Thread: Interesting ABC article on why Masters is not doing well

Originally Posted by FenceFurniture

Actually, the thing that gobsmacked me the most in that article was:

"In the first few years it had failed to grasp the seasonality of hardware — its ties with Lowes USA meant stock was out of season in Australia

I just hate it when electric drills, miter saws, ROS,, screws, nails, timber, washing machines, generators, whipper snipers, etc are out of season. I mean, not finding a in season gas stove in summer when you need it, or a nail gun in winter out of season as we do no building at this time in Australia. I guess I was lucky I got ones that can be used all year round.

SB

Originally Posted by FenceFurniture

Much of this is the long running battle for supremacy between Wesfarmers and Woolworths on all sorts of levels. As an aside - very good to see that Coles have to repay close on $10 mill to some of their suppliers, on top of the $10 mill fine. Fancy forcing the suppliers to give Coles rebates on top of what are no doubt prices that will eventually send the suppliers down, or at least make it hard to earn a decent living. I have always thought that when you supply goods to someone, that they pay you, not the other way around.

And you get paid after 180 days.

Yep. Got a friend in the food manufacturing industry who's told me the crap Coles and Woolies put their suppliers through. Not sure if I'm allowed to say this on the forum, but he's told me that if your product is put on special or if you want it promoted you have to wear the cost.
Apparently Aldi is the place to go if you want to support the bottom of the supply chain. 30 day payment terms and they don't screw the prices down to the last cent.

Again, hope this post isn't against forum rules; I just think it needs to be put out there.

I don't mind either, but my best experience was Mega Mitre 10 in NZ. It had an awesome café with great coffee, food and décor. I was so impressed I didn't even spend much time looking at the shelves!

Originally Posted by elanjacobs

Yep. Got a friend in the food manufacturing industry who's told me the crap Coles and Woolies put their suppliers through. Not sure if I'm allowed to say this on the forum, but he's told me that if your product is put on special or if you want it promoted you have to wear the cost.

These are pretty much standard practices nowadays, in many industries. It certainly isn't restricted to Coles and Woolies. Rebates rule nowadays. In some situations, if the retailer doesn't sell a certain qty, the supplier pays a rebate! Or if the retailer sells a certain amount in the month, they get a rebate (if you know that this goes on, you can score goods at a loss for the retailer. ie: they will sell you an item at a loss to get the sale, which will get them a rebate from the supplier which is larger than their loss).

Many, many retailers across many, many industries have suppliers pay for promo gear, extra signage, special floor space, ads, promotions, etc. You don't make it into a retailer's catalogue or promoted on their website for free.

Its the state of many industries now - not just Coles or Woolies.

I can't believe that no one has mentioned the weekend BBQ!
I know some who visit a big box store every weekend just for a sausage sandwich.

There is a simple reason why Bunnings has more of the market than Masters as shown in the following pics. The nearest Masters to me is an hour away in off peak traffic.

These are the Sydney stores for the two chains. Of the 7 Masters stores listed, 2 are yet to open.

Hi,
Yes, Bunnings is building a new store right across the road to the Magnetmart/Home Hardware store in Tugrenong ACT and we only have one Masters, which is at the air port 27KM from me.
Regards

Originally Posted by Superbunny

I just hate it when electric drills, miter saws, ROS,, screws, nails, timber, washing machines, generators, whipper snipers, etc are out of season. I mean, not finding a in season gas stove in summer when you need it, or a nail gun in winter out of season as we do no building at this time in Australia. I guess I was lucky I got ones that can be used all year round.

SB

SB

I think you are being a little harsh.

In this context "hardware" includes rakes, spades, lawn mowers, edge trimmers, shade cloth and shade structures, out door BBQ settings, seedlings, seeds, plants, etc.
These sorts of things are seasonal, especially in southern AUS -- when you only need to mow the lawn once or twice between the end of May and October.
A big box retailer like Masters using a US centric supply system would be awash with mowers they can't sell in July and August and be out of stock for all of December, January, February and March. For a store like Masters, retailing is about managing the supply chain -- stuff Masters wants to sell in August probably doesn't even arrive in AUS before early July.