IHG sales decline as new CEO takes over

While the hardware market seesawed from decline to rush, Metcash's IHG saw some advantage but ultimately didn't record positive sales. Annette Welsh is now Independent Hardware Group CEO, and Metcash is set to acquire power tool specialist franchiser Total Tools for around six times earnings. The financial year saw IHG continue to execute on its strategy, expanding corporate stores, consolidating previous part purchases, expanding its Sapphire upgraded stores, and making room for more trade-only outlets.

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Bunnings gets 19% lift for March to May

With strategy briefings cancelled for 2020, we've been left to draw our own conclusions about the direction in which Bunnings is heading. While the results from the current half for the company are positive, there is little doubt that challenges remain ahead. As a leader, the current managing director, Michael Schneider has been variously portrayed in the press. The reality is, however, that he is a competent person who combines a high degree of toughness with a lack of egotism that verges on humility. The question he faces in the future, however, is whether he can develop the kind of strategy that creates a significant growth delta, while also steering Bunnings clear of high risk activities.

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DuluxGroup MD calls for Oz manufacturing support

DuluxGroup (Dulux) managing director, Patrick Houlihan told a columnist from The Australian that COVID-19 has been a wake-up call about the benefits of local manufacturing, highlighting the advantages of reliable supply to customers.

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Elders grows its customer base

ASX-listed agribusiness giant Elders said it has lured about 260 new farmer customers and 18 staff from competitor Nutrien Ag Solutions. Managing director Mark Allison estimated at least another 200 customers had indicated they were likely to jump ship to Elders this year, while eight wholesale businesses have also broken away from the Nutrien-Combined Rural Traders (CRT) business model to join the Elders-Australian Independent Rural Retailers (AIRR) network.
   

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Could Bunnings stores get smaller?

Retail services director Zelman Ainsworth from commercial real estate company CBRE predicts that retailers like Bunnings were looking for "less bricks and mortar" to reduce operating costs in the future. Mr Ainsworth said: "Larger retailers in the inner city are looking for smaller format metro stores ... There's a real push from tenants to lease spaces which already have existing fit-outs, so there's less costs involved".
   

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Paint store proposal to expand

An Inspirations Paint store located in High Street, Berserker (QLD) has submitted plans to extend its shopfront. The development application (DA) submitted to Rockhampton Regional Council is for a material change of use for extensions to existing paint shop. Specifically, the application relates to 63, 65, 67 and 69 High Street and 64 and 66 Seigle Street for Lesdel Pty Ltd, the owners of the site.
   

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Court ruling favours Boral in cement price battle

The Queensland Supreme Court has ruled that building materials and services supplier, Wagners must meet lower prices offered by a competitor in the market when selling cement to Boral. Justice John Bond found that a notice sent by Boral to Wagners in October 2019, showing that the company had been able to buy cement from a rival supplier, Cement Australia, at a lower price per tonne than what it was being charged by Wagners, was "a valid and effective notice".

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BGC offers property assets for sale

The company founded by the late billionaire Len Buckeridge, BGC (Buckeridge Group of Companies) has appointed commercial real estate agent, CBRE to sell 47 industrial, office and residential property assets around the country, according to the Australian Financial Review. Sources have also told The Australian that BGC is now believed to be looking to sell down only part of the building materials group. However, this is likely to occur in the months ahead once COVID-19 restrictions are lifted.

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Knauf exploring sale of Australian plasterboard assets

German, family-owned global manufacturer Knauf is understood to be making its Australian plasterboard assets available for sale, based on report in the Data Room column in The Australian. On offer are believed to be the assets that Knauf owned before it gained an interest in plasterboard assets that Amercian group USG jointly owned with building materials supplier Boral.
   

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Contemporary facade design

The "modern" home aesthetic is very popular, accounting for 61% of detached houses in Australia, according to research by BIS Oxford called, "Building Materials in New Dwellings, 2018". This trend is being driven by the "mixed cladding" look, which combines a range of materials from weatherboard and cladding profiles, to render. As a replacement of those masonry elements, James Hardie's EasyTexTM fibre cement panels offer an embedded render-look finish, to achieve the style without the need for wet trades or expensive render texture coatings.

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