Two major trade businesses are set to be absorbed under the Bunnings banner as the iconic Aussie brand expands its offering even further. Blackwoods, a safety distributor, and Workwear Group, known for its Hard Yakka and King Gee brands, will officially join forces with Bunnings on July 1.
This week, Wesfarmers announced that the Industrial and Safety businesses would transition into the Bunnings Group to “enhance the customer experience”. In a statement, Wesfarmers Chief Financial Officer Anthony Gianotti said the decision reflected the group’s focus on creating “long-term shareholder value”.
“We see a significant opportunity to leverage greater scale and capabilities to further enhance the customer experience,” he said. “Working more closely with Bunnings will also unlock growth in the small and medium sized customer segments.”
Bunnings Managing Director Mike Schneider said the transition will improve the business’ ability to serve “small to medium sized customers”. “Customers will have more choice, better product availability and an enhanced customer experience,” he said.
Blackwoods and Workwear Group will continue to operate as stand-alone businesses and will retain their customer-facing brands within the Bunnings Group. The new deal comes just a few months after Bunnings inked a new agreement with Uber Eats, guaranteeing Aussies can get the retailer’s DIY products in less than an hour.
The partnership will roll out in stages, starting with 15 spots across Australia before expanding to the whole nation and New Zealand. It follows a successful pilot run in Melbourne across five stores in late January where the retailer enjoyed strong demand from both retail and trade customers. Bunnings’ chief operating officer Ryan Baker said the partnership will help shoppers get hardware and gardening products in a pinch.
