Wesfarmers move to rebrand its acquired Homebase chain under the Bunnings facia has suffered further set-backs as UK consumers find the Australian retailer’s format and offering to be completely out of tune with their requirements. The attempts by Bunnings to apply its successful Australian formula of exhaustive ranges for all key DIY and gardening categories has, quite simply, backfired. BBQs, hot tubs, garden furniture, and artificial lawns are simply never going to be as popular with British customers as they are with Australians.
It has now transpired that Craig Castelino shipped in for the role of UK general merchandise manager will be following his Australian boss Peter Davis back to Australia. Announcements have been made that some 40 stores have been earmarked for closure and it being suggested in some quarters that Wesfarmers could now seek to offload the business entirely as losses mount. The issue will be finding a buyer in a sector which is already saturated with competitors – most of which are also struggling.
It has emerged that parent company Wesfarmers net profits for the six months to 31 December fell to AUD $212 million from AUD $1.57 billion in the previous year with losses in the UK mounting as well as problems with its Target store chain in Australia.
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