Bunnings opens stores in Kent and north west of England
Published: 12 September 2017 - Jack Cheeseman
Gary Pallister with Bunnings Broadstairs team members
Home improvement and garden retailer, Bunnings Warehouse, opened its doors to customers this morning at Westwood Gateway Retail Park in Broadstairs, Kent.
Creating over 43 new full and part time jobs in Broadstairs, the new store is 67,000 square feet and the second Bunnings Warehouse in Kent, following the Folkestone store in July.
Officially opened by former England centre-back turned pundit, Gary Pallister, the store offers customers more than 30,000 leading home improvement and garden products from a wide range of global market-leading brands, including some not previously available outside the trade. Other services include everything from paint mixing to key cutting, a garden centre, timber cutting and in-store DIY Workshops to learn a host of skills first hand.
Bunnings’ team members have already been busy ahead of today’s store opening, helping with projects in the local Broadstairs area. These included creating a garden at Pilgrims Hospice, painting an outdoor classroom at Drapers Mills School and filling 11 bespoke planters at St. Ethelbert’s School.
Broadstairs’ complex manager, Simon Woodhall, said: “It is great to finally open our doors. All our team members have worked really hard to get the store ready for opening and have undertaken many hours of training to make sure we have the expertise to help customers with home or garden projects.”
Gary Pallister added: “I’ve had a great time opening the Broadstairs store and celebrating with the Bunnings’ team members. This area is where it all began for me and I am sure it will be a great success.”
The store opening will be hosting two weekends of events on 16-17 and 23-24 September, where customers will be able to enjoy a raft of family activities including the famous Bunning Sausage Sizzle, face-painting, balloon modelling and even join Peppa Pig & George for a Story Time session.
New Bunnings Warehouse to create over 100 jobs in Rochdale
Elsewhere, the retailer has announced plans to open its first store in the North West of England later this year, creating more than 100 new full and part-time jobs in Rochdale.
The store is scheduled to open later this year on Sandbrook Park, and the new Bunnings Warehouse team will receive hundreds of hours of training in both product knowledge and specialist tasks such as paint mixing.
Josh Hyde, regional operations manager, said: “It is a great time to join the Bunnings Warehouse team in Rochdale. There are roles available across all areas, with hours to suit. We want to build a high-quality team so we can build strong business foundations for the future.”
Bunnings acquired Homebase for £340million in February 2016 – and plans to invest a further £500million building a new Bunnings business in the UK and Ireland over the next three to five years.