The effects of one of the biggest shake ups to the UK DIY market in recent years have at last been felt in the north of England, with Bunnings’ first two stores opening north of the Watford Gap.
Rotherham now has a Bunnings store, with Rochdale next in line following a programme of openings that have dominated in the south of the country, starting in St Albans in February 2017 and spreading elsewhere in Hertfordshire and into Kent, Somerset, Essex, Hampshire and Oxfordshire.
The Bunnings brand is expected to progress further north still, as owner Wesfarmers – headquartered in Perth, Western Australia – continues with a £500 million investment programme in the UK.
The pilot programme in the UK has so far delivered “early encouraging results” and 15 Bunnings stores are either operating or have have been confirmed in the UK at time of writing.
Wesfarmers bought Homebase in 2016. Since then, it has sought to establish the Bunnings brand across the UK.