Bunnings goes super-sized
Source: http://www.goldcoast.com.au/article/2011/03/03/296441_gold-coast-news.html
BUNNINGS Group is pushing into the city's northern growth corridor with a super-sized offering at Oxenford as Woolworths progresses its home improvement megastore at Nerang.The hardware giant has asked for more than 22,000sqm of floor space for its 5.3ha site in a development application lodged with the council recently.
The application seeks approval for a 17,100sqm Bunnings Warehouse store adjoined by a 5000sqm bulky goods retail showroom on the vacant land just north of Centro Oxenford shopping centre.
Bunnings plans to develop the $39 million project in two stages with its warehouse outlet to be the first instalment.
A Bunnings spokeswoman said Oxenford would be one of its larger stores.
''The bigger stores give us a great opportunity to showcase our range of home improvement and outdoor living products, with new categories including kitchen appliances and glass pool fencing and expanded ranges in areas such as landscaping and kids play equipment,'' she said.
Down the M1 at Nerang, Woolworths is continuing work on one of its new home improvement megastores, which will offer hardware, furniture and electrical goods under the one roof.
The Bunnings spokeswoman said the inclusion of a separate retail showroom in its Oxenford plans was not a response to Woolworths' broad home improvement offering.
She said the company occasionally built extra tenancies next to stores if there was surplus land.
The retail showroom will allow for a range of uses and is to be leased to an as-yet unnamed tenant.
It will join a number of bulky goods retailers in the area including Clive Anthony's, Fantastic Furniture, and Super A Mart which are just across the M1 from the Bunnings site.
Bunnings is also awaiting approval of a store on Brisbane Road, Arundel, which will deliver a larger premises for the existing outlet at Harbour Town.
The hardware king continues to bulk up its Coast presence as Woolworths, in conjunction with US retail giant Lowe's Companies Incorporated, starts rolling out 150 of the as-yet unnamed home improvement stores across Australia.
The Nerang store is expected to open in the second half of this year.
Woolies is keeping its powder dry on the specifics of the new brand but has confirmed that it is looking for other sites on the Gold Coast.
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