Comparing Australian and US hardware stores

With 5 tour members from Bunnings and BWP Trust, there was a particular focus on hardware and home improvement stores on the 2022 Overseas Study Tour.

Members visited a Lowe’s Home Improvement store in San Francisco, a Home Depot store in San Quentin, and a Harbor Freight Tools store in Culver City, Los Angeles.

These 3 brands are some of the biggest and most recognisable household brands in the United States. And all three brands are proudly American.

Lowe’s

Lowe’s was founded in 1921 and is one of the oldest home improvement chain stores in the US.

More than 100 years later, Lowe’s has grown into the second-largest hardware chain in the United States behind Home Depot.

Lowe’s San Francisco is a 6,000 sqm store and is the 5th highest trading Lowe’s store in the US.

It was observed by LFRA Overseas Study Tour members that this store catered more to the DIY customer than trade or professional customers.

One point of difference was Lowe’s San Francisco hosting a tool expo in a small section of their undercover car park on the day the LFRA visited.

It was an opportunity for vendors to display, demonstrate, and discuss their latest power tool products. It can be assumed that these power tools are available for purchase in-store.

About half a dozen market-like trade tents were lined up metres from the store entrance for customers to try some power tools and talk to sales representatives.

There was also a barbecue on site for the trade show, but nothing beats a Bunnings sausage sizzle.

Home Depot

 

 

Home Depot is currently the largest home improvement store chain in the world with 490,600 employees across 2,317 stores in the US, Canada, and Mexico.

Home Depot also achieved a new milestone of more than US $151 billion in revenue in 2021.

Their stores average approximately 104,000 square feet of enclosed space, with approximately 24,000 additional square feet of outside garden area.

The Home Depot San Quentin store had an array of products for every room in a home, with an outdoor landscaping and gardening section at the back of the store.

Each aisle had a large orange sign with the product and an image for easy navigation.

 

Harbor Freight Tools

 

 

Harbor Freight Tools is a privately owned company that specialises in discount tools and equipment. Its motto is “Quality Tools. Lowest Prices.”

The company employs more than 25,000 people across 1,300 locations throughout the United States.

Harbor Freight Tools is known for its range of quality, inexpensive, in-house tool brands.

Harbor Freight Tools is able to deliver competitive prices to their customers because they buy tools directly from manufacturers.

They have also invested millions of dollars in their own test labs and factories, with their quality assurance facility located in Camarillo, California.

How do they compare?

“The study tour was a fantastic way to get a first-hand look at what our overseas hardware retail peers are offering their customers, and compare this with our own stores in Australia,” said Hannah Baker, Bunnings Assistant Property Development Manager and 2022 LFRA Overseas Study Tour scholarship recipient.

“It was great to see that the Bunnings offer stacked up. We actually found that some of our features and services didn’t seem to form part of the store design or offer at the retailers we visited, for example, drive-thru lanes for commercial customers and the breadth of leading tool brands that Bunnings has available.

“Overall, when considering its’ 3 strategic pillars of lowest prices, widest range and best experience, it was clear that Bunnings provides its customers with a unique and really strong offering when comparing to many of its US counterparts.”

Lowest prices

Bunnings has a lowest price guarantee where if customers find a competitor’s lower price (including GST and delivery charges) on the same in-stock item that is available for same-day delivery or collection, they will beat the price by 10%.

This is similar to Home Depot, where “If you find a current lower price on an identical, in-stock item from any retailer, we will match the price and beat it by 10%.” The Price Match Guarantee includes the price of the item(s) plus shipping cost.

Although Harbor Freight Tools offers competitive prices, it does not price match.

Lowe’s offers a price match, but it does not beat the price.

Widest range

Bunnings offers over 110,000 home, commercial and lifestyle products across its in-store, online and marketplace offers.

Their range includes plants, gardening equipment and supplies, indoor and outdoor lighting, flooring, heating and cooling, hand and power tools, paint, home storage, kitchens and appliances, garden furniture and play equipment, plumbing and electrical products, building supplies and timber.

Whereas Home Depot, the world’s largest home improvement store chain in the world, stocks approximately 30,000 to 40,000 items during the year in a typical store.

Similarly, a typical Lowe’s-branded home improvement store stocks approximately 40,000 items.

Harbor Freight Tools has a limited product range since it specialises in hand and power tools and related equipment.

Best experience

Many of Bunnings’ team members have a trade background and 80% of hours worked in-store are by permanent employees. Bunnings believes that this helps them provide customers with expert advice and great service.

Bunnings also offers a range of experiences in-store.

These include free D.I.Y. workshops for adults and children, free trailer hire, same day home delivery, hire shop, special orders, cafés, and children’s playgrounds.

The hardware stores on the 2022 Overseas Study Tour lacked those extra services and failed to create a warm, family-friendly environment.