Bunnings ups the pace

The Australian DIY retail chain Bunnings has announced an increased pace of expansion for the coming three years. The number of new openings in the Warehouse store format is to be higher than the ten to 14 outlets per year originally planned. The reason given for this in the report of parent company Wesfarmers is that it has invested heavily in sites over the past three years on the strength of the favourable property market situation. At year’s end the network of branches included 211 large-format DIY stores in Australia and New Zealand, as well as 62 smaller outlets and 37 wholesale businesses.