Hardwarehouse

Hardwarehouse was a former large hardware chain, with stores all over Australia and New Zealand, and in competition with Bunnings Warehouse. Hardwarehouse developed the hardware warehouse concept in Australia based on comparisons to B&Q (Block and Quayle) in the UK, and to a lesser extent, Home Depot (in the USA). Along with BBC Hardware, Hardwarehouse became the largest independently owned hardware retailer in Australia. In 2001, The Howard Smith Group, owners of BBC Hardware and Hardwarehouse (major competitors of Bunnings), was bought by Wesfarmers Limited (the owners of Bunnings), giving Bunnings extra several dozen stores, many of them large Hardwarehouse stores in sought-after Sydney and Brisbane where the Bunnings formats had completely failed to take hold, plus stores in New Zealand.