Temple & Webster takes fight to Bunnings with new online DIY store

Online furniture retailer Temple & Webster is moving into the home improvement and DIY market with an online store aimed at challenging the dominance of Australia’s biggest hardware chain Bunnings.

The company plans to spend $10 million over this financial year and the next establishing The Build, an online store selling home improvement products such as ceiling fans, lighting fixtures, bathroom vanities and wallpaper. Further categories, such as tools and building equipment, will be added over the coming months, Temple & Webster told its shareholders on Wednesday morning.

It’s a notable deviation for the online furniture retailer, which has established itself as a significant player in Australia’s home goods market during the pandemic, thanks to a boom in demand for home office equipment such as desks and office chairs.

Chief executive Mark Coulter said the move was a “natural extension” for the ASX-listed business as Australians were naturally drawn to home improvement projects.

“Australia is a country of home renovators, we love our homes, and we love making them more beautiful,” he said.

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“We believe our expertise in ecommerce and the home will help make The Build become Australia’s first-stop shop when it comes to renovating and redecorating.”

The retailer said the market for online improvement in Australia could be worth around $16 billion and the category was yet to make its mark online, with just 4 per cent of DIY shopping happening online compared to around 25 per cent in the UK.

However, the company will face a tough job when squaring off against Wesfarmers’ Bunnings juggernaut, which – despite only recently launching an online store – holds around 50 per cent market share for home improvement in Australia.