HardwareNews
FLASH #163
Featured in this issue:
  • Bunnings store developments around Australia
  • Bunnings announces latest deal with Uber Eats
  • Mitre 10 inks deal with DoorDash
  • Buddy AI shopping tool for Bunnings customers
  • More automotive products at Bunnings
  • NZ update: Bunnings in New Plymouth and FRT rollout
  • Castlemaine Home Timber & Hardware closing down
  • Makita to acquire Panasonic power tools sub-division
  • Home Depot's real time delivery tracking for large items
  • UK brand JCB Tools enters Australian market
  • Tennant Creek hardware store gets new owners
  • PROMOTED: Senix Australia
Betty Tanddo
HardwareNews Publisher
Sponsored by:
Big box update: Store developments
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The new Bunnings store in Sale, part of the Gippsland region of Victoria, opened in early March. An independent traffic review shows that hundreds of extra cars are expected to flood local roads when a two-storey Bunnings opens at Glynde, approximately six kilometres north-east of the Adelaide CBD. Council has approved amended documents for a proposed Bunnings store in Ulladulla (NSW).

Big box update: Uber Eats delivery
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Bunnings' latest partnership with Uber Eats will see more than 30,000 products available to order via Uber Eats. The service will initially be in 15 locations in Australia, before a full launch across all the hardware retailer's stores in Australia and New Zealand. Bunnings chief operating officer Ryan Baker said Bunnings was attracting a younger customer demographic purchasing items for moving house, such as cleaning products and storage.

Mitre 10 DoorDash deal for delivery
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Mitre 10 will be available on the DoorDash app for the first time, after it struck a new delivery deal with the online platform. Parent company Metcash said the partnership would bring Mitre 10 stores to the platform by the end of the month (April 2026). Initially, customers will be able to purchase about 7,400 products at more than 25 stores nationally through the app.

Big box update: Buddy AI
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Bunnings has created an AI shopping agent "Buddy" that suggests products for complex home improvement projects, generate a shopping list from a photo of a handwritten note, and connect customers with local tradies when a job is too big to handle alone. It has partnered with Google Cloud to become the first Australian retailer to use Google's Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience solution at scale.

Big box update: Automotive products
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Bunnings customers will have access to 500 additional automotive products rolling out throughout March and April, which builds on the 700 already available. This takes the total in-store automotive range to more than 1,200 products. There will be a stronger physical presence in stores with more bays catering to the wider range and new brands including Liqui Moly (oils) and WIX Filters (oil filters).

New Zealand update: Bunnings
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A new Bunnings Warehouse is mooted for a location in New Plymouth, a city on the west coast of New Zealand's North Island. The hardware retailer plans to trial facial recognition technology in two of its 51 New Zealand stores from April 2026. New Zealand telecommunications company 2degrees is now officially the exclusive telco and energy partner for Bunnings Trade PowerPass.

Castlemaine Home Timber & Hardware store prepares to close
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One of Castlemaine's longest-running businesses Castlemaine Home Timber & Hardware, formerly Odgers Hardware, is set to close its doors. Co-owner Brian Coffey told HardwareNews: "The business wasn't making good money anymore and we couldn't sell it, so we had no option but to close." Even though there is no official final closure date yet, Brian said he and his wife Ann are selling off remaining stock.

Makita to acquire Panasonic power tools sub-division
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Panasonic power tool parts may become more available in 2027 after Makita announced it is acquiring the relevant Panasonic sub-division, a small part of Panasonic's Electric Works Company.

Real time delivery tracking for large items
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US home improvement retailer Home Depot announced during a recent earnings call that it will broaden its real-time delivery tracking for big and bulky products across all categories. This feature is primarily aimed at its professional customers (tradies) who rely on timely shipments of items such as timber, gyprock, flooring and concrete to keep projects moving smoothly.

JCB Tools enters Australian market
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The rollout of UK brand JCB Tools in Australia and New Zealand will be led by CW Brands. From July 2026, the rollout will be centred on a professional 18V cordless platform supported by a wide range of categories including power tools, accessories, outdoor power equipment, pressure washers, generators, water pumps, and industrial vacuums. CW Brands confirmed the initial launch represents Stage 1 of a broader rollout strategy.

Tennant Creek hardware store gets new owners
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In early 2025, the Tennant Creek community in the Northern Territory was alarmed when the town's only hardware store announced it was up for sale - and if there was no buyer, it would shut down. However local townsfolk were delighted when Lachy Manns, who has lived in Tennant Creek for just over 10 years, and his partner, Jennifer Francis, decided to buy it.
PROMOTED
SENIX Australia
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Every independent retailer in Australia knows about the Power Tool Paradox. What seems like a great sales opportunity instead turns out to be more of a "convenience" sale to tradies, because major retailers have all but wiped out the potential for small independent businesses to compete. Until now that is. For independent retailers, SENIX offers a trade-specified product at an accessible price point


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