21 April 2020

Bunnings' Airport store set to open in May

| Ian Bushnell
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An aerial view of Majura Park, showing the site that Bunnings will occupy. Photo: Canberra Airport.

The new Bunnings Warehouse store at Canberra Airport’s Majura Park Shopping Precinct is set to open in May, with an 180-strong local team.

Bunnings said that 40 staff would be transferring from other stores to the new $42 million Airport site, while 140 were new team members.

Bunnings Warehouse Canberra Airport Complex Manager, Robert Manning said 30 of the new team members were also qualified tradespeople and experts, and would be on hand to provide do-it-yourself advice.

“Bunnings provides a wide range of meaningful career development options for all team members, and I’m confident our new recruits will relish the opportunity to learn and grow with us,” he said.

Bunnings Warehouse at Fyshwick will stay open for now.

The decision to open a new store at the Airport had led to speculation about the future of Bunnings’ Fyshwick store but Mr Manning said it would remain open and continue to trade as normal.

“We have not yet made any final decisions about the future of our Fyshwick store but will continue to keep our team members and the community informed,” he said.

Bunnings has moved into the former Woolworths Masters site at Majura Park and has been refitting it since late last year.

Woolworths closed its Masters stores in December 2016 after the home improvement chain lost more than $600 million over four years.

Head of Property at Canberra Airport Richard Snow said the Airport had been watching Bunnings transform the building with great anticipation.

“When the doors open in a few weeks, Bunnings’ selection and events will add more value to shoppers who want a wide variety of retailers, like Bunnings, Costco, Aldi, Big W, and Woolworths, across a single location,” Mr Snow said.

Mr Manning said Bunnings looked forward to supporting community projects and fundraisers, as well as providing free DIY workshops.

Bunnings at present has a total of 326 stores across Australia, with four of those located in the ACT – Gungahlin, Tuggeranong, Belconnen, and Fyshwick.

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I said here when Masters closed that one of the problems was the isolated location of the store. It was inconvenient and time-consuming for tradies to go all the way to Majura Park when the Bunnings Fyshwick store was right in the middle of Canberra’s industrial heartland close at hand.

I can’t see tradies making the trek to the Airport whilst the Fyshwick store is still there. Therefore I believe that a deal has already been done to close the Fyshwick store a few months after the new store opens, and that the long mooted new Canberra Railway Station will be built on the site. I suspect that most people in Canberra are thinking the same thing right now…

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