WA:Never fear - GFC II is on the way

AAP General News (Australia)
12-01-2011
WA:Never fear - GFC II is on the way

By Cortlan Bennett

PERTH, Dec 1 AAP - Another global financial crisis may be on its way, according to
Bunnings and Officeworks managing director John Gillam, but tough times are nothing to
fear.

The man who heads Wesfarmers' home improvement and office supplies division - worth
a combined $8.3 billion in sales last financial year - is a firm believer in crisis-based
opportunity.

Speaking to a business forum in Perth on Thursday, Mr Gillam not only brushed off the
threat of arch-rival Woolworths' latest venture, but predicted its Bunnings hardware chain
would expand globally over the next decade.

Woolworths launched its Masters Home Improvement chain in Australia with US joint-venture
partner Lowe's in September, in a broadside aimed at Bunnings.

Mr Gillam says his company isn't losing any sleep.

"We understand what the US joint venture, Woolworths and Lowe's, is doing," he said.

"I don't think we're a complacent organisation - in fact we're a little bit paranoid
about what anyone new is doing - but there's one thing that I've seen from their first
few stores.

"Their ambitions were big and they talked the talk - a couple of dozen stores by Christmas
this year was something that was said on the record.

"There's nothing there we've seen so far that's keeping us awake at night."

Although Mr Gillam said he had a "funny feeling GFC wave two" was coming, the company
was prepared.

"The funny thing about tough times in business is that it's the one time when everyone
who works for you realises that they must do more with less," he said.

"If you're in charge of a business, it's a fantastic time to find a way to harness
that natural thought process in a really positive way.

"If your business is in good health, you shouldn't be scared by it.

"In all my time I don't think we've ever been in better shape nor have we been hungrier.

"The growth prospects we see in the market are huge."

Mr Gillam said Bunnings would first concentrate on its new "battle-hardened" business
in New Zealand, before focusing on the American and African markets.

"We do have very good knowledge about the North and other players in South America
and southern Africa," he said.

"I think at some point we will be moving into another geography across the next decade."

The West Australian-born managing director also took a shot at WA's archaic retail
trading hour restrictions, comparing them to "the 1930s".

Restrictions on what goods could be sold on which days were the biggest barrier to
growth in the WA market, he said.

"For us, the real issue is the restrictions on product," he said.

"It's pretty obvious people want to do things around their home or in the backyard
on the weekend, so being open to customers on a Sunday as well as a Saturday is pretty
(important) for us."

Bunnings' range was a "building block of growth", he said.

AAP csb/jnb

KEYWORD: BUNNINGS

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