Bunnings Monopoly

[Brodes]

Has anyone else noticed Bunnings' brand range has reduced heavily recently?

[BENT_8]

Yep, not to mention the staff numbers, almost impossible to find someone to assist these days and when you do they just give you an isle number.

[DJR-351]

Nup, not the 3 stores i frequent anyhow, all still ticking along as they always have.....

[GO FURTHER]

They may have reduced the number of brands they carry in some categories... But their range still beats any other hardware store or chain I know of.

[BENT_8]

Must be an SA thing then coz I'm in Adelaide too.

[Brodes]

I've been finding the brand range has been decreasing, gets frustrating when you need a certain item that used to be supplied by them and other brands aren't quite what you need. Now they've snuffed out most other hardware stores they have the power to stock only the highest bidder brands. Sucks for both customers and brands that can't afford to pay. Don't get me wrong, I love Bunnings, they have the right formula, but it now seems to be turning into a 1st priority profit machine.

[Brodes]

Originally Posted by BENT_8

Must be an SA thing then coz I'm in Adelaide too.

I normally go to the Modbury Bunnings, they stock bugger all so under desperate need I go to Parafield, but I've tried the new Windsor Gardens one on NE Rd and it is terrible, maybe being new and so big the shelves are pending to be filled, but at the moment it's pretty scarce given the size of the store. Not worth the drive.

[BENT_8]

The new Munno Para West store is only 5 minutes from my door so that's where I go.
We recently bought a caravan which needed some cabling tidied up and I've installed a double din DVD head unit.
I needed some of those little square sticky cable tie tidies and bought 2 packets from my local store.
Discovered I was about 10 short of completing the job and went back for some more and couldn't find them, the rack where they were had been altered altogether so I eventually found an assistant who new electrical and she tells me they don't have them and cant recall ever having them.
I'm standing there like, but I only bought 2 packs a week ago, they were right here, I've still got the bloody receipts to prove it.
Sorry, she says, I've just come back from holidays but I've worked in this department since it opened and I've never seen them.

Ended up getting them from Supercheap.

[Brodes]

We bought a house full of First Alert slim smoke and CO2 detectors ~6 months ago, one of them is dodgy, so I go to take it back and swap it with a newy only to find they only stock Quell and Family First alarms now (mainly Quell as Family First have been tucked away almost out of sight). The one I needed was the Hallway alarm with the safety light which was only available in the Quell units.... big, round, ugly, fat, stupid looking units, no choice, I had to get that one.

I have similar stories to other products but I'll save you from all the first-world-problem whinging. At the end of the day they are a business that can operate as they please, it just sucks that the predicted inevitable of big business is beginning. BTW Bunnings is also known to have one of the highest average mark-up prices of all, plenty of articles about it; my example, I needed a length of 50x50mm post, Bunnings had them for ~$50, so I went to the small fencing guy on Research Rd in Pooraka...$15. Huge difference.

Originally Posted by BENT_8

Ended up getting them from Supercheap.

Bingo, I'll be doing my best to avoid the green shed.. unless I feel like a snag and onion...

[DFB FGXR6]

Its not just Bunnings but also the two big Supermarkets as well.

They have been slowly whittling their product range down over the last couple of years, to the point where often the only choice between two similar products is the no-name home brand and the expensive name-brand. And 9 times out of 10 it was the option in the middle that was your favourite until it was deleted in the name of streamlining their profits.

[CoupeKing]

Might be dictated by location? Or they could be following Aldi's game. Instead of having 18 different shapes of pasta across 7 different brands, they have 1 brand and 6 shapes. Same goes with say sour cream, one company one size.

[aussiblue]

Yes since Master's closed down they have also reduced their range in certain products where I guess they no longer see a need to compete e.g mains power fittings. But I guess they also need to reduce costs to fund their so far expensive foray into the UK market.

[danzvtil]

I used to try and support the small independents, but every time I needed 10 of something, they would only have 4 and offer to "get it in for me". Biatch, I'm doing this NOW, I'm not coming back. The suppliers place the orders in Bunnings, and if they run out and have empty hooks, the companies' national sales manager gets an email to be hauled over the coals.

[.:4:.]

Originally Posted by CoupeKing

Might be dictated by location? Or they could be following Aldi's game. Instead of having 18 different shapes of pasta across 7 different brands, they have 1 brand and 6 shapes. Same goes with say sour cream, one company one size.

I think alot has to do with the local demographic and what sells. So the past 3 areas I have lived in have been totally different. I'm going to use woolies as an example because all 3 placed had one. When I lived at mums it was a pretty well off area so the stock of the home brand stuff was pretty slim across the board, however the meat department had a nicer more expensive selection and there was more things like oddball olives etc. But that's what sells around there. The first house I rented the local woolies had a bug stock of the home brand everything. It wasn't a bad area but there was a lot of housing commission homes so they catered for what sold the best. Where I live now it's a mix at woolies but it's more culturally diverse so the mix of cheaper to more expensive items is greater but to cater for more cultural differences they cut back on the range in each sort of department to cater for everyone. I have a hard time getting a decent marinated roast as they don't stock a huge amount. They don't even sell garlic mash that goes with everything. But it's the customer base that dictates that.

[Giant Cranium]

Wasn’t a bad spin on the old game

[snap0964]

Originally Posted by BENT_8

Yep, not to mention the staff numbers, almost impossible to find someone to assist these days and when you do they just give you an isle number.

Seems to be like that with my local outlet.
Other thing is the self serve checkout section is closed more often than open. The reason seems to be not enough staff they say. So now you line up at one or two manual checkouts - why they don't get one of the people to supervise the self serve section is not known.

[Bill M]

"How Bunnings turns the screws on customers"
https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/nati...me-renovators/

[Beastie]

Damn, I got all excited when I saw the thread title...

I thought that we were about to play a game of Bunnings Monopoly...





Edit: Missed GC's post...

[cheap]

Can’t say that anything has changed, the same crap service, sending you on wild goose chase into isle 30 , 42 , 8 , 12 ... The local Bunnings did rearrange and remove a checkout so there is now even less ability to get out of the shop.

You’d have to wonder how long these big footprint shops have left as more people go online. It isn’t like you go to Bunnings to experience the enthusiasm of their staff.

[b0son]

The Aus hardware market over the last 5 years can be described simply....

'Bunnings is so crap, the staff don't help and the prices are crap... they need some competition'
Masters arrives
'Masters is so crap, they need to be like Bunnings... I hate Masters I wish it would close down'
Masters leaves
'Bunnings is so crap, the staff don't help and the prices are crap... they need some competition'

[The Yeti]

They have dropped their range considerably, they're discounted lines aren't as attractive and they still don't stock much of any one item so you quite often have to go to more than 1

[OzriderXR8]

Can't say I've noticed any difference at my Bunnings.

Brands do change but that is the same with any retailer.

The prices are good enough to stop me driving miles to find an alternative, and even then Mitre10 and Home Hardware are more Masters than Hardware.

[mcflux]

Random Bunnings story:

I bought one of those timber steps kits today because I was too lazy to make some from scratch. It was so badly warped that it matched the uneven ground at the base of the deck

[commodorenutt]

Originally Posted by Brodes

.....Now they've snuffed out most other hardware stores they have the power to stock only the highest bidder brands. Sucks for both customers and brands that can't afford to pay. Don't get me wrong, I love Bunnings, they have the right formula, but it now seems to be turning into a 1st priority profit machine.

Raise prices, or cut costs - that's the only 2 ways to increase profit for the shareholders.
Raising prices upsets consumers (especially when they find out they've been ripped).
So they screw suppliers over. Several years ago, one of our sales managers had a grand plan to sell a range of product in Bunnings. Numerous meetings, and then demands came.

I'll use simple figures. The item lists for $10. Our distributors sell it for $10. We give it to distributors for between $4 & $6 depending on their annual spend. They look after ordering stock, they hold stock, and pay on 30 day terms.

Bunnings wanted much longer terms (can't remember if it was 90, or even 120 days now), and wanted to pay around $1.50 each. On top of that, they expected regular visits & restocking to be done by our reps, and exclusivity - so we'd have to tell our distributors they could no longer have it.

You can see why we never went ahead. And the obscene profits they would have been making.

Originally Posted by danzvtil

.......The suppliers place the orders in Bunnings, and if they run out and have empty hooks, the companies' national sales manager gets an email to be hauled over the coals.

Exactly - transfer the cost of maintaining stock onto the suppliers = less staff needed = less cost = better returns for shareholders.

For expensive items, it's probably worth it, but the labour costs on cheap items would eat any profit a small supplier makes, and they're in the hole for 3-4 months until they get paid....

[Brodes]

Originally Posted by b0son

The Aus hardware market over the last 5 years can be described simply....

'Bunnings is so crap, the staff don't help and the prices are crap... they need some competition'
Masters arrives
'Masters is so crap, they need to be like Bunnings... I hate Masters I wish it would close down'
Masters leaves
'Bunnings is so crap, the staff don't help and the prices are crap... they need some competition'

We did need a Masters, but hell did they screw that up!

[Mercury Bullet]

Went to buy a length of flat bar from bunnings one day.

Got to the counter, lady says that will be $50, umm no I said, must be some mistake. They double checked, nope $50. Thanks but no thanks, see ya.

Drove 300km home asked the hardware in town, how much for a length of 1.5 inch flat bar? $7.50.

Never been to bunnings since.

[b0son]

Originally Posted by Brodes

We did need a Masters, but hell did they screw that up!

So people say, but I shopped there almost exclusively and thought it was ok. Especially having helpful staff and self serve which meant I wasted little time.

Bunnings improved while Masters were around, but have returned back to their previous effort... Not enough registers open, long queues, and self serve always closed.

[commodorenutt]

Masters were quite competitive on some things, but you had to do your homework.

I had to buy all the bits to make new flyscreens from scratch - the extrusion, corners, screen, clips & cord. It was almost $30 cheaper at masters, and they had a better range.

Also got a genuine Weber kettle from Masters for a good price - far better than the coke-can rubbish bumrings sells.

[.:4:.]

Price aside, bunnings to me is a place to buy $1 sponges and garden hoses, not tools for work as I get things cheaper dealing with the wholesalers work deals with. The staff are not either parts interpreters or from a trade background. Well, some staff have a trade background which is good when you deal with someone with prior knowledge. In the same token customers often ask advice to which staff aren't supposed to give. I find this with wholesalers too. Suggestions can be offered but not advice. I think thats where a lot of diy people go wrong. Expecting dave in the paint section who's previous job was in a call centre to be able to tell them how to prep a wall to paint it. Exactly, not going to happen. Bunnings is a place to convenience shop. If you have the time to call around and research prices for all the bits you want and want to drive around for the bbq plate you're after, the shelf kit for the garage, the bag of cement for the washing line you're also after then yeah do it. Or make one trip to bunnings and deal with the prices for the convenience of a half hour shopping trip.

[BAWITHLOT]

Originally Posted by .:4:.

Price aside, bunnings to me is a place to buy $1 sponges and garden hoses, not tools for work as I get things cheaper dealing with the wholesalers work deals with. The staff are not either parts interpreters or from a trade background. Well, some staff have a trade background which is good when you deal with someone with prior knowledge. In the same token customers often ask advice to which staff aren't supposed to give. I find this with wholesalers too. Suggestions can be offered but not advice. I think thats where a lot of diy people go wrong. Expecting dave in the paint section who's previous job was in a call centre to be able to tell them how to prep a wall to paint it. Exactly, not going to happen. Bunnings is a place to convenience shop. If you have the time to call around and research prices for all the bits you want and want to drive around for the bbq plate you're after, the shelf kit for the garage, the bag of cement for the washing line you're also after then yeah do it. Or make one trip to bunnings and deal with the prices for the convenience of a half hour shopping trip.

There are trade qualified team members and it is identified on their name badge.

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