Thread: Masters Home Improvement

Hi, in which suburb is it about to open?
Regards
Les

Ellenbrook Les, getting closer.....

Their website says that are opening in September 2012. I suppose that is imminent .
Les

Interesting, from the outside it looks finished, but their is probably heaps going on internally.

The site had construction fences all around it but last week they took them all down, and the opening soon sign is now up.

Don't expect them to be cheaper than Bunnings nor have as good a range in most things.


I was pretty disappointed when they opened near me.



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I went to my closest yesterday to get one of those 3 packs power things (like timer) and a remote to turn items on and off. Local store had for 29 dollars but no stock, They rang another and was told I was coming but they had them for 39.95. They did honour the 29 bucks from the first store but 10 bucks difference with no explanation why??

Glad to start here some different types of stories about Masters.

I don't think I've posted thisbefore, but my 4 visits so far have been mixed experience. I've twice come away without buying because the staff couldn't help me. Once when I was looking at poly finishes, the two staff resorted to reading the back of the cans and then got it wrong. The supervisor actually started to tell me "there's no such product" but then backed off.

On the flip side, I have also purchase several items after getting helpful advice from staff.

Woolies are in the market because they saw what Wesfarmers gets out of Bunnings and they want some too. It won't be long before we're not comparing and contrasting them to the Big Green Shed but finding similarities and calling them the Big Blue Twin.

They are well worth a look though especially when they first open in your area. And who knows, maybe between the two products lines will actually expand.

I enjoyed the visits to our Masters up her, friendly stafe, very clean store and i was pleasantly surprised with the range available. My Mother shops there all the time now instead of bunnings. Masters even sell very nice gun safes i think its the American influence lol

Originally Posted by dabbler

And who knows, maybe between the two products lines will actually expand.

My guess is that product lines will actually contract - this style of store is mostly interested in what sells and ideally what sells in volume. With competition (i.e. going from 1 supplier to 2, hence a split of the available sales) you may actually see both eliminate lines that now sell below a "sales volume limit". Just hypothesising.

Originally Posted by new_guy90

Masters even sell very nice gun safes i think its the American influence lol

I've seen gun safes in our local Bunnings also.

There is one coming to Cairns soon too, within spitting distance of Bunnies.

Originally Posted by Vernonv

My guess is that product lines will actually contract - this style of store is mostly interested in what sells and ideally what sells in volume. With competition (i.e. going from 1 supplier to 2, hence a split of the available sales) you may actually see both eliminate lines that now sell below a "sales volume limit". Just hypothesising.

Yep I think you're right there. Contracting product lines are a sign of the times in retail it seems. Just wishful thinking on my part I guess.

There was a media story doing the rounds last year sometime, where Coles confirmed they were trialling a smaller range of brands and product sizes in selected stores across the country. I think it was linked to increasing the number and market share the store brand lines. Or to make space for their clothing lines. Bunnies have/are planning to extend their product range before Masters really enter the fray full-strength. (If not there already - look out for pre-fab kit homes coming to your local Big Green Shed.)

Cliff - that's were you want them - right next door to each other. If they're in your part of the world, they might as well be handy.

I am just looking forward to the facy that Masters will be less than 5 mins from my house where as bunnings is at least 20 - 25 mins away.

Plus I here they sell more woodworking lines than does Bunnings.

I am not sure if that is true, just what I hear, so I hope it is true.

Originally Posted by Arry

Plus I here they sell more woodworking lines than does Bunnings.

I am not sure that that is the true situation except in relation to timber itself. They do have a wider range of DAR timbers which are very well presented. However, if say, we take as a benchmark, the price of a nominal 2" x 1" (I forget what the dressed size is) Tassie Oak (which they call Aussie Oak) in 2.4m lengths , as I did recently, you will find that Bunnings is cheaper.


Paint tends to be the same price and they do have a different range of products, sometimes better - eg their range of heat shrink plastic insulation is much better - but across the board, I have found Bunnings to be significantly cheaper and with a better range of good-better- best different quality price point products.


Even though, I can buy the Woolies Wish gift card at a 5% discount through my old employer's social club and that is accepted at Masters', I still prefer to go to Bunnings because sometimes the price differences can be quite a lot.


Consider them more like an upmarket retail Mitre 10 shop than a Bunnings.


They do give excellent attention to customer niceties like toilets though. They have the cleanest, best laid out toilets around.


They only have self serve cash registers and you will pay 5c for a plastic bag to carry your purchases if you want one. I never see the availability of free cardboard boxes like I do at Bunnings. If you want to pay through a living human being, I think that you can do that via their help desk.

There will be no shortage of staff to help during the opening week and after the first few weeks, there will still be adequate staff but more reliance might need to be placed on the call buttons that they have in each department to summons staff to where you need help.


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Yes I agree about the toilets, I had to use ne in Bunnings the other day, I almost dry retched it was disgusting.