an hour and get pretty much everything I want from a number of options and go home. Not have to spend hours driving from one side of town to the other to various shops.

This is pretty much me now as well. I would once run all over town trying to get what I needed, it was a giant waste of time that often was lost productivity that I wasn't being paid for.

Personally I think the price increases are more greed on part of the owners than actual cost rises, but that's another story.

I can only comment on what I observed over 20-years working for an independent business, but it's easy to assume that the owners were being greedy with their considerable price premiums.

I was recently told how much profit they made per $1.00................and it wasn't much at all. By the time they paid for rent, staff and all of the other running costs, no one was buying a Rolls Royce. You either charge accordingly or go out of business. They have been in business for over 40-years, sticking with that pricing strategy has worked so far, but I always seemed to be trying to explain why "our" prices were higher, as in our product was superior and that we don't have the buying power.

The problem here is they can't make up the shortfall in volume because of the lack of floor capacity and a supply chain gear towards Bunning's. The other problem, which is going to be their downfall, they refuse to modernize the business. As the older generation of their customer base move out of the market (due to age, downsizing), the lack of stock control and a shortfall in modern retailing technique, well you have a newer generation of customers that will simply go elsewhere.

[swamp]

hi
Be-aware that Bunnings DOES NOT have there customer values and wallet as priority No1 .

So many products are over priced compared to quality products available else where .
Access to products can be very expensive if not "" in system part "" even if that brand is stocked .
Be very aware that commercial products versions typically are NOT .

[Crazy Dazz]

Originally Posted by Itsme

It is not against the law to sell products to people whether they are licensed or not licensed, never has been nor will it ever happen.

Wow, thanks for pointing out the bleeding obvious.

As I said, they "skate around the law."

[arm79]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

This is pretty much me now as well. I would once run all over town trying to get what I needed, it was a giant waste of time that often was lost productivity that I wasn't being paid for.

In the end their offering is quite simple. Almost everything you could possibly want under the one roof, geared towards the average Aussie at reasonable price.

At some point someone was going to do it. Someone at Wesfarmers had the vision, they had the money, the right timing and it just worked. Just as surely as it could have failed.

I have no doubt they targeted the traditional hardware store to gain market share, but I think all they did was hasten the funeral.

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

I can only comment on what I observed over 20-years working for an independent business, but it's easy to assume that the owners were being greedy with their considerable price premiums.

My opinion stems from specifically here in Hervey Bay.

Towards the end of covid and post covid there was a massive influx of "southerners" who sold up big and bought all that money here. Alot of money. And they splashed it around without care. All the little shops realised they could charge almost what they want and these people would just pay.

So the prices for everything went up and that's where they stayed. And this was before the covid tax and inflation we all know from recent years.

Originally Posted by Crazy Dazz

Wow, thanks for pointing out the bleeding obvious.

As I said, they "skate around the law."

Skating around the law would imply there was a law there to skirt.

But since no such law exists, then there is nothing to "skate" around. They can just do it, with the appropriate warnings.

[Itsme]

Originally Posted by Crazy Dazz

Wow, thanks for pointing out the bleeding obvious.

As I said, they "skate around the law."

Lol, what law are you talking about?

[Asinine]

I seem to recall that Bunnings was once called McEwans? McEwans was one of the first to adopt bar code scanning.

When McEwans went into receivership I was one of a small group that held them to ransom and got paid for the goods delivered (Point of sale scanning servers)...

[arm79]

Originally Posted by Asinine

I seem to recall that Bunnings was once called McEwans? McEwans was one of the first to adopt bar code scanning.

When McEwans went into receivership I was one of a small group that held them to ransom and got paid for the goods delivered (Point of sale scanning servers)...

Bunnings has been around in one form or another for 140 or 150 years, a family business.

They've been a hardware store for more than 70 years. They bought McEwans when it went bankrupt. And eventually sold out to Wesfarmers for a ton of cash and they've made it what it is today.

When cleaning up Mum's crap in the garage over New Year I found a stack of old items with McEwans price stickers. Was a bit of nostalgia.

Also found paperwork from the late 70's where my Grandfather got caught accidentally shoplifting from McEwans in Footscray...

An interesting bit of a coincidence...

When I started cleaning out the garage a year or 2 back I found a set of Snow White and the 7 dwarves ceramic statues, new in the box... $9.95 from McEwans. Mum bought them when McEwans was packing up their last store in Deer Park I think it was.

A family friend was working there as a teen and saw those statues for sale but could never afford to buy them at the time.

When she visited us a couple of years back we invited her to go through the crap I pulled out during cleaning. And she saw the statues and the price tag and started crying. Memories of Mum and how she coveted those statues while she was working there (those thrinkets are her thing).

Of course we gave them to her. And she was reunited with these silly statues, randomly, nearly 30 years later from the same store she worked at... During the tail end at shutdown time when they tried to revamp themselves as a discount sell anything store.

[Dr Terry]

Originally Posted by Asinine

I seem to recall that Bunnings was once called McEwans? McEwans was one of the first to adopt bar code scanning.

Bunnings began in WA as "Bunnings" & gradually took over different hardware companies in different states. My understanding is that McEwans was the one they took over in Victoria. In NSW it was BBC Hardwarehouse & the various companies that it owned (Nock & Kirby etc. etc.). The whole thing is now owned by Wesfarmers.

You could almost write a book on Bunnings since it began in the 1800s.

Dr Terry

[ford71V8]

Um, the history of Bunnings is in the video that DFB put up in Post #001 of this thread.

[Dr Terry]

Originally Posted by ford71V8

Um, the history of Bunnings is in the video that DFB put up in Post #001 of this thread.

Shows what happens if I don't read the whole thread eh ?

Thing was, that the current poster made it sound as though Bunnings began life as McEwans.

Dr Terry