HINEWS AMAZON IS COMING TO TOWN - Hardware News Network

Page created by Donna Bennett
 
CONTINUE READING
HINEWS AMAZON IS COMING TO TOWN - Hardware News Network
HI
 NEWS
  Vol. 3 No. 12

NATBUILD/MITRE 10     HBT CONFERENCE
MORE DETAILS EMERGE   BUSINESS SOLUTIONS

           AMAZON
 IS COMING TO TOWN
HINEWS AMAZON IS COMING TO TOWN - Hardware News Network
HINEWS AMAZON IS COMING TO TOWN - Hardware News Network
contents
   Amazon is coming to town
   Ready or not, Amazon is just about set to open for business
   from an Australian location. Unfortunately, there has
   been a lot of unhelpful speculation about what this might
   mean. HNN ploughs through some of the background and
   research needed to understand what effect this new market
   entrant will have on retail in Australia.

       38: click to view
   Amazon as a grand hack
   How did Amazon do it? Right from its origins the company
   has been something of a “hack”, upending conventional
   expectations to become an extraordinary company. HNN
   traces its history, and that of its founder, Jeff Bezos, to
   uncover more of what we can expect of it in the future.

       50: click to view
   HBT Business Solutions
   Conference
   Hardware Building & Traders (HBT) held a “business
   solutions” conference in Melbourne in late October. With
   a total of 670 members, including nearly 40 “H” branded
   stores, it’s a buying group that helps retailers be truly

      62: click to view
   Oldfields FY 2016/17
   Established for over 100 years, Oldfields is launching a
   new product line that is set to take on the top premium
   paintbrush category. It’s a new look company, moving
   to establishing direct relationships with retailers in the
   independent marketplace.

      32: click to view
HINEWS AMAZON IS COMING TO TOWN - Hardware News Network
contents - II
Natbuild’s Statement of Claim                                         ABS hardware retail stats
spells out IHG allegations                                            The September 2017 retail figures
National Building Suppliers (Natbuild) has updated its                available from the Australian Bureau of
Statement of Claim to provide more detailed allegations               Statistics (ABS) confirm that the home
against the Independent Hardware Group (IHG).                         improvement retail industry has been
Additional individuals have been added as respondents.                in a downturn for the past year. Is it
                                Natbuild is also                      due to falling house prices, a decline in
                                continuing its forensic               consumer conficence, a bullish stock
                                examination of data                   market — or all three?
                                sources from IHG,
                                including past email
                                trails.

                                                   27                                                                   9

                                                                       COMMENT
                               Oldfields has
                               introduced a new
                               paintbrush that could                 When looking at something like the
                               be a game-changer                     situation that has allegedly emerged
                               for the top end of the                between National Building Suppliers
                               professional market.                  (Natbuild) and the Independent
                               Its Pro Series offers                 Hardware Group (IHG), it pays to look
                               some of the best                      beyond the individuals involved, and to
performance of any paintbrush available in the world.                see how the stress of a recent acquistion

                                                   93                                                                   7
                                                                     might have led to unhelpful
                                                                     behaviour.

   Home Improvement
  News is a publication of
                                  big box update............................................................12
  Net Percent Pty Ltd.
  © 2017 Net Percent Pty Ltd       indie update................................................................17
       Betty Tanddo
                                   supplier update..........................................................19
         Publisher
       betty@hnn.bz                retail upate..................................................................24
       0411 031 832
                                   usa update..................................................................87
        Scott Lewis
       editor-at-large             europe update............................................................89
       scott@hnn.bz
                                   news............................................................................91
HINEWS AMAZON IS COMING TO TOWN - Hardware News Network
HINEWS AMAZON IS COMING TO TOWN - Hardware News Network
comment
      Doing a corporate merger or acquisition, a finan-
    cial analyst HNN knows well sometimes says, is
    like going for a stroll through a minefield when
    you know the location of 98% of the mines. Even
    if you’re careful, accidents happen.
       This has come to mind due to what has happened recently
    between National Building Suppliers (Natbuild) and Metcash’s
    Independent Hardware Group (IHG). Should the allegations of an
    intrusion by employees of IHG into the Natbuild members-only
    website prove true, some blame may be allocated to the people
    involved, and some to the management of one company division.
    But the real roots of the alleged problem will likely be traced back
    to the merger between Metcash’s Mitre 10 division and the Home
    Timber & Hardware Group, which led to the formation of IHG.
       The rationale for the merger was summed up by the then-CEO
    of Metcash, Ian Morrice, like this:
      The increased scale of the combined Mitre 10 and HTHG business-
6     es, together with the opportunity to realise significant efficiencies,
      will enable us to be more competitive and deliver a better outcome
      for both our hardware retailers and their customers.
      It’s a simple equation, apparently. You increase scale, control
    more retail sales, and this means you can demand better prices
    from wholesalers, which will increase the margins of member
    retailers, and provide lower prices to customers, driving more sales
    — and so forth.
       Yet, if we look at the alleged motivation for the alleged breach of
    the Natbuild website, something doesn’t really add up. According
    to the Statement of Claim from Natbuild, the apparent purpose of
    the alleged intrusion was to obtain details of the deals Natbuild
    had with its suppliers so that IHG could (allegedly) demand similar
    terms.
       This follows on from some recent declarations by IHG that it
    is definitely the number two company in the home improvement
    market at the moment, behind Bunnings, and, significantly, ahead
    of Natbuild.
      But, if IHG is ahead of Natbuild, and thus controls more retail
    sales — orders more volume and/or value of goods — then why
    would it have to demand that suppliers give it terms that are
    similar to those of Natbuild? Going back to Mr Morrice’s optimistic
    statement, surely those lower prices would happen automatically
    as a consequence of scale?

                                                                 hnn.bz
HINEWS AMAZON IS COMING TO TOWN - Hardware News Network
Well, not so fast. Natbuild has, after all, spent the past de-
    cade (and more) building up its relationships with its current
    suppliers. The suppliers have a known outcome when they do
    business with that company, where the newly scaled-up IHG
    is a far more uncertain proposition.
       It’s hard to tell with these sorts of numbers, but it’s likely
    IHG would need something over $2.4 billion in revenues to re-
    ally wield the kind of market power it seems to have thought
    it might have — which is likely around 20% more revenue
    than it does have. It takes market power to overcome inertia.
      This is all speculation, of course, but if true, it’s easy to
    imagine the kind of situation IHG might have faced. The
    merchandising part of the company could have been placed
    under immense pressure to make deals that were as good as
    Natbuild enjoys.
       Over the past decade or so we’ve seen the consequences
    that kind of pressure can have. Employees of Wells Fargo
    bank in the US, for instance, set about enrolling customers in
    new accounts they hadn’t ordered simply to meet quotas. A
    number of market traders have violated trading safeguards
    to get the returns they were required to generate. Given
    enough pressure, even good people will crack, and do silly
    things.
       Let’s just hope that there will be, should the allegations
    prove true, a fair allocation of responsibility. In terms of the
7
    individuals involved, many of them have a good track record
    in the past, and it would be shame if the industry lost their
    experience through harsh treatment. Punishing them undu-
    ly might not only be a little unfair, it also will not solve the
    problem, which is likely more systemic than accidental.

                                                        hnn.bz
HINEWS AMAZON IS COMING TO TOWN - Hardware News Network
A NEW STANDARD FOR IN-STORE DISPLAY

                                                                    TEL: (03) 9795 6789
                                                                    FAX: (03) 9795 4567
                                                                    ROMAK.COM.AU

  Merchandising display for all Romak bulk items. Gondola not included.
HINEWS AMAZON IS COMING TO TOWN - Hardware News Network
statistics
                           ABS Hardware Retail
                           Revenue September 2017
                             The Australian                forecast. The flat result        terms of pure numbers     had falls of over 6.0%,
                           Bureau of Statistics            followed on from poor            (rather than trend or     with NSW falling the
    in this                (ABS) has released its          results for August 2017,         seasonally adjusted),     most, at 6.94% down.
    update:                statistics for retail           which indicated a fall           Australia-wide retail     Queensland also de-
                           revenue up to Septem-           of 0.7%, the steepest            sales for hardware        clined, falling 3.82% on
    •start                 ber 2017. For the most          decline since 2012. For          in September fell by      the pcp. South Austra-
            text
       Retails sales
       for the trailing    recent month, the stats         the September 2017               4.88% as compared to      lia had the strongest
       12 months to        reveal a continuing             quarter, sales were              the previous corre-       growth, up 11.44% on
       September 2017      slowdown in retail, de-         down 0.3%. Most the              sponding period (pcp),    the pcp, followed by
       indicates slowing   spite expectations they         decline was due to               which was September       the Northern Territory
       growth              might improve. Sales            discounting, while               2016. New South Wales     (NT) on 6.86% up, and
                           remained flat across            volumes remained                 (NSW), Victoria (VIC),    the Australian Capital
    • One cause could      most sectors, while a           constant.                        Western Australia (WA)    Territory (ACT) up by
      be a continuing      lift of 0.4% had been             For hardware, in               and Tasmania (TAS), all   1.69%.
      reduction in
9     house prices,
      combined with a
      return to growth
      in share prices

                             Chart 1. ABS hardware retail sales, trailing 12 months to August

                                                                               hnn.bz
HINEWS AMAZON IS COMING TO TOWN - Hardware News Network
stats

       Chart 3 illustrates
     these results, along
     with results showing
     the growth for Sep-
     tember 2016 compared
     with September 2015.
     Only SA and NT show
     improved growth.
       Looking at results
     for growth over the
     trailing 12 months to
     September, as shown
     in Chart 1, it is evident
     that growth for the
     most recent period has
     slowed as contrasted to
     that for previous peri-
     ods. Chart 2 indicates
     these growth rates.
     Overall, Australian
     hardware retail has
     grown by just 1.56%
10   over the 12 months, as
     contrasted to a growth
     rate of 5.95% to Sep-
     tember 2016, and 7.95%
                                 Chart 2, shows revenue growth percentages for the trailing 12 months to August.
     to September 2015.
       The strongest growth
     for the most recent
     period has been for the
     ACT, at 13.33%, followed
     by SA at 8.07%. The
     steepest drop has been
     for NSW, which grew at
     3.27%, contrasted with
     10.37% for the previous
     period. VIC and WA
     show weak growth, at
     0.34%, and 0.45% re-
     spectively, while QLD
     fell slightly by 0.04%.
     TAS grew by 1.37%,
     while NT fell steeply,
     by 5.79%.

     Contributing
     factors

       The growth chart
     sees something of a
     continuation of the
     “bunching” of growth
     numbers we have seen
     before, though now
     SA has broken away,         Chart 3, shows revenue growth percentages for the trailing 12 months to August.

                                                                                 hnn.bz
stats

     as NT and ACT have         seeing the beginning
     previously. Charts 4, 5    of an exit from hous-
     and 6 might give some      ing investment, both
     sense as to why this is    by investors and
     the case. According to     regular families, and
     RBA composite figure,      an entry into other
     as shown in Chart 5,       forms of investment
     consumer confidence        judged to deliver
     has barely managed to      higher returns, or to
     make it to an average      simply be “safer”.
     level, and has been less     It is too early to
     than average for much      give a clear judge-
     of 2017. Meanwhile,        ment on this at the
     house prices have          moment, but we
     entered a period of        could say that the
     decline. Unlike in some    indications for the
     previous periods of        immediate future are
     decline, the share mar-    not very positive for
     ket, as illustrated by     the hardware retail
     the ASX 100 and ASX        industry.
     200 indices, has shown
     signs of improvement.                                Chart 4. ASX 100 and ASX 200 indices for Sept 2015 to Oct 2017.
11     This could indi-
     cate that there is a
     shift in investment
     trends. While it’s not
     uncommon to hear
     the proposition that
     when house prices
     are up new dwelling
     building picks up, and
     when house prices go
     down, some of that
     expenditure shifts
     to renovation and
     maintenance spending,
     that only works when
     alternative forms of
     investment are under-
     performing. We may be        Chart 5. RBA composite Consumer Sentiment index              Chart 6. RBA composite Housing Prices

                                                                               hnn.bz
big box update
                            Bunnings in Kingaroy &
                            Cootamundra
                              Bunnings is a step
     in this                closer to setting up
     update:                shop in Kingaroy
                            (QLD) after South Bur-
     •start                 nett Regional Council
            text
        Bunnings
        Kingaroy gets the   approved its develop-
        go-ahead            ment application at a
                            recent meeting. The
     • Cootamundra          company will now
       considers Bun-       move to square things
       nings application    with the state govern-
     • Bunnings opens       ment before it breaks
       five stores in       ground, according to
12     regional areas       the South Burnett
                            Times.
     • Three new Bun-
       nings warehous-        Not surprisingly, Bun-
       es set to open in    nings general manager
       regional NSW,        – property, Andrew           Proposed site of the Bunnings in Kingaroy at 2 Walter Road.
       TAS and QLD over     Marks welcomed the
       coming nine          decision. He said:         offerings in Kingaroy.         Support for                Absent from the
       months                 We can confirm we          While the coun-              Cootamundra              meeting was Craig
                            have received devel-       cil is prohibited by           store                    Stewart, who is em-
     • Woolworths           opment approval            Queensland law to                                       ployed by Cootamun-
       closes chapter on    for a new Bunnings         consider commercial              An extraordinary       dra Mitre 10 and thus
       Masters; Lowe’s
                            Warehouse in Kingaroy      competition when               meeting of Coota-        declared a non-pecuni-
       Companies gains
                            and will continue to       approving develop-             mundra-Gundagai          ary interest, and Leigh
       USD96 million in
                            work with the council      ment, Cr Fleischfresser        Regional Council was     Bowden, who was in
       the exit payment
                            throughout the plan-       said Bunnings would            held recently to discuss Sydney.
     • Bunnings in          ning process. The new      be good for the town.          a proposed Bunnings        In a letter to the
       Kawana QLD           warehouse will repre-      He said:                       store. The location of   council, Cr Stewart
       open for business    sent an investment of        I’ve heard people say        this store is the corner declared he was in
     • Bunnings could       over $15 million...        they are disappointed          of Wallendoon and        favour of new develop-
       open at former         In the lead-up to the    with us accepting a            Hovell Streets, oppo-    ment and business in
       Masters site at      vote, the council was      Bunnings application,          site Thompson’s Rural the Local Government
       Majura Park (ACT)    petitioned by a group      however I can say              Supplies.                Area.
                            of concerned business      every tradesperson in            Council staff had        Deputy mayor Dennis
     • Four Bunnings
                            owners who thought         the South Burnett that         recommended the          Palmer acknowledged
       stores sold
                            the development            I speak to keep asking         proposed store be        that staff had prepared
       in lease-back
       arrangement          would spell doom for       me the same questions:         refused development      the instrument for
                            smaller traders. But in    are they coming and            consent, citing a num- refusal in accordance
     • Roy Morgan           approving the applica-     when are they going to         ber of shortcomings      with adopted council
       pegs Bunnings        tion, planning port-       be here?                       in the application put policy and guidelines,
       ahead of HTH in      folio councillor Terry       The advantage of this        forward by Colin Blake. however felt this could
       quarterly survey     Fleischfresser said a      business coming to             However councillors      be varied in particular
       of customer          Bunnings store would       town far outweighs the         disagreed.               circumstances.
       satisfaction         complement the retail      negatives.                                                      continues next page

                                                                         hnn.bz
big box
      update

     Bunnings’ latest stores outside metro areas
       In recent months,        18,000sqm. The big box       https://goo.gl/gMp-           total store size ofof community groups
     Bunnings has official-     retailer said the project   mrQ                            15,000sqm.         already, working with
     ly opened stores in        represents more than                                         https://goo.gl/YP-
                                                                                                              Goodstart Early Learn-
     Windsor Gardens (SA),      $50 million worth of        Bonnyrigg                      4kAM               ing Centre to extend
     Toowoomba North            investment, and is                                                            the centre’s outdoor en-
     (QLD), Bellambi (NSW),     expected to inject $4.7       The new Bonnyrigg     Dalby                     vironment with a sen-
     Bonnyrigg (NSW) and        million worth of wages      store replaces the                                sory garden, as well as
     Dalby (QLD).               from 170 jobs into the      previous warehouse        Bunnings Dalby store helping to revamp the
                                local economy in the        located next door       manager, Jodie Ianna, Dalby Diehards Foot-
     Windsor Gardens            first year of operation.    and was opened by       is joined by over 25 Dal- ball Club’s 100-year-old
                                  https://goo.gl/3P-        Parramatta Eels rugby by locals who are now grandstand.
       The new Bunnings         wTHm                        league legend Peter     official team members       Bunnings Dalby is
     $47 million outlet at                                  Sterling. He was joined of the new $12 million, located at the corner of
     Windsor Gardens will       Bellambi                    by Bunnings Group       smaller-format store.     the Warrego Highway
     be one of the largest                                  CEO Michael Schnei-     Ms Ianna has worked       and Eton Street in
     in South Australia.          Former Australian         der, complex manager at Bunnings for 12           Dalby (QLD).
     Complex manager            international cricket-      Andrew Shalala and      years. She told The         https://goo.gl/3LgSYN
     Simon Ahladas heads        er, Brett Lee officially    staff.                  Chronicle:
     the team at the new        opened the new Bun-           The new Bunnings        Team members have
     store at 432 North East    nings Bellambi Ware-        has an approximate      supported a number
13   Road and spread over
     13,000sqm. He said:
                                house. The store pre-
                                sented an opportunity
                                                            Bunnings Cootamundra (cont.)
       We have been a part      for a career change for
     of the local community     team member Bianka
     for over 15 years.         Hoswell who grew
       It’s the second          up in Bellambi and
     Bunnings store in          worked as a nurse in
     the northeast, with        aged care for eight
     another established at     years.
     Modbury.                     But she is now work-
       https://goo.gl/EceC9t    ing in a supervisory
                                role in the leisure and
     Toowoomba                  landscape section of
     North                      the store. She told the
                                Illawarra Mercury:
                                                              The location of the proposed Cootamundra store is the corner of Wallendoon and Hovell
       Australian rugby           Their approach is
                                                              Streets
     league great Shane         beautiful. They have
     Webcke helped to           this whole family feel        He said:                                     and was the only councillor not to
     launch the Toowoom-        about the business.           We have been elected to look after           vote for Cr Palmer’s motion. “I have
     ba North Bunnings          There is plenty of inno-    the future of our towns and we                 no issue with the hardware store, I
     store on the site of the   vation and team devel-      must be proactive…                             think it would be good competition
     old foundry. The open-     opment so Bunnings            Cr Palmer said a newly developed             for Mitre 10,” he said, but stated
     ing marks the 42nd         was very appealing to       side would be better than the cur-             the incomplete application should
     Bunnings store to open     me.                         rent building. He also argued the              not have even been discussed by
     in Queensland and the        And she hopes her         car parking code could be altered              councillors.
     260th warehouse to         story about changing        subject to Traffic Committee ap-                 Mayor Abb McAlister said that
     open around Australia,     careers will encourage      proval. He added:                              council must always be on the front
     New Zealand and the        others. She said:             This council needs to be a ‘can-do’          foot when it comes to development
     UK.                          I’m really happy to       facilitator, rather than a ‘can’t do’          before declaring his support for the
       Toowoomba’s second       have a second family        authority.                                     hardware store.
     Bunnings Warehouse         here with the team that       Doug Phillips held concerns the                https://goo.gl/sTiYNR
     is one-and-a-half times    I am working with. I        incomplete application may lead                  https://goo.gl/P64f5d
     the size of the first at   am incredibly grateful.     to legal ramifications for council

                                                                               hnn.bz
big box
      update

     Bricks and mortar builds for Bunnings
       In the next few           Bunnings in Port
     months and going into       Stephens
     2018, new Bunnings
     Warehouses will open          The large, blue
     in Devonport (TAS),         former Masters Home
     Heatherbrae (NSW)           Improvement store at
     and Rockhampton             Heatherbrae (NSW)
     (QLD).                      has begun turning
                                 green. The new Bun-
     Devonport store             nings store will span
                                 more than 12,000sqm.
       Bunnings general          Mr Marks said the new
     manager – property,         store was expected
     Andrew Marks, told          to open in time for
     The Advocate the new        Christmas.
     Devonport store is            According to real           Project management company, Willow Frank is overseeing the Bunnings Devonport store
     expected to be open         estate firm, Cushman          construction
     sometime in December.       & Wakefield, who sold      large format retail         Masters site.                     ting works will occur
     Construction work is        the three NSW-based        development with four This location, where in the coming months
     almost complete at the      stores for Home Con-       retail tenancies.           Bunnings signage has and the new store will
14   site. He said:              sortium – the pur-           https://goo.gl/R2awd1 recently been installed, span over 13,000sqm.
       Recruitment has been      chaser of all 61 of the                                will see the store near-            The Bunnings trade
     completed with more         Masters sites across       Rockhampton                 by other stores such as centre will remain in
     than 80 residents…          Australia as well as 21    opening date                Freddy’s Fishing and              its current location.
     Bunnings Devonport          development sites –                                    Outdoors, Petstock and https://goo.gl/
     will cover more than        the Heatherbrae Mas-         Bunnings’ new             Autobarn. Mr Marks                QFKY6D
     8,000sqm…The devel-         ters site sold for $12.3   location at the former said:
     opment represents an        million. The Heath-        Masters Rockhampton            We can confirm we
     investment of over $19      erbrae sale included       site will be open to        have reached an agree-
     million.                    a total land holding       the public mid-2018. It ment with the landlord
       The Bunnings Devon-       of 45,730sqm, includ-      received approval at        to convert the former
     port store is where the     ing two facilities: a      the start of the year to Masters Rockhampton
     K&D Warehouse was           13,153sqm purpose built    move from its current site into a new Bun-
     located.                    hardware retail ware-      location on Yaamba          nings Warehouse. Con-
       https://goo.gl/j8WgtZ     house and a 4,029sqm       Road to the vacant          version and reformat-

                      Woolworths makes final exit from Masters
       Woolworths has            tium for a headline sale   federal court proceed-       were about $1.8 billion.        https://goo.gl/ki6HRa
     finally extricated itself   price of $525 million.     ings, allowing the local       The sale to Home
     from its failed Masters       Home Consortium          retail giant to make the     Consortium includes
     hardware venture by         plans to convert the       final step in selling the    40 Masters freehold
     completing the sale of      Masters stores into        former Masters stores.       trading
     its store sites.            large format retail cen-     Lowe’s Companies           sites, 21
       The supermarket gi-       tres featuring outlets     recorded in its results      Masters
     ant said it has complet-    including Spotlight,       for Q2 2017 an addi-         freehold
     ed the sale of Hydrox       Anaconda, Chemist          tional USD96 million         devel-
     Holdings – the joint        Warehouse, JB Hi-Fi        gain from the sale of        opment
     venture company it set      and The Good Guys.         Hydrox Holdings.             sites
     up with US firm Lowe’s        Lowe’s handed over         Woolworths previ-          and 21
     to run Masters – to the     its 33.3% stake in         ously said the capital       Masters
     privately owned Home        Hydrox to Woolworths       losses associated with       leasehold
     Investment Consor-          in August, in line with    the sale of Hydrox           sites.

                                                                              hnn.bz
big box
      update

     Bunnings Kawana open Bunnings Fyshwick site may
     to customers         become train station
                                                            News that Bunnings
                                                          could take up the
                                                          former Masters site
                                                          at Majura Park (ACT)
                                                          may be the first move
                                                          that could see the
                                                          relocation of Canberra
                                                          Railway Station to
                                                          Fyshwick.                    Bunnings Fyshwick
                                                            Bunnings staff at       of the Fyshwick site,      respond to questions
                                                          the Fyshwick store on     but it was likely that     about whether it had
                                                          Newcastle Street have     it would continue to       been involved in any
       Store manager Emily Sweet of the new Bun-          been aware all year       trade “in one form or      negotiations with the
     nings store on Kawana Way in Warana (QLD)            that they would be        another”. Acting state     ACT Government.
     said the team has been excited to welcome the        transferring to Majura    operations manager,          Land between the
     local community to the store and celebrate with Park in 2018. One staff        Robyn Hudson, said in      rail line and Bunnings
     them at the grand opening event.                     member told the Riot      a statement:               is vacant and being
       However Kawana Hardware and Garden                 Act the ACT Govern-         Team members will        used as a makeshift car
     Centre owner Ian Witten expects his business         ment and Bunnings         either relocate to the     park. Combined with
15   will take a hit with the launch of the Bunnings had been in negotia-           new Canberra Airport       the Bunnings site, it
     outlet.                                              tions for some time       site or remain at the      could allow for a rail
       Mr Witten moved to the Sunshine Coast from with the aim of the               current Fyshwick store.    and bus interchange,
     western New South Wales in 1998 to take over         Government acquiring      We will continue to en-    car park and integrated
     the store. One of his sons had bad asthma so he the site to develop a          sure our team members      mixed use develop-
     gave up farming for an entirely different career new railway station.          and the community are      ment, as recommended
     where harsh winter weather was not a problem. Bunnings said in a               kept up to date with       in 2009 by the Railway
       In the two decades since then, he has seen a       statement that a final    any progress on our        Master Plan for the
     number of independent hardware stores close          decision had not been     plans.                     ACT.
     down in the Kawana Waters, Buderim, Caloun-          made on the future          But Bunnings did not       https://goo.gl/TEq8Di
     dra and Maroochydore areas. His enterprise has
     survived but he expected sales would be affect-
     ed by a new competitor. He told the Sunshine
                                                           Four more warehouse stores sold
     Coast Daily:                                           A portfolio of four     tors said that all four    long-term strategy of
       When Caloundra (Bunnings) opened, we really newly-built Bunnings             freehold assets are        diversifying its inves-
     felt it and that lasted six to eight months, then it hardware stores have      located in metropoli-      tor base and recycling
     went back to normal. I think we will see a fall in been sold to CBRE           tan areas on arterial      capital on lease terms
     sales through the Christmas period.                  Global Investors in a     roads. Factors expect-     that provide it oper-
       He said Bunnings had excellent marketing.          transaction worth $180    ed to drive growth in      ational flexibility. He
       I don’t know how we compete with it.               million with yields in    these markets include      told Fairfax Media:
       He said a focus on customer service and pro-       the 5% range.             household disposable         We are pleased to
     viding products outside of the Bunnings range          The hardware chain      income, renovation         have completed anoth-
     were among his tactics.                              has offloaded stores      activity, housing churn,   er successful sale at a
       We try and stock what they don’t.                  in Windsor Gardens        value and formation,       yield that is reflective
       Mr Witten said he was getting some benefit         (SA), the Auckland        weather, lifestyle and     of the market and on
     from the commercial and residential expansion suburb of New Lynn               demographic trends,        lease terms that take
     at Birtinya and Bokarina.                            in New Zealand and        government activity        into account our opera-
       We supply the bricklayers and landscapers but the Sydney suburbs of          and technology.            tional objectives.
     a lot of it is corporate purchases. When people      Caringbah and Bonny-        Bunnings’ general          https://goo.gl/EjeURS
     need maintenance on their houses later on, that rigg. All four sold with       manager – property,          https://goo.gl/fh9U3y
     is where we come along.                              12-year leases in place   Andrew Marks said
       https://goo.gl/13FC97                              to Bunnings.              the sale was consis-
       https://goo.gl/sFo1k1                                CBRE Global Inves-      tent with the group’s

                                                                         hnn.bz
big box
      update

     Bunnings beats HTH on
     customer satisfaction
       Bunnings has replaced             last three months. Michele
     Home Timber & Hardware              Levine, CEO, Roy Morgan
     (HTH) to be Australia’s             Research, said:
     leading hardware store in             Bunnings is undoubtedly
     September 2017, according           Australia’s best known
     to the latest rankings from         hardware store…Today’s
     Roy Morgan Research. It             customer satisfaction
     scored a customer satisfac-         results show Bunnings’
     tion rating of 89.0%, up 0.1%       impressive reputation
     from a year ago.                    is built on a high rate of
       HTH came in second with           customer satisfaction – now
     a customer satisfaction rat-        at a market leading 89% in
     ing of 88.6%, declining 0.4%        September…
     points over the course of             HTH has performed con-
     the year, but enough to beat        sistently well over the past
     out Mitre 10 in third with          few years winning the an-
     a customer satisfaction             nual Roy Morgan Hardware
     rating of 86.9%, down 3%.           Store Customer Satisfaction
16     Rounding out the hard-            Award in four out of the
     ware store “Big 4” is True          last five years (2012, 2013,
     Value Hardware with a cus-          2015 and 2016) although the
     tomer satisfaction rating           2017 Annual Award looks set
     of 76.3%, down slightly on a        to go down to the wire with
     year ago.                           Bunnings aiming for its first
       According to the Roy              victory in the category since
     Morgan, approximately 13.1          2011.
     million Australians visited           https://goo.gl/T5yFrZ
     a hardware store during the

       Roy Morgan Hardware Store Customer Satisfaction September 2017
       Source: Roy Morgan Single Source Australia, October 2016 – Septem-
       ber 2017. n=14,910. Base: Australians 14+.

                                                                            hnn.bz
indie update
                            Langs store opens
                            in Caloundra
     in this                                                                                              ium window frame
     update:                                                                                              manufacturing.
                                                                                                            A decade of planning
     •start                                                                                               has culminated in the
            text
        Langs Buidling
        Supplies has                                                                                      centre’s opening, with
        opened a store in                                                                                 the Caloundra-based
        Caloundra                                                                                         store doing battle
                                                                                                          with southern rival
     • Total Tools is                                                                                     Ipswich. But for Langs
       seeking to open                                                                                    general manager David
       a new outlet in                                                                                    Wuiske, the move here
       Tamworth                                                                                           was confident. He said:
17                                                                                                          We had two choic-
                                                                                                          es, a site at Ipswich
                              A $20 million drive-    bulk building supplies      the investment shown and here, we did our
                            through trade store       and on-site manufac-        by companies such       research and thought
                            was unveiled recently     turing of trusses and       as Langs, along with    there was a lot of
                            on the Sunshine Coast     wall frames.                the growth existing in growth potential here.
                            (QLD). Langs Building       Sunshine Coast            our region, that helps  From the coast we can
                            Supplies has opened       Mayor Mark Jamieson         to support positive     easily service the north
                            its second store in the   opened the store. He        business confidence ... side of Brisbane and
                            state and is expected     said:                       Langs plan to double    right up which made
                            to inject an annual         It will support local     their existing staff    us very confident. The
                            economic contribution     building and construc-      numbers in the next     sheer scale of the place
                            of $193 million. Along    tion industry as well       12-18 months, followed is exciting. Bob Lang
                            with a trade store, it    as providing great          by an additional 50     hasn’t built this busi-
                            will provide the local    employment oppor-           jobs when the company ness by halves.
                            community with a          tunities for locals. It’s   starts on-site alumin-    goo.gl/So4EQs

                              Trade store planned for Tamworth
                              Total Tools has    heed Street.           population. He         nings. He said:          December”, with
                            submitted a devel-     If the Tamworth      told the Northern        In fact ..., it pro-   at least six staff
                            opment applica-      development is         Daily Leader:          vides the focus for      working at any
                            tion to Tamworth     given the green          Regional Austra-     a lot of customers       one time.
                            Regional Council,    light, it will be      lia is no different    to come to us. It          The develop-
                            for a $300,000       the company’s          to the high-densi-     suits our footprint      ment application
                            development in       furthest inland        ty areas, it creates   if you like. It’s all    indicates a Total
                            Taminda (NSW),       store in NSW.          a market for us.       about providing          Tools store can
                            on the corner of     Total Tools              Mr Lazzaro said      competition and          serve up to 100
                            Lockheed and         project manager        Total Tools had        being able to pro-       customers a day,
                            Jewry Street. The    Mike Lazzaro           no problem being       mote the brand.          with an average
                            proposed site is     said Tamworth          located across           If approved, Mr        of 55 customers
                            located opposite     “ticked all the box-   the road from          Lazzaro said the         a day.
                            Bunnings Tam-        es” in regards to      home-improve-          store would “be            https://goo.gl/
                            worth on Lock-       demographics and       ment giant Bun-        looking to open in       tuYtfX

                                                                        hnn.bz
John Ioakim
                                                                              independent with a strong brand and no forced promotional stock eating up
The Lakes H Hardware - LAKES ENTRANCE, VIC                                    floor space and our bottom dollar.
How did you come into the hardware business?
I was the store manager of this store under the previous owners when it was   How is business today?
a bannered store. In 2016 the owners called me looking to sell. My wife,      We opened in July 2016 and 12 months on business is good. We’ve had
Leanne and I spent many a night around the kitchen table running figures      growth and we have strong customer base. Our trade business makes up
and swapping ideas for the store. We decided to go for it but we wanted to    75% of the business, I look after that and Leanne is the face of our retail
be truly independent and in control of our stock.                             side. It’s come along way from our first official order that BGC sent to our
                                                                              house and I borrowed a trailer to be able to deliver it to site.
What made you decide on branding your new store H Hardware?
We had a few recommendations to join the HBT Buying Group and when that       What would you say to someone considering transitioning
stacked up we had a chat with Steve Fatileh who showed us the branding        to H Hardware?
for H Hardware. It looked great, the colours are eye catching and it really   If you want to have control of your business, your stock, your promotions
stands out. The clincher for us was that the store was ours, we could be      and a stand out brand,then H Hardware is a no brainer.

For more information and
membership application call

1300 305 719
big box update
                           supplier update
                           Husqvarna products
                           star at US Equip. Expo
                             The annual Green In-
     in this               dustry and Equipment
     update:               Expo (GIE+EXPO) in
                           Louisville, Kentucky
     •start                positions itself as the
            text from
        Automower
        Husqvarna X-line   largest trade show for
        launches in 2018   the outdoor power
                           equipment, lawn and
     • Snap-on will        garden equipment,
       appeal award        light construction and
       patent damages      landscape industries.
       to Milwaukee        Husqvarna introduced
       Tool                several new products
19   • Ryobi generators    at the recent 2017
       get electronic      event.                      The Husqvarna Automower X-line will be introduced in 2018
       fuel injection        A new model for its
     • Assa Abloy buys     Automower robotic           The app works for           er chain designed,              announced a line of
       smartlock maker     mower series was          Android and iOS de-           developed and man-              commercial zero-turn
       August              presented, as well as     vices and lets owners         ufactured from the              mower blades featur-
                           additional products for   receive their Auto-           materials to final              ing Fisher Barton’s
     • GearWrench gets     the company’s lineup      mower’s current status        product in its produc-          laser edge cutting
       a new brand         of battery-powered        and change settings           tion facility in Sweden.        technology. Husqvar-
       identity            range and new chain-      remotely. It also trans-      The carefully engi-             na says these blades
     • Irish workwear      saws and chainsaw         mits the Automower’s          neered thickness of the         feature long-lasting
       clothing compa-     accessories for profes-   precise GPS-tracked           chrome layer ensures            sharpness, reducing
       ny Portwest has     sional landowners and     location in the event of      a lasting sharpness             downtime for lawn
       acquired Mel-       farmers.                  a theft.                      and a high capacity,            care professionals and
       bourne, Australia     In 2018, the Automow-     Husqvarna said it will      and the chain requires          increasing cut quality
       based company       er 310 can serve 0.25     give its 400 e-series         less power from the             and fuel efficiency.
     • Selleys is at-      acres and slopes up to    saws a full upgrade in        saw than the standard             With its new BLi100,
       tempting to build   22 degrees. This model    2018. The 435e, 440e,         cutting systems.                BLi200, BLi300 batter-
       its business in     also features “Connect    445e, 450e and 450e             Available with a 48-          ies, Husqvarna intro-
       the UK              from Home”, its new       Rancher chainsaws             or 54-inch commercial           duced a new line of
                           connected Bluetooth       will all have improved        ClearCut deck, Husq-            lithium-ion technology
     • Brickworks buys     functionality.            start-ability through         varna says the V548             that will replace the
       Urbanstone
                             The Automower           Smart Start for low           and V554 stand-on               current models. The
                           X-line will be intro-     rpm ignition, a slimmer       mowers provide excel-           company says these of-
                           duced next year, which    saw body and flip-up          lent grass cutting and          fer faster charge times
                           Husqvarna says makes      tank cups, snap-lock          management. Its latest          (50-80 minutes), higher
                           the Automower Con-        cylinder covers and           zero-turn mower series          capacities and 100Wh,
                           nect app standard for     quick release air-filters.    consists of 11 products,        200Wh and 300Wh
                           those models. This app      Additionally, Husq-         four Z500 models and            respectively.
                           allows owners to con-     varna introduced new          seven Z500X models,               https://goo.gl/
                           trol the mower from       saw accessories. The          ranging from the Z548           UzxAFC
                           their smartphone no       X-Cut SP33G is the            to the Z572X.
                           matter where they are.    company’s first-ev-             The company also

                                                                       hnn.bz
supplier
       update

     Snap-on to appeal patent suit with Milwaukee Tool
       Tool maker Snap-on        waukee Tool said:          that Milwaukee
     said it will appeal a US      The introduction of      Tool’s claims were
     federal court’s verdict     Lithium-ion technolo-      invalid because
     that awarded Milwau-        gy to the professional     Canadian battery
     kee Electric Tool nearly    power-tool industry        maker E-One
     USD28 million in a          was groundbreak-           Moli Energy had
     patent lawsuit.             ing and resulted in        actually developed
       The federal lawsuit,      multiple patents for       the technology and
     filed three years ago       our company that we        brought it to Mil-
     in the Eastern District     continue to aggressive-    waukee Tool. Moli
     of Wisconsin, involves      ly defend. [The] jury      eventually gave up
     three Milwaukee Tool        verdict by the federal     its patent owner-
     patents for battery         court affirms Milwau-      ship rights in 2006
     packs used with cord-       kee Tool’s leadership in   and established a
     less power tools.           new-to-world technolo-     license agreement
       The Journal Sentinel      gy in cordless tools for   with Milwaukee          One of Milwaukee’s original Li-ion tools from circa 2006
     reports that Rick Secor,    the trades.                Tool.
     director of corporate         Milwaukee Tool             “Snap-on does not       infringe on Milwaukee ly based on the amount
     communications at           asserted in its lawsuit    believe, that there was Tool’s patents. It deter- of Snap-on’s infringing
     Snap-on said the            that “no other tech-       anything inventive        mined the award was a sales.
20   company strongly            nology could offer the     about using a Li-ion      “reasonable royalty” af- He noted that the
     disagrees with the          combination of high        cell in a high-powered ter determining Snap- jury deemed the
     jury’s verdict and will     power, light weight        cordless tool battery     on had likely willfully infringement will-
     “vigorously appeal.”        and compact size made      pack. But assuming…       violated elements of              ful. That finding, Mr
       In the lawsuit, Mil-      possible by Milwaukee      there is an invention     three different Milwau- Hansen said, allows
     waukee Tool said the        Tool’s inventions.”        here, Moli conceived of kee Tool patents.                   the court to increase
     lithium-ion battery           The lawsuit contends     it, and not (Milwaukee      Milwaukee Tool’s                the damages Snap-on
     packs it invented           Snap-on infringed          Tool),” Snap-on attor-    victory in its law-               could have to pay by
     greatly changed the         on Milwaukee Tool’s        neys wrote in seeking a suit alleging patent                up to three times the
     industry after being        patents when the com-      summary judgment.         infringement was not amount of the jury’s
     introduced in 2005. The     pany made lithium-ion        The jury hearing the surprising, said Scott               award.
     technology replaced         battery packs for Snap-    case concluded that it Hansen, one of the law- https://goo.gl/tDC-
     packs that used nick-       on tools. But Snap-on      was more likely than      yers who represented DLU
     el-cadmium batteries.       argued in court filings    not that Snap-on’s lith- the company.                         https://goo.gl/ZXoCJ6
     A spokesman for Mil-        leading up to the trial    ium-ion battery packs       The amount was fair-

     TTI portable generators with EFI technology
       Techtronic Industries     ing the performance        electronic engine            amount of CO pro-      model RY907000FI
     Power Equipment             enhancing advantages       management system            duced. This new engine generator in Septem-
     (TTI) said it is bringing   of EFI technology to its   greatly reduces Carbon       technology being       ber 2017.
     closed-loop electronic      product lineup.            Monoxide (CO) exhaust        applied to portable     https://goo.gl/KE13sR
     fuel injection (EFI)          The new EFI engine       emissions emitted            generators has the
     technology to its Ryobi     option is featured on      from the engine. Lee         potential
     branded line of porta-      the RY907000FI model       Sowell, president of         to save
     ble generators.             generator and provides     TTI Power Equipment          lives and
       EFI technology has        up to 20% greater fuel     Outdoor Products             prevent
     been used extensively       savings, compared to       division, said:              countless
     in the automotive and       a standard carburet-         The most effective         injuries…
     houseboat industries        ted engine while also      way to mitigate the            TTI
     as an environmentally       improving starting         potential for CO related     began
     responsible advance-        and performance at all     injury is to first address   produc-
     ment in engine tech-        elevations. Most sig-      the hazard at the            tion of
     nology. TTI is introduc-    nificantly, the on-board   source by lowering the       the Ryobi

                                                                             hnn.bz
supplier
      update

     Assa Abloy buys smart lock maker August
       Swedish lock con-       experiences. It is a
     glomerate, Assa Abloy     strong complement to
     said it has signed an     our current focus.
     agreement to acquire        In addition, Mr
     August Home, a            Molokotos said August
     business that makes       Home is very synergis-
     smart locks and smart     tic with Assa Abloy’s
     home access products      Yale brand.
     and services. Based in      August’s focus is pri-
     San Francisco, Au-        marily the DIY channel
     gust Home primarily       with retrofit locks that
     focuses on developing     offer an exceptional
     solutions for the DIY     user and software
     market.                   experience. Through        into recent partner-        integrated into Assa       it loses its indepen-
       According to Thana-     the Yale brand, Assa       ships with Amazon,          Abloy, Mr Molokotos        dence as a more nimble
     sis Molokotos, execu-     Abloy’s focus is on        Apple, Google, Nest         said that they will        startup. The acquisi-
     tive vice president of    full replacement locks     and Airbnb.                 “jointly evaluate” their   tion also highlights the
     Assa Abloy and head of    that are connected           This has helped to        opportunities once         challenges consumer
     the Americas divi-        and served by the          make August Home,           the acquisition closes,    hardware startups
     sion, the acquisition     professionally installed   which has seen lock         which is expected to       face creating big-hit
     of August Home will       channel.                   sales increase by 300%      occur during Q4.           products that result
21   strengthen the compa-       Founded by Jason         year-over-year with           We believe keeping       in big enough sales to
     ny’s residential prod-    Johnson and Yves           more than 260 million       the August culture and     help them compete
     uct portfolio through     Behar, August Home         lock operations and         leadership intact after    with much larger busi-
     the addition of smart     has developed three        500,000 users.              acquisition is vital for   nesses.
     locks, video doorbells    generations of smart         August raised USD25       success for all involved     The acquisition is
     and solutions for home    door locks and two         million in July to help     so we are excited Jason    subject to regulatory
     delivery. He told Secu-   generations of video       fund its recent launch      Johnson will remain        approval and custom-
     rity Info Watch:          doorbells, placing         of new, cheaper August      and focus on imple-        ary closing conditions.
       August is an entre-     them among the             Smart Lock Pro locks        menting the vision.        Financial terms of the
     preneurial company        leaders in the smart       intended to make the          Now in the arms          agreement were not
     that is innovating in     home industry when         high-tech gadgets more      of a bigger company,       disclosed.
     the traditional lock      it comes to technology,    appealing to main-          August will get more         goo.gl/sEzHwt
     space by enhancing        partnerships and retail    stream consumers.           direct help to sell its      https://goo.gl/tt3GCW
     access control through    sales. For example, the      When asked how            products to the masses,
     software and service      company has entered        August Home will be         the tradeoff being that

           GearWrench unveils new brand identity
       Apex Tools-owned          The new Gearwrench       sive new brand identity     ratcheting combina-        line. By the end of
     GearWrench has a          logo, “Forge Ahead”        program to reflect that     tion wrench.               2017, GearWrench said
     rebranding campaign.      communicates the           progress. This new            Looking forward,         it plans to have 4,100
     The company sees its      brand’s approach           visual identity will help   the company plans to       different products
     new identity embody-      toward forward-think-      communicate the high        continue expanding         available for purchase.
     ing the brand’s com-      ing, according to the      quality of our products,    its redesigned product       https://goo.gl/cBBEfL
     mitment to excellence     company. Ray Smith,        our customer-focused
     in manufacturing and      vice-president – mar-      culture, and our com-
     innovation. The rollout   keting, North Ameri-       mitment to innovation.
     involves every aspect     can Hand Tools, said:        The logo it replaces
     of the GearWrench           The GearWrench           has represented the
     brand, including its      brand has grown re-        brand since it appeared
     logo, tagline, colour     markably over the past     in 1996 when Gear-
     palette, typography,      20 years. We’ve under-     Wrench introduced the
     and product design.       taken this comprehen-      first professional grade

                                                                          hnn.bz
supplier
      update

         Irish workwear firm expands in Australia
       Wesport, Ire-            in Australia and New       according Mr
     land-based safety          Zealand to between         Birkill.
     clothing and protective    EUR20 million and            Trading since
     equipment maker Port-      EUR25 million, which       1904, the com-
     west has spent EUR10       will represent about       pany is being
     million buying another     a tenth of its overall     run by the third
     Australian company to      business. Brett Birkill,   generation of
     expand its presence in     chief executive of         the Hughes
     this market.               Prime Mover, told the      family, led by
       Portwest said that       Irish Times:               brothers Cathal,
     due to a non-disclosure      This acquisition now     Harry and Owen
     agreement, the name        follows on from the        Hughes. It has
     of the Melbourne           original acquisition       2,100 employees
     business cannot be dis-    six months ago. It         and sells its
     closed for the moment.     catapults it to the next   products in 110
     Six months ago the         stage of growth.           countries. CEO        Portwest has been growing at a rate of 30% a year and sells in 110
     firm acquired Austra-        Australia’s buoyant      Harry Hughes          countries
     lian company Prime         construction indus-        said:
     Mover Workwear in          try made Portwest’s          The company is            more important part of signs and innovations
     a deal worth EUR7.5        additional investment      working to a 5-year         future expansion. Our to drive this growth.
22   million.                   sensible, while pushing    plan with a growth          sights are firmly fixed            https://goo.gl/ReyT8z
       The second ac-           further into this mar-     rate of 30% per year.       on our new markets of
     quisition will more        ket would “help spread     Although all growth to US and Australia and
     than double the Irish      the load” of mitigat-      date has been organic, we have an outstand-
     company’s turnover         ing risk from Brexit,      acquisitions will play a ing pipeline of new de-

                          Selleys sees UK opportunities
       Selleys is working       standing how cus-          really needed to use          took a bold new iconog-       igation. This straight-
     with Anthem World-         tomers navigate this       design carefully to both      raphy-led approach to         forward approach still
     wide (Australia) to help   category was the focus     appeal to the new Brit-       differentiate from com-       pays homage to Selleys’
     break into DIY market      of Selleys’ launch. Ami    ish consumer, as well         petitors who mostly led       no-fuss Aussie persona,
     in the UK with the         Heath, account direc-      as respect 75 years of        with technology cues.         but allowed the brand
     latest revamp of its       tor, Anthem Worldwide      Selleys’ proud heritage.        Paired with a strate-       to also unify the range
     brand and packaging,       (Australia) told Build.      Creative director,          gic use of colour, the        and complement it
     tailoring it towards the   com.au:                    Marcel Wijnen added:          new range significantly       with a newly refreshed
     British consumer.            Entering such a cat-       Addressing an age-old       simplifies the packag-        Selleys brandmark.
       While Selleys is         egory as an unknown        category problem of           ing hierarchy, greatly          https://goo.gl/D45jfD
     relatively unknown in      brand provides both        intolerable clutter, we       improving range nav-
     UK and competing in        great challenges and
     a category with many       opportunities. While
     established brands,        brand awareness and
     the extreme Austra-        trust will always take
     lian weather condi-        time to gain traction,
     tions provides strong      opportunities such as
     credentials for Austra-    this are rare – to be
     lian brands claiming       able to reassess norms
     superior strength and      and provide customers
     performance. Howev-        with a fresh approach
     er, with up to 40% of      to old category
     consumers walking          problems. Targeting
     away from shelves          both unconfident and
     empty-handed, under-       confident DIY-ers, we

                                                                             hnn.bz
supplier
      update

     Brickworks grows
     masonry business
       West Australian paving and        erate an after-tax profit of $3.9
     masonry company, Urbanstone         million for Schaffer, one of WA’s
     has been sold to Brickworks         oldest listed companies, having
     for $13.5 million. Family-owned     joined the stock market as Calsil
     Schaffer Corporation has            in 1963.
     divested the last of its building     Schaffer Corp made a net prof-
     products assets with the sale of    it of $5.9 million last financial
     Urbanstone to Brickworks.           year on revenue of $215 million,

                                                                                 Subscribe
       The deal does not include         including a break-even result
     Urbanstone’s land and buildings     from its building materials divi-
     in WA, which will be occupied by    sion on sales of $38 million.
     Brickworks under a long-term
     lease with Schaffer Corp.
                                           The bulk of its revenue is
                                         derived from its automotive              Don’t miss out!
       Schaffer executive chairman
     John Schaffer said the sale
                                         leather business, which sup-
                                         plies manufacturers including           We’ll email you the
     would allow the group to focus
     on its automotive leather busi-
                                         Nissan, Mercedes and Audi from
                                         plants in Australia, Slovakia and
                                                                                 summary and link
     ness, its Delta precast division    China.
                                                                                  every fortnight
23   and its property investments.         Brickworks’ portfolio includes

                                                                                       FREE
       Brickworks said Urbanstone        Australia’s largest bricks pro-
     was a logical bolt-on acquisi-      ducer Austral Bricks, Austral
     tion for its masonry business,      Masonry, Bristile Roofing,
     providing additional scale and      Austral Precast and Auswest
     diversifying its product range      Timbers.
     and geographic exposure.              https://goo.gl/wZcpyD
       The sale is expected to gen-                                              Click to subscribe

                                                                                       or go to:
                                                                                 http://goo.gl/lHPt57

                                                                        hnn.bz
                                                                                 HI
                                                                                 NEWS
retail update
                              Mitre 10 NZ posts gain
                              in full-year profit
                                Mitre 10 New Zea-
     in this                  land posted a 38%
     update:                  gain in full-year profit
                              after reining in some
     •start                   expenses including
        Mitretext
               10 New
        Zealand has seen      wages, helping to offset
        its profit increase   some margin pressure
        by NZD1.2             on seasonal products.
        million                 Profit was NZD4.4
                              million in the 12
     • A Tradelink store      months ended June 30
       has opened in          from NZD3.2 million a
       Bundamba,              year earlier, the Auck-
       Queensland
24                            land-based company
                              said in a statement.
                              Revenue from the
                              sale of goods rose to
                              NZD818 million from
                              NZD767 million.              drove growth over the      segments because            earthquake-related
                                The hardware retail        past year.                 they can easily buy         close of the Kaikoura
                              co-operative, whose            Our members are con-     online, and it offers the   outlet. The aggregate
                              shares are held by its       tinually investing in      freedom to get inspi-       of Mitre 10 store sales
                              store-owning mem-            their stores, upgrading,   ration and advice and       rose to NZD1.36 billion
                              bers, supplies goods         expanding and finding      compare products and        in the latest year, from
                              and services to the 81       new ways to deliver the    prices, 24/7.               NZD1.24 billion.
                              outlets in the group.        best in-store experience     Having done their           Cost of sales rose
                              Chief executive Neil         for our customers.         homework online, our        to NZD747 million in
                              Cowie said:                  Complementing this         customers then have         the latest year from
                                We’re cautiously           in-store growth is our     the option to visit their   NZD692 million. Mar-
                              optimistic. There’s been     commitment to create       local Mitre 10 store and    gins were squeezed
                              some softening around        a complete online expe-    take advantage of our       after a mild winter last
                              the edges through the        rience for our custom-     showrooms, range,           year, which saw the
                              2017 election but people     ers as well…               product knowledge           chain forced to mark
                              will still be investing in     Reflecting this, Mitre   and advice. Our recent      down heating prod-
                              their homes and there        10’s online sales grew     kitchen showroom            ucts. This year, Mitre 10
                              will still be homes be-      48% compared to last       rollout helped drive        has faced a wet spring
                              ing built. If you look at    year, and the company      a strong increase in        season. Mr Cowie said:
                              construction, the new        added another 7,000        kitchen sales, com-           It’s still early days so
                              coalition is looking like    SKUs (stock keeping        pared to 2016, and we       hopefully there’s a bit
                              investing in houses          units) to its online       are also rolling out our    of pent-up demand.
                              and having a push on         product range.             new bathroom show-          Seasonal categories
                              infrastructure.                Mr Cowie said the        rooms which we expect       can be under pressure.
                                Mitre 10 Chairman          omnichannel approach       will perform well.          But we’re picking that
                              Martin Dippie also said      has strong appeal with       Total stores fell by      it’s still going to be a
                              a number of external         customers in both          one during the year
                              and internal factors its     the retail and trade       as a result of the           continues next page

                                                                          hnn.bz
retail
       update
                                                                                                                      continued from prev. page
     Tradelink branch opens in Ipswich                                                                                Mitre 10 NZ
                                                                                                                       strong year for our
                                                                                                                       business.
                                                                                                                         Mr Cowie said as
                                                                                                                       part of Mitre 10’s re-
                                                                                                                       structuring it moved
                                                                                                                       to paying member
                                                                                                                       rebates by install-
                                                                                                                       ment rather than
                                                                                                                       at the end of each
                                                                                                                       year, which helped
                                                                                                                       its members manage
                                                                                                                       their cash flow and
                                                                                                                       reduced the financing
                                                                                                                       “bulge” it previously
                                                                                                                       faced.
                                                                                                                         Unlike rivals such
                                                                                                                       at Fletcher Build-
        Tradelink’s Wade Young, Dean Walton and manager Shannon Ryan from the Bundamba store                           ing’s Placemakers
       A Tradelink store has ploys three local staff. to improve the homes                   manager Tim Brox-         and ITM, the Mitre
     opened in Bundamba                Manager Shannon           they already have, and ham said that the new 10 outlets rely less
     (QLD), less than a kilo- Ryan from Springfield it’s always only going                   store was another         on trade sales and
25   metre from the newly made the move from                     to improve the value of example of how the            the split is currently
     opened Bunnings.                assistant manager at        your property.              business was identi-      70% retail and 30%
       Next door is a paint          the Underwood store           There is a definite       fying opportunities to    trade, Mr Cowie said.
     store, over the road            to take the reins at the opportunity in this            continue improving        Mitre 10 stores are
     is a bathroom design            Bundamba location,          area. We have three         their service offering to currently rolling out
     store, a carpet store,          and loves the fact          paint stores within 500 the trade community           revamped bathroom
     and just down the road that he is bringing                  metres of each other        by positioning stores in departments having
     is a Dulux paint store, his 15 years of expe-               and the Bunnings up         convenient locations.     spruced up its kitch-
     plus work is nearing            rience to those who         the road has helped…          We know that plumb- ens departments in
     completion on a new             live and work in his        it’s a hub for tradies      ers prefer not to travel  a move that led to a
     Taubmans store. It is           own town. He told the and people with the               more than 15 minutes      30% increase in kitch-
     now a highly concen-            Queensland Times:           renovation bug.             from a job to get parts, en sales, he said.
     trated area for those             I think people are          This is the seventh       so no matter where our      Our trade strategy
     keen to do some home renovating more than store Tradelink has                           customers are working, is to not just to sell
     renovations.                    ever. They are improv- opened across Austra- we want to make sure                 concrete and Pink
       Tradelink has added ing what they have.                   lia this year, and plans that there is a Trade-       Batts – we’re happy
     to its 220 branch net-          Instead of buying           are under way for           link branch nearby.       to sell them (build-
     work with this location brand new homes                     another 13.                   https://goo.gl/VZ-      ers) the kitchens and
     which currently em-             people are choosing           Tradelink’s general       6dUS                      bathrooms as well.
                                                                                                                         https://goo.gl/
                                                                                                                       sPu7XU
                                                                                                                         https://goo.gl/
                                                                                                                       ZNkzc4

                                                                             hnn.bz
26

        DIGiTAL
           167,000              43,000              72,000           75,000
     Digital is like the Ocean: it connects to everything.
     What makes HI News unique is that we know what our readers like. We know,
     because we analyse the downloads every week.
     That’s also why we can guarantee our advertisers the sort of audience they
     need. We can put an exact number on engagement.
     And, because our costs are so much lower, so are our ad prices. As low as just
     20% of equivalent print prices.
     Come on in. The surf’s fine.
                                                                   Contact Betty Tanddo
 HNN. The home improvement industry digital experts.               betty@hnn.bz or
                                                 hnn.bz            0411 431 832
tech/security
                            Natbuild builds case
                            against IHG
                              More details have emerged regarding the ac-        R1 Alleged information recipient, involved in
                            cusations made by National Building Suppliers           timber.
                            (Natbuild) against a number of hardware-relat-       R2 Alleged information recipient, involved in
                            ed subsidiaries of Metcash, as well as some of          hardware.
                            its individual employees. This information is        R3 Alleged information recipient, involved in
                            provided by two sources: a judgement brought            building supplies.
                            down on 26 October 2017, and by documents            R4 Alleged information recipient, involved in
                            filed by Natbuild with the Federal Court of Aus-        tools.
                            tralia, mainly an Amended Statement of Claim.        M2 Alleged information recipient, manager.
                              The Federal Court has also set out a timetable     M3 Senior manager at IHG.
                            of actions, including attempted resolution of         In what follows, wherever the name of one of
     • Two documents        the dispute through arbitration, and dates for a     these individuals appears in the original texts,
       have emerged         court hearing, should that remain necessary.         HNN has substituted the code reference.
       providing more
27     details about
                              HNN would like to remind our readers that

       Natbuild’s allega-
                            the action brought by Natbuild remains before        Judgement
                            the courts. In situations such as this, events are
       tions as regards
                            often nuanced and complex, and HNN makes no            In a Judgement provided by Justice O’Cal-
       IHG
                            assertions as to the validity of any accusations     laghan on 26 October 2017 the three main mat-
     • In a Judgement       whatsoever. However, as these events are affect-     ters were considered: the addition of further
       by Justice           ing many of our readers — retailers, suppliers       respondents, notably Metcash employees who
       O’Callaghan,         and buying groups — on a daily basis, we do feel     had allegedly been given access to Natbuild doc-
       Natbuild was         compelled to provide as much information as          uments; a request that these new respondents
       granted leave to     we can on this matter.                               provide affidavits describing their access (if
       add additional         We would further remind our readers that           any) to the information; and orders that further
       respondents, and     we in Australia have a very good court system,       forensic evidence be gathered and turned over
       to access further    particularly in the Federal Court, and that we       to Natbuild.
       forensic data        can all have every confidence in their eventual
       evidence
                            judgements. This has been further reinforced         Adding respondents
     • In a Revised         by the Court’s swift action as regards this
       Statement of         matter.                                                Adding further individuals as respondents
       Claim, Natbuild                                                           was opposed by Senior Counsel representing
       laid out further     New respondents                                      the Metcash employees (this relates to R1, R2, R3,
       allegations as                                                            R4 and M2). The source of these names was said
       regards IHG’s          This case has grown to include additional          to be affidavits provided by A1 and M3.
       retrieval and        respondents, and HNN wishes to continue to             It was argued that these individuals should
       distribution of      not reference the actual names of the people         not be joined as respondents. Quoting from the
       material Natbuild    involved. To facilitate the ongoing description,     judgement documents:
       alleges IHG em-      we’ve adopted codes for each of the individual         Senior counsel for the proposed individual
       ployees accessed     respondents. These are as follows:                   respondents submitted that, unlike [A1] (the sec-
                            A1 Access one: person alleged to have made           ond respondent) and [M2] (whom it was agreed
                               initial access of Natbuild website.               should be joined as a respondent), no allegation
                            M1 Manager one: person alleged to be closely         is made against the proposed individual respon-
                               associated with A1 in access, and alleged to      dents that they improperly or illegitimately
                               be involved in distribution of materials. This    accessed the applicant’s database. He submitted
                               person is in a managerial relationship to A1.     that the proposed individual respondents are

                                                                     hnn.bz
You can also read