Store gallery: Bunnings swings doors open at second UK store today

The Hatfield Road branch is the second Homebase to be converted since Bunnings’ Australian owner Wesfarmers acquired the DIY chain last year in a deal worth £340m.

The UK’s first Bunnings Warehouse opened in St Albans in February, just a stone’s throw away from the second pilot store.

The former Homebase was shuttered in March in order for the transformation to take place. Now a Bunnings Warehouse, it features timber cutting, a colour wall, a children’s play area and a cafe.

Smaller than its local counterpart, the store measures 40,000 sq ft and carries around 24,000 SKUs.

The next steps for Bunnings

With £500m of investment from parent company Wesfarmers, the Bunnings team plans to transform the 265-unit Homebase estate over the next three to five years.

Earlier this year, Bunnings UK and Ireland managing director PJ Davis told Retail Week the business was on course to have the initial tranche of pilot stores – including a third in Hemel Hempstead and a fourth in Milton Keynes – open by June this year.

Davis also unveiled plans to launch a transactional website in the UK, currently in development.

Wesfarmers made a pre-tax loss of £28m in the UK in its maiden half-year as it undertook ongoing restructuring work, cleared out old Homebase ranges and invested in price.

When the deal with former Argos and Habitat owner Home Retail Group completed, Wesfarmers cleared out the Homebase management team and cut jobs at its store support centre, which has now relocated within Milton Keynes.

The retailer’s new leadership team includes finance director Rodney Boys, and is supported by a three-man UK advisory board.