Bunnings has room to grow

By COLIN TAYLOR


Hardware and DIY chain Bunnings is to build a nearby replacement store that will be nearly 60 per cent bigger than its present warehouse in Ti Rakau Drive.

Aspec Construction has started work on the store, which should open in January.

"The new building will have an area in excess of 11,000sq m, including a 1540sq m garden nursery, 7546sq m DIY retail hardware store, and a 2800sq m covered drive-through for trade customers," said Bunnings property manager Dan Kneebone. Offices will take another 180sq m.

He said there would be 300 customer carparks, significantly more than at the existing store. There was also a 700sq m area in the carpark that could be used for one and possibly two retail units in future.

Located several hundred metres to the east along Ti Rakau Drive from the existing store, the site was chosen because of its road profile and good access to Auckland's eastern suburbs.

Murray Barclay, chief executive of the company's landlord, Urbus Management, said the site at 320 Ti Rakau Drive was previously the head office and distribution centre for Montana Wines, which Urbus purchased in March 2003.

"A major factor in the purchase of the property by Urbus was that the site had about 10,000sq m of land available for development," he said.

Urbus applied for a discretionary resource consent, which was issued by the Manukau City Council in April.

"One of the conditions of consent was the installation of traffic signals at the intersection of Ti Rakau Drive and Burswood Ave to provide a controlled and safe vehicle crossing for the public to both the new Bunnings store and to the residential area beyond," said Barclay.

Kneebone said Bunnings had also taken a lease on a further 7000sq m of space at the rear to set up its warehouse.

This distribution centre would handle all directly imported products and service the company's stores throughout New Zealand.

The company had an option for the distribution centre to extend 4800sq m on undeveloped land.

Bunnings first appeared in New Zealand two years ago through the acquisition of Benchmark Building Supplies.

Kneebone said the Australasian company planned to open 20 large format stores throughout New Zealand in the next five years.

Bunnings is a fully owned subsidiary of Wesfarmers and is a major player in Australia, with 210 outlets and almost 20,000 staff.

The group has three warehouses in Auckland and opened its first South Island store in Christchurch last October.

Its Hamilton store opened in April and two new stores are due to open in the Wellington region this year.

Further stores are planned for Whangarei, Tauranga and Rotorua.

In addition to the new East Tamaki store, Bunnings is looking to establish an increased presence in the Auckland region, particularly in Central and West Auckland.