Focus: Walk through of a Bunnings flat pack home that is going up in Onehunga
/ Dean Purcell
National retailer Bunnings which last week announced plans to shut seven stores in regional areas says it will now open its largest New Zealand store mid-winter and a new Queenstown outlet early next year.
"Last week in July for Westgate," said Jacqui Coombes, Bunnings NZ director of the big-box DIY chain's new warehouse in the growing north-western fringes of the city "and Queenstown in April 2021."
Westgate already has a Pak'nSave, Mitre 10, Harvey Norman, NorthWest shopping centre and by 2021 is due to get the first New Zealand Costco the size of two rugby fields, with a 30-pump fuel station cutting prices by as much as 20 to 30 per cent.
Bunnings first announced Westgate plans early-2016. Construction work behind the green mesh fence has been under way on the former farm site ever since and locals are curious about the exact opening date.
Coombes said last week that Bunnings was proposing to close stores in Cambridge, Te Awamutu, Putaruru, Hastings, Rangiora, Christchurch's Hornby and Ashburton.
ASX listed Wesfarmers, with a market capitalisation of A$42.7b, owns Bunnings. Wesfarmers' shares are today trading around A$36.90.
Meanwhile, Andrea Scown, retail operations general manager for Mitre 10, said that chain's Whangaparaoa store where 23 people had worked had shut. The store was owned by a member under the co-operative model and that person "has made the difficult decision to temporarily close the store until economic conditions improve."
The lockdown had devastated retail but Mitre 10s would re-open tomorrow with social distancing and health and safety measures in place, Scown said.
Chris Wilkinson, managing director of First Retail Group, said those stores were smaller legacy outlets and did not fit Bunnings' model. Roading network improvements such as in the Waikato meant customers were drawn to much larger-format stores with bigger choice and could easily drive there.
"The model with Bunnings is low-cost high-volume so it comes down to efficiencies and older smaller buildings don't have that, cost more to heat and potentially have health and safety issues," he said.
Auckland north-west was becoming a "powerhouse" with the 27,000sq m new Nido store to open acting as a gateway "then Costco and this massive new Bunnings as well as all the residential development".
At Queenstown, Bunnings fought a long battle to build a new store. In April 2017, it applied to the Queenstown Lakes District Council for resource consent to build the store on a 1.6ha site on State Highway 6 at 148-150 Frankton-Ladies Mile Highway. But commissioners declined that, so Bunnings appealed it in the Environment Court and won.
It is now building a 8100sq m warehouse, plant nursery, timber trade sales yard, space for building and landscaping materials and parking on the Frankton Flats, the principal gateway to the Queenstown urban area.
Toby Lawrance, former head of Bunnings NZ, said two years ago that Bunnings Westgate at 21 Fred Taylor Dr had been long-awaited. At 15,544sq m, that will be New Zealand's biggest Bunnings, with an estimated completion value of $65 million to $67m and 745sq m of retail tenancies were also being built, making this complex 16,290sq m on completion, with 318 car parks. More than 180 staff are expected to work there.
Jacqui Coombes: new Westgate and Queenstown to open. Photo / Brett Phibbs
Coombes said yesterday Bunnings' priority was the welfare of the 145 affected team members.
"This news is understandably upsetting and we will be working closely with our team during the consultation period to discuss their individual circumstances, including redeployment to other stores if possible.
"Despite the incredible efforts of our teams, the challenges at these stores have been exacerbated as a result of the Covid-19 environment and unfortunately these stores are no longer a viable part of our store network."
The Ashburton Warehouse, the Hornby and Hastings trade centres and four smaller format stores in Cambridge, Rangiora, Te Awamutu and Putaruru are impacted.
"Bunnings is an active manager of its portfolio in both the Australian and New Zealand markets which includes new developments and openings as well as reviews such as this which have led to the decisions that have been made," it said.
The closures were connected to the challenges of the recent trading environment but also took into account other considerations including lease arrangements, individual store performance and suitability of location, with some of the stores always intended as temporary locations, it said.
"This also follows a review late last year which saw Bunnings close three of its smaller format stores at Te Aroha, Waikanae and Paeroa," the business said yesterday.
