On 29 June the brothers arrived in Fremantle, Western Australia, in the Elderslie to join a married sister, and set up as building contractors. By January next year they had won contracts for additions to the Fremantle Lunatic Asylum and for the Roebourne hospital. When Arthur was injured in a riding accident, Robert became the driving force in the partnership which built the Weld Club and Trinity Congregational Church in Perth and the Coolgardie warden's quarters ; they claimed, too, to have owned most of the buildings in Barrack Street, Perth, at one time.
A boom during in the export of jarrah turned Bunning's attention to timber. He was president in and represented it on the executive of the Employers' Federation in ; he was on the executive too of the Sawmillers' Association from its formation in to He had few other outside interests.
As a witness to the royal commission on forestry , Bunning stressed freedom of trade for the small man against the Millars' combine, and in later years attacked the State sawmills as a threat to free enterprise. Credit: Glenn Hunt. Limited competition is one of the primary reasons investors and market watchers are keen on the hardware powerhouse, with only Metcash-owned Mitre 10 challenging Bunnings in the big-box space.
Fresh attempts to tussle with Bunnings, such as Woolworths' Masters chain , have also failed. Its unparalleled market position has also helped Bunnings entrench its position among consumers, with the business regularly topping lists of the country's "most-trusted" brands.
Its marketing, with chatty TV ads and a familiar "lowest prices" slogan, also plays a role. The business was later sold for a single British pound.
The move was a scorch mark on Bunnings' largely unblemished record and has likely scared management off considering any further international expansion in the near term. This has led to concerns among some investors that Wesfarmers may struggle to grow Bunnings in the years ahead, with fears it has saturated the market with little room for significant store expansion.
To counter this, Bunnings has switched its focus towards other segments of the hardware industry, hoping to increase its business-to-business customers through an expansion of its trades segment. In April, despite concerns from the competition regulator, Bunnings completed its acquisition of specialist tools retailer Adelaide Tools in an effort to get a leg up with trade customers.
Bunnings' managing director Mike Schneider. Credit: Eddie Jim. Bunnings is also looking to improve its online sales, with the company admitting it was slow to establish an online channel, which launched only this year. As of Wednesday, Bunnings shoppers in Victoria face a six-week wait until stores reopen, and an even longer wait until sausage sizzles are back on the menu. For now, they'll have to do with online orders and home-fried snags. But in other parts of the country, the Bunnings Barometer may be improving its rating, with stores trading close to normal in Queensland, South Australia and New South Wales, with some even firing up the barbecues again, Oerlemans says.
And while a return to actual normality may feel a long ways off, the importance of the red and green warehouse to Australians is not lost on its management. Our stores are such an important part of the community. Start the day with major stories, exclusive coverage and expert opinion from our leading business journalists delivered to your inbox. They immediately upped their game and included building supplies and hardwood to the existing timber business, becoming a key supplier to the home construction industry.
The accelerated success meant Bunnings went public in , expanding product ranges, venturing into retail, and opening its very own hardware stores throughout the country.
The Bunnings knew their trajectory of success would be paved by identification, planning, and implementation. They identified opportunities, planned a localized expansion, and executed instantaneously or however quickly they could to skew their journey upwards. The s to s thereupon became a time of expansion through conquering. In these years, Bunnings acquired:.
These acquisitions were not a mere roll of the dice or split-second decision. Every merger and takeover was planned to facilitate expansion throughout Australia and enhance the exposure of Bunnings to the consumer base. These acquisitions too, however, were not reason enough for Bunnings to become a grand success.
The game-changer was to come later on, in , that set the tone for the success of Bunnings, and its upward stance has continued till today. From the gold mining boom to the events during and post WW2, Bunnings diversified their products and later on, even stepped into new markets through planned acquisitions.
If we were to sum up the first century of Bunnings, it would be as years of grasping every opportunity the company got. Bunnings had grown gradually, venturing into different markets, expanding its portfolio and forming its brand image around Australia. Wesfarmers is one of the leading listing companies in Australia today and at the back end of the 20th century, it was pursuing its ambitions to reach here. At the time, Wesfarmers saw a lucrative opportunity in capitalizing on the potential of the forest and timber business.
On its own, Bunnings had established its operations all around Australia after those series of acquisitions and mergers. Thus, for Wesfarmers, this up-and-coming company had already laid the platform for them to advance in this new industry and diversify their holdings.
Over this period, Bunnings had begun embracing a unique, new identity, and this would define it for many years to come. In December , they opened the doors to a warehouse-style store, which would be the first of its signature one's today. For Wesfarmers, it was crucial that they rebranded the company in a way that conveyed to customers that Bunnings was now a place that had much more to offer while at the same time, it was the same brand that they had grown to trust over the years.
Source - News Daily. With this strategic, revamped outlook, the stage was set for Wesfarmers-owned Bunnings to make forward strides in the hardware industry - and so it did, as time would prove. Warehouses and big box stores soon became the face of Bunnings. The rebranding of Bunnings under Wesfarmers proved to be a successful move. Not only did the red hammer and attractive price slogan stand out, but it also resonated with the DIY hardware community.
Simultaneously, Bunnings stuck to its main offerings and continued to cater to smaller regions as well. Revamped logos, newer slogans, and modern formats; all of this will get a buyer through the door, but the purchase depends on one of the most important factors of all:.
Having the right pricing strategy is the first step to reaping a freefall of rewards. Bunnings operates on three strategic pillars, the first of which is Lowest Prices. Their method of pricing was simple: Their products would be the least priced as compared to others. With e-commerce and ease of price comparisons today, informational mobility has increased manifold.
While one could assume this will create problems for Bunnings, it became another unique marketing tactic. If a consumer finds another business with the same product as Bunnings but with lower prices; a unique strategy comes into play.
However, this was an incredibly smart tactic with instantaneous impact and an unsurprisingly frequently unobserved fine print. In fact, competitors refrain from stocking identical products in fear of price cuts.
Therefore, Bunnings Warehouse is able to brand itself as the most inexpensive hardware store in Australia, without necessarily having to follow through. If you are aware of psychological pricing, you would know about the cents philosophy. In fact, it was proven by research in that items worth almost-whole numbers drew in greater revenue than rounded amounts.
Wesfarmers understood this phenomenon and paired it with their idea of the lowest prices to calculate prices. All this shone to one aspect - whatever Wesfarmers was doing, it seemed to work for Bunnings and its Australian clientele.
Again, a psychological tactic that unsurprisingly, churned immense revenue. The understanding of consumer psychology was a forte of the management of Bunnings Warehouse, and it played wonderfully in their court. They understood the common consumer perception that higher prices are hidden, and cheaper ones are blatantly visible. For example, while luxury designer clothing rarely hangs off racks with a price tag, the prices of every product at Bunnings were clearly stated, and every advert showcased them in large, bold letters.
Why This Works: This appeals to the reverse psychology of buyers. They assume since the price tag is large and so visible, the product must be cheap. Also, employing subtle techniques, such as price visibility, and utilizing the effect of price points is crucial to pricing strategies.
Normally, a person only thinks about visiting a hardware store when they need hardware. It curates an experience that keeps customers coming back, whether or not they want to buy something. The Bunnings logo is clearly visible from afar and it creates a sensation that customers find difficult to resist. As a result, they end up heading to the store anyhow.
The thing about parents with kids and bringing them to a store is - convince either party and you have yourself a client. Bunnings have cracked this code and played it to their advantage. For example, when a family plans a fun outing they think about somewhere with fun activities, playground, balloons, and all that stuff for kids to enjoy their time.
At the same time, they need a place where parents can watch the children and grab a snack while at it. They always have something or the other going on for kids.
From seasonal events, such as Halloween trick or treat to jumping castles, petting zoos, and painting activities, children have the perfect place to run around. What better way to do that than by offering free DIY workshops to learn new skills?
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