Bunnings
An Australian home-improvement, hardware and garden-retailing business operating Bunnings Warehouse, Bunnings small-format stores and Bunnings Trade Centres.
Last updated October 14, 2026
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Overview
Bunnings Group is an Australian hardware, home-improvement and garden-retailing business that trades primarily as Bunnings Warehouse or simply Bunnings. Its stores sell building materials, hardware, tools, paint, garden supplies, plants, outdoor living products, homewares, cleaning products, pet-care products and related services. The business serves do-it-yourself customers, trade professionals, commercial clients and community organisations across Australia and New Zealand, with additional wholesale and online activity in Pacific markets. The company began in Bunbury, Western Australia, in 1886 after English-born brothers Arthur and Robert Bunning settled in the Perth area and established a building and timber enterprise. Its early business was centred on sawmilling, timber distribution and building-related contracts rather than retail. During the first half of the twentieth century, the company expanded its timber operations and won supply and construction-related contracts in Western Australia and overseas. Bunning Timber Holdings became a public company in 1952 and gradually developed a retail presence by acquiring hardware stores alongside its timber activities. A series of acquisitions transformed the business. It bought Hawker Siddeley's merchandising and sawmilling operations in 1970, acquired Millars in 1983 and purchased the Alco Handyman hardware operations in 1990. In 1993 it acquired stores trading under names including Harry's, Lloyd's, Campbell's and McEwans. These transactions supplied regional and state-based retail locations that could later be consolidated under the Bunnings name. Wesfarmers acquired Bunnings in 1994 for A$600 million. The same year, Bunnings opened its first warehouse-format store in Melbourne's Sunshine suburb. The warehouse model became the central expression of the brand: large-format sites combining broad product ranges, drive-through trade areas, substantial garden centres and value-oriented pricing. The red hammer identity and the slogan “Lowest Prices Are Just The Beginning” helped create a consistent national retail proposition. The slogan was discontinued in Australian advertising in 2020, although it continued to be used in New Zealand. Expansion accelerated through the 2001 acquisition of the Howard Smith Group, bringing BBC Hardware, Hardwarehouse and New Zealand's Benchmark Building Supplies into the broader Wesfarmers portfolio. Most of these businesses were subsequently closed, integrated or rebranded as Bunnings. Further purchases of selected Mitre 10 and other independent hardware stores strengthened Bunnings' presence in regional and metropolitan markets. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission reviewed several Mitre 10 acquisitions and in 2009 allowed them to proceed after determining that they did not substantially lessen competition. Bunnings has also diversified beyond its traditional warehouse network. Its formats include large Bunnings Warehouses, smaller-format stores and Bunnings Trade Centres. The group operates Tool Kit Depot, created from the 2019 acquisition and rebranding of Adelaide Tools, and Beaumont Tiles, acquired in 2021. Its services include product hire, key cutting, colour matching, pool-water testing, gas exchange, installation, assembly, quotations and in-home consultations. Bunnings Workshop provides online project guidance, while in-store workshops support gardening, woodworking, craft and home-improvement activities. Community participation is a defining part of the brand. Stores commonly host weekend sausage sizzles, cake stalls and fundraising events for local schools, clubs, charities and other community groups. These activities, along with practical workshops and accessible product demonstrations, have made Bunnings a highly visible part of Australian retail culture. By 2025, the group had 382 stores across Australia and New Zealand, including 285 warehouse stores, 67 small-format stores and 30 trade centres, and employed…
History
Bunnings began in Western Australia in 1886, when Arthur and Robert Bunning established a timber and building-materials business. The company’s early activities were connected to timber supply, building products, and the development of distribution capabilities needed by the construction sector. During the following decades, Bunnings expanded its geographic reach and broadened its role in the building-supply market. The business became increasingly focused on serving both trade customers and household consumers. Its eventual retail model combined the product depth of a building supplier with the accessibility of a consumer store. This direction culminated in the Bunnings Warehouse format: large stores carrying timber, tools, hardware, garden merchandise, paint, plumbing, electrical products, and household goods. The format was intended to provide customers with a one-stop destination for construction, renovation, maintenance, and gardening projects. Wesfarmers acquired Bunnings in 1994. Under Wesfarmers ownership, Bunnings expanded its store network and developed a recognizable national brand. Large warehouses, prominent outdoor garden areas, trade services, product demonstrations, and a strong emphasis on competitive pricing became central features of the customer proposition. The company also developed smaller stores and specialist trade facilities to complement the main warehouse network. A notable part of Bunnings’ public identity is its relationship with local communities. Sausage sizzles held outside stores are generally organized by community groups rather than operated as a conventional food business. They raise funds for schools, sporting clubs, charities, and other organizations, and have become a highly recognizable feature of the Australian retail landscape. The practice has helped position Bunnings as a community-linked brand as well as a hardware chain. Bunnings expanded beyond Australia and New Zealand when Wesfarmers acquired Homebase in the United Kingdom and Ireland in 2016. The intended strategy was to convert Homebase locations to the Bunnings Warehouse model and reproduce the Australian business’s retail approach in a new market. The rollout encountered difficult trading conditions and operational challenges. Wesfarmers ultimately sold the business to Hilco Capital in 2020, after which Bunnings returned to its primarily Australia-and-New Zealand focus. Today, Bunnings operates as a Wesfarmers business serving consumers, professional tradespeople, commercial customers, and public-sector organizations. Its stores remain the central customer touchpoint, supported by trade centres, delivery services, digital product information, and online ordering capabilities. The brand’s competitive identity is based on range, availability, practical advice, value, and a store environment designed for both major building projects and everyday household tasks.
- 2020
Exit from Homebase
[1]Wesfarmers sold Homebase to Hilco Capital following the unsuccessful United Kingdom and Ireland expansion.
- 2016
Homebase acquisition
[1]Wesfarmers acquired Homebase in the United Kingdom and Ireland with the intention of introducing the Bunnings operating model to that market.
- 1994
Acquisition by Wesfarmers
[1]Wesfarmers acquired Bunnings and subsequently supported the expansion of its large-format warehouse retail model.
- 1886
Bunning Brothers established
[1]Arthur and Robert Bunning established the timber and building-materials business that became the foundation of Bunnings.
Products and positioning
A large-format, value-oriented home-improvement retailer serving both professional tradespeople and do-it-yourself consumers, with a strong community presence and broad product assortment.
Large-format home-improvement retail
Bunnings Warehouse
Bunnings Warehouse is the chain’s principal store format. These large outlets combine trade supplies and consumer retail, typically offering timber, building materials, tools, hardware, paint, plumbing, electrical products, garden merchandise, plants, outdoor furniture, storage, and household goods. The format is designed to support complete projects while also serving customers looking for individual repair, maintenance, or gardening items.
Trade supply
Bunnings Trade
Bunnings Trade serves professional builders, contractors, renovators, and other commercial customers. Services and product ranges are oriented toward repeat purchasing, project supply, delivery, account support, and access to building materials and equipment. The offering complements the warehouse network by giving trade customers dedicated assistance and more business-focused purchasing options.
Garden retail
Garden Centre
The Garden Centre range includes plants, pots, soil, mulch, fertilizers, irrigation products, landscaping supplies, garden tools, outdoor structures, and garden-care merchandise. Garden departments are a major component of the warehouse format and extend Bunnings beyond construction into outdoor living and household gardening.
Controversies
2024
Australian privacy regulator challenges Bunnings facial-recognition use
The Australian privacy regulator found that facial-recognition technology used in some New South Wales and Victorian stores between 2018 and 2021 breached privacy requirements because customers had not provided adequate consent. An Administrative Review Tribunal review later found that Bunnings had not breached the law.
2024
Facial-recognition privacy dispute
The Australian privacy regulator found that Bunnings' use of facial-recognition technology in selected New South Wales and Victorian stores from 2018 to 2021 breached privacy laws because customers had not provided adequate consent. A later Administrative Review Tribunal review found that Bunnings had not breached the law, leaving the matter subject to significant regulatory and public debate.
2021
Woman sues Bunnings over alleged hammock injury
Julie Kilsby sued Bunnings for $1.4 million, alleging that a Two Trees Hammock she bought from the retailer flipped when she tried to use it and caused her injuries. The claims are allegations; the article reports no court determination.
2020
Seamstress sues Bunnings over alleged gate injury
Angela Kraay is suing Bunnings for $317,000, alleging that a boom gate hit her head at its Oxenford store in August 2015 and caused a mild traumatic brain injury.
Marketing campaigns
- Community sausage sizzles
Australia · New Zealand
Bunnings provides space outside many stores for schools, charities, sporting clubs, and other community organizations to run sausage sizzles and fundraising events.
Outcome. The initiative became one of the brand’s most recognizable community associations and supports local fundraising.
- Lowest prices and value positioning
Australia · New Zealand
Bunnings has consistently marketed a value-led proposition centered on competitive prices, broad range, and practical project support.
Outcome. The proposition remains central to the brand’s differentiation in Australian and New Zealand home-improvement retail.
Brand decisions
2016
Acquire Homebase for international expansionM&ABackground
Wesfarmers sought to apply Bunnings’ large-format home-improvement model outside Australia and New Zealand.
Action taken
Wesfarmers acquired Homebase and began converting selected locations to the Bunnings format in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Aftermath
The expansion underperformed and the Homebase business was sold in 2020.
1994
Join WesfarmersM&ABackground
Bunnings was acquired by Wesfarmers as part of the group’s investment in retail and industrial businesses.
Action taken
Wesfarmers purchased Bunnings and integrated it into its portfolio while continuing to develop the hardware business.
Aftermath
The acquisition provided the ownership platform for Bunnings’ subsequent national warehouse expansion.
Recent events
Reported
Bunnings ranked Australia's strongest brand[7]
Brand Finance Australia’s annual analysis ranked Bunnings as the country’s strongest brand.
- Unconfirmed
Reported
Woman sues Bunnings over alleged hammock injury[4]
Julie Kilsby sued Bunnings for $1.4 million, alleging that a Two Trees Hammock she bought from the retailer flipped when she tried to use it and caused her injuries. The claims are allegations; the article reports no court determination.
Reported
Bunnings to temporarily close Greater Sydney stores to retail customers[8]
Bunnings announced that it would temporarily close its Greater Sydney stores to the general public from the following Monday during the lockdown. Trade customers would retain access, while retail customers would need to shop online for delivery or collection.
Weekdays and relative dates follow the original report; their exact calendar dates have not been verified.
Reported
Bunnings announces Building Block collectible campaign[9]
Bunnings announced a campaign offering five collectible Building Block toys for children alongside purchases. The first collectible was scheduled to be available from January 14, with a new item offered each month through May; each item would cost $10.
- Unconfirmed
Reported
Seamstress sues Bunnings over alleged gate injury[5]
Angela Kraay is suing Bunnings for $317,000, alleging that a boom gate hit her head at its Oxenford store in August 2015 and caused a mild traumatic brain injury.
- Unconfirmed
Bunnings plans to close seven New Zealand stores[10]
Bunnings said it was planning to close seven New Zealand stores, affecting as many as 145 jobs. Six stores were expected to close at the end of June; the Putaruru store had already been slated for closure.
Reported
Bunnings announces nationwide sausage sizzle fundraiser[11]
Bunnings announced a planned sausage sizzle fundraiser for bushfire relief on Friday, January 24, from 9am to 4pm. The announcement said all profits from sausage sales would go to the Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery Fund, and that the event would include company locations in New Zealand.
Weekdays and relative dates follow the original report; their exact calendar dates have not been verified.
Bunnings introduces a fully transactional website in Australia and New Zealand[12]
Bunnings introduced a fully transactional website across Australia and New Zealand in the first half of 2020, offering click and collect, click and deliver, and drive and collect.
Reported
Bunnings launches MarketLink online marketplace[13]
Bunnings launched MarketLink, an online marketplace that lets customers buy a wider range of lifestyle, whitegoods and appliance products through bunnings.com.au.
Sources14 sources
- 1Wesfarmers: Bunningswesfarmers.com.au
- 2Bunnings: About usbunnings.com.au
- 3Bunnings: Communitybunnings.com.au
- 4Woman sues Bunnings over alleged hammock injurydailymail.com
- 5Seamstress sues Bunnings over alleged gate injurydailymail.com
- 6Australian privacy regulator challenges Bunnings facial-recognition useen.wikipedia.org
- 7Bunnings获评澳大利亚最强品牌smartcompany.com.au
- 8Bunnings暂时关闭大悉尼门店的零售顾客入店服务nine.com.au
- 9Bunnings宣布推出Building Block收藏玩具活动nine.com.au
- 10Bunnings计划关闭新西兰七家门店rnz.co.nz
- 11Bunnings宣布举办全国香肠烧烤募捐活动pedestrian.tv
- 12Bunnings 在澳大利亚和新西兰推出完整交易网站itnews.com.au
- 13Bunnings推出MarketLink线上购物平台nine.com.au
- 14Bunnings closes Sydney stores as lockdown tightensafr.com
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