The Rise and Fall of the Bunnings Rival - Masters

In August 2009, two conglomerates came together with a single goal - to destroy Bunnings. Together, they spawned Masters Home Improvement; the hardware store set to give the big-box hardware chain a run for its money. Famously, Masters failed in its mission, but there's a lot more to the story than you might think.
In this episode, I provide a year-by-year breakdown of the triumphs and failures of Masters and analyse just why it failed so miserably.

Part two of 'The Bunnings Dossier', a three-part Dorainn Cares miniseries investigating the rise and dominance of Bunnings both as a business and a cultural institution.

Second Channel: @SpiderDorainn

References:
Email me for a list of references. You can find my contact details in my Channel Info.

Created by Jake Dorian

[jamiespinks]

It's a shame Masters failed as Bunnings effectively has no competition in the the big box hardware space and so can screw over suppliers and keep their retail prices high. It's not surprising Bunnings never has sales as without competition they don't need to.

[userdaaddwa]

Cheltham Rd in Keysborough Vic had a Masters and Bunnings directly opposite each other, it was a consumers dream. Looking back I wished Masters had succeeded, would have been better for consumers as a whole.

[Tori_]

As someone who works for Woolies, the two big reasons it failed, which you correctly stated, was the winter stock from the USA sent to Australia in summer, and the summer stock coming in winter, plus the Dulux paint withdrawal absolutely killed the paint department. Very accurate video and well put together.

[Evan-ggjr]

during your induction at Bunnings they have a whole section on why masters failed.

[Bossman_aus]

This video has more views than masters had customers.

[sbultitude-paull]

I was one of the few who seemingly liked Masters. I lived in a satellite suburb of Perth when they opened a store in the centre of town, some 5mins away. Nearest Bunnings was 20mins away via a highway. Was a decently stocked store, had everything you'd need, and the staff were all locals and friendly. Not long afterwards, Bunnings started to build a store right next door to it, which then opened some 12 months later. I still get the feeling that they wouldn't have bothered opening a store if Masters wasn't there. From memory even after Bunnings opened there was usually more traffic at Masters than Bunnings, so I'm guessing others felt the same. Fast forward to when they went under, I'd since moved (Mandurah!), and not long after Masters went under in that suburb, Bunnings moved into the old Masters store. I still have an awesome stainless bbq from their closing down week which I got for a song.
It also didn't help in WA that due to some really complex retail laws, Masters was only allowed to open at 11am on a Sunday because they sold whitegoods, therefore we're classed as a "hardware store", so Bunnings could open a full 3 hours prior. Was a bit sad when they closed, a bit of healthy competition benefits everyone.

[lucindacraig]

If I'm not mistaken too, here in WA, Masters could only only open later/close earlier in the day because they sold whitegoods and light fittings.
Say at 9am instead of 7 like Bunnings.
That's why in WA, there are like only 2 Bunnings that sell whitegoods and lighs- Armadale and Bunbury.

[robvegas]

Great video!
That was a wild ride when Masters was opened. It was crazy how close many of the stores were to Bunnings. The Masters in Scoresby was directly across the road from Bunnings. Crazy stuff. I do recall when masters was closing and clearing the stock I was able to enough mulch for my front and back yard for less than 50 bucks.

[SpacePineapple]

What's even weirder is that Woolies was also trying to compete with Mitre 10 in the smaller regional market. The Danks buyout also gave Woolies Home Timber and Hardware and Thrifty-Link Hardware, 2 major M10 competitors. When Masters failed, the two would be sold off to M10 regardless

[xamashee]

Just subscribed. Happy to support and follow local talent ❤

[bradnewman]

Masters failed because it’s hard to get people to break old habits. The store size and range also made it slower to find what your after so people stuck to what they knew, Bunnings. A plumber mate of mine advised me to support Masters and Bunnings 50/50 as we needed both for competition, now we are literally paying the price for allowing Bunnings to have a virtual monopoly on the hardware market in Australia.

[JassieKECG]

well written, well researched and well produced piece, well done mate. Thanks for sharing.

[craighardie]

Bizarrely, Wesfarmers almost immediacy went on to make exactly the same mistakes as Masters made in Australia when they bought HomeBase and launched the Bunnings brand in the UK

[rudbarnes]

It's great to see analysis of an Aussie company for a change!

[irasponsibly]

Putting stores right next to each other is a solid business move - it stops people just going to the closest store, and they have to choose. And then you can compete (or try to).

[one_Racing]

I was excited when Masters started. I had a small landscaping business and was kind of tired of Bunnings domination of the market because it dictated what products I used.
But Masters stocked wierd brands that were generally lower quality, the store layout was kind of wierd, and the kids serving you had absolutely no idea.
Ultimately it was the quality and brands of what they sold that lost me.

[leonkernan]

Lowes had too much influence on it, that was obvious. They didn't know the Australian market at all.

[aaronchristensen]

My mum worked at the Mandurah one they weren’t aloud to adjust the store temperature it was done remotely in Melbourne I remember walking in on a hot summers day and they had the heating cranked 😂

[markb]

US based items and weird sizes didn't help. I dont need a snow shovel in Brisbane. On the whole, we found many bargains. It did hold Bunnings to account.

[aerime]

I only shopped at Masters once at the closing down sale. The $5 garden sprayer I bought still works to this day.