# Australian and NZ Dopers - your experiences with Bunnings DIY stores **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 18, 2016, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-and-nz-dopers-your-experiences-with-bunnings-diy-stores/768926 "2016-10-18T06:08:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![TheSuffolkRam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7feea3/32.png) [@TheSuffolkRam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheSuffolkRam)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2016, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-and-nz-dopers-your-experiences-with-bunnings-diy-stores/768926/21 "2016-10-21T09:12:05Z")
I work for Homebase, and althrough I have to be careful what I post due to a social media policy, I’ll try and respond to some of the points raised > [@Mangetout](#): > > Homebase - the second-largest DIY and home improvements warehouse store in the UK, was recently acquired by Wesfarmers - parent company of Bunnings Warehouse - which I understand to be a very similar sort of profile of operation. Yes and no, we both do DIY but HB considered itself more focused on the home improvement/enhancement side of things, for the last few years management were trying to make us into a John Lewis competitor with less focus on DIY. Bunnings are much closer to the B&Q style of store, more focus on DIY, which is what we will eventually move over to. We’ve already started to make changes. If you go into your local store now nearly, all of the home enhancement category (cushions, picture frames, vases, ornaments etc.) has been heavily reduced to clear the stock out. > [@](#): > > Homebase stores have turned into a complete chaotic mess. Store layouts are not just changed - they’re disorganised - stores now seem cluttered with random piles and pallets of stock Compared to how it used to be, yes they are a lot more fuller then before. Bunnings don’t like wasted space. there is guidance on how the stores should lay out the extra stock, with some stores following it better then others. when done properly it should look full but tidy. > [@](#): > > signage is all scruffily handwritten Bunnings is a low cost business. HB used to spend millions on point of sale (POS), most of which got thrown away (each store would generally get the same amount of POS regardless of there size, so small stores always got way too much). The hand written, while not as nice looking, is a lot quicker to implement. > [@](#): > > prices appear random to the penny (I went in for some F clamps they were £4.37 each) One of Bunnings key messages is ‘Always low prices’ (I believe in aus they use ‘everyday low prices’) for that reason stock does have some odd looking prices to make them cheapest in the market (They’ve not quite fully achieved this goal, while a lot has come down, some items and not as good as they could be). They also don’t like ‘gimmicks’ such a BOGOF or 3for2. We used to sell compost with multi-buy discounts, so they would be £4.99 each or 2 for £8. Bunnings dropped the price to £3.97 a bag so you got the deal price regardless of how much you brought (this has caused perhaps the most confusion with customers). > [@](#): > > All to the extent that the place now has the look of a storage warehouse That is where we are heading, at the moment we are trying to do the ‘Bunnings way’ in stores that wern’t designed for it. Once refits start next year store we will look more like w/houses. (closer to B&Q in fact) > [@](#): > > more new stock is arriving (faster, it appears, than the panicky staff can find somewhere to put it). This is very true, we’ve been given more freedom about where we can put stock (previously stores were quite strictly controlled, with a little bit of leeway). But stock volumes have increased a lot more then we were used to, and we have to find somewhere to put it. > [@](#): > > I guess this could just be the pain of childbirth for whatever the new era will look like. Very much this, we have a long way to go as of yet before everything settled, we have systems that need to be replaced (for example, our till systems are more then 20 years old). And we have to learn a different way to do things. The next couple of years are going to be tough, but i do believe we will be in a better place at the end of it > [@si\_blakely](#): > > I can tell you that I am pretty sure my house reno probably funded the acquisition of Homebase - I would walk into the store, they opened the till and I emptied my wallet, every week for 6 months. Wesfarmer, purchased Homebase for £350 million, profit for the previous year was £500 million (net) so the brought us and still had change left. So thank you for your contribution! > [@](#): > > Hopefully they can shake up the UK market, and give B&Q a run for your money. I’d imaging Kingfisher group (B&Q’s owners) must be quite worried, given the size difference between the two. Before the takeover HB was struggling big time, in fact I would have put money on us being gone within 5 years, if not sooner. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2017, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-and-nz-dopers-your-experiences-with-bunnings-diy-stores/768926/22 "2017-03-19T10:40:01Z")
> [@coremelt](#): > > Probably means their marketing team decided that giving the absolute cheapest prices they can is better that rounding prices off to “aesthetic” values. I happened across [Why Bunnings prices are so damn clever](https://thomasthethinkengine.com/2014/02/28/why-bunnings-prices-are-so-damn-clever/) while reading something else and recalled this thread. It is well worth the quick read to get to his conclusion: > [@](#): > > So, Bunnings is like any other retail operation, playing clever psychological games to disguise healthy mark-ups. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2017, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-and-nz-dopers-your-experiences-with-bunnings-diy-stores/768926/23 "2017-03-19T15:47:11Z")
I’ve always thought that Homebase was inferior to B&Q and Wickes, anyway. Smaller stores and therefore a smaller range, and the prices are usually higher, sometimes a lot higher. I haven’t noticed the one near me being any more of a shambles than usual. ---
**Author:** ![GreedySmurf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a698b9/32.png) [@GreedySmurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreedySmurf)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2017, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-and-nz-dopers-your-experiences-with-bunnings-diy-stores/768926/24 "2017-03-20T11:03:23Z")
Having this thread bumped, makes it worthwhile to mention that Bunnings has recently completed its first full rebrand of a store in St Albans, which is in ‘far’ North London. By all reports complete with sausage sizzle. 😃 I’m living in central London, so getting there is a fair hike, but having not been inside a Bunnings store in over a year now, (after having visited at least once most weekends for 2-3 years :eek: ) I’m increasingly tempted to make the journey just to suck in the atmosphere and have a snag of course. ---
**Author:** ![Evan\_Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b487fb/32.png) [@Evan\_Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evan_Drake)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2017, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-and-nz-dopers-your-experiences-with-bunnings-diy-stores/768926/25 "2017-03-20T12:39:34Z")
I went into Homebase last week and looked around. Having a number of small trees about 3.5" diameter needing removal in the tiny garden, I asked the pleasant young man if a hedgetrimmer would be better that a chainsaw or vice versa, them being both around £70 for the cheapest of each. He said: “Dunno.” ---
**Author:** ![GreedySmurf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a698b9/32.png) [@GreedySmurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreedySmurf)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2017, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-and-nz-dopers-your-experiences-with-bunnings-diy-stores/768926/26 "2017-03-20T13:45:43Z")
> [@Evan\_Drake](#): > > I went into Homebase last week and looked around. Having a number of small trees about 3.5" diameter needing removal in the tiny garden, I asked the pleasant young man if a hedgetrimmer would be better that a chainsaw or vice versa, them being both around £70 for the cheapest of each. > > He said: “Dunno.” No offence to the English, but the customer service in England is terrible. I’ll be interested to see how Bunnings handles that actually, because at home their customer service is generally pretty good, and most of the time the staff member loitering in a particular section is very knowledgeable about the products/projects in that area. I had quite a lengthy discussion once about the merits of a petrol versus electric chainsaw for the tasks I had in mind. I’ve heard that they quite often hire ex-tradies or other ‘experts’ as floor staff. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2017, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-and-nz-dopers-your-experiences-with-bunnings-diy-stores/768926/27 "2017-03-20T17:31:10Z")
> [@coremelt](#): > > This is what the insides of Bunnings Warehouses look like, yep its a warehouse but its got everything and it’s cheap. > [bunnings warehouse - Google Search](https://www.google.co.th/search?q=bunnings+warehouse&espv=2&biw=1583&bih=1218&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwic5Lb4jOTPAhXDvI8KHV1cBTEQ_AUIBygC#imgrc=_) which is exactly how [Home Depot](https://www.google.com/search?q=home+depot+images&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiz5p_yzOXSAhVHYyYKHRHMDmIQ_AUIBigB&biw=2133&bih=1194#imgdii=sRePu1x7wsmhHM:&imgrc=KGQnDxA1uP-moM:) and [Lowes](https://www.google.com/search?q=home+depot+images&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiz5p_yzOXSAhVHYyYKHRHMDmIQ_AUIBigB&biw=2133&bih=1194#imgdii=sRePu1x7wsmhHM:&imgrc=KGQnDxA1uP-moM:) stores look. The Home Depot pictures are from the US, the Lowes pictures are from Panama. Retailers know what works and stick to it pretty much everywhere in the 1st world. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-and-nz-dopers-your-experiences-with-bunnings-diy-stores/768926.md?page=1)