Bunnings maintains its high growth rate

The home improvement division of the Australian Wesfarmers Group and its DIY chain Bunnings increased its sales by 10.9 per cent in the first six months of fiscal 2015/2016, thus from July to December 2015, with sales totalling AUD 5.500 bn. Total store sales growth was 11.0 per cent, with store-on-store sales increasing by 7.9 per cent. Total sales in the second quarter were up 10.3 per cent.
Following ten new openings - seven Bunnings Warehouse stores and three smaller format Bunnings stores - the company operated 240 warehouses, 67 smaller format stores and 32 trade centres in Australia and New Zealand at the end of the year. In the current financial year, 16 Bunnings Warehouses are expected to open, with another 16 to 20 outlets in fiscal 2016/2017. Thereafter the company envisages ten to 14 new stores per year.
Wesfarmers believes that the revenue situation could be impacted by the turmoil surrounding its competitor Masters. Without directly naming Masters, the company's half-year trading report states: "Changes in the competitive environment, which could include elevated levels of competitor clearance activity, may result in short-term volatility of trading margins."