Yesterday it was revealed that Woolworths will be entering the Hardware sector after acquiring Danks Holdings. But Bunnings is not fazed by its new competitor, claiming the company relishes the opportunity to compete with a new entrant in the market.
This is the opinion of the company’s managing director, John Gillam, who said that the announcement came as no surprise.
“Today’s announcement of plans to bring a new player into the industry is no real surprise as these broad intentions have been known to us and many others for at least the last six months,” he said.
Gillam was also confident in his business position in the market and in the category’s performance in general.
“We have succeeded by being customer-focussed, by providing the widest product range at lowest prices and by delivering the offer with unequalled service. We constantly innovate and improve and are determined to keep delivering customers the best offer,” he said.
“The market has grown slightly faster than GDP over the past two decades and we expect this rate of growth to continue.”
Overall Gillam was very confident in the future of Bunnings and expressed that 30 to 40 Warehouse stores will be opened in Australia in the next three years, 10 stores are currently under construction and 20 more sites are in the planning and approval phase of development.
Bunnings has 233 stores across metropolitan and regional Australia and New Zealand and an annual turnover exceeding $5.8 billion.