Woolworths dobs on Bunnings

By Aimee Chanthadavong

Woolworths has confirmed with Retailbiz that it has lodged a complaint with the Australian Competition and Consumer Competition (ACCC) over the behaviour of Wesfarmer’s hardware retailer Bunnings.

Clare Buchanan, Woolworths spokesperson, said a number of suppliers had brought their concerns about Bunnings’ conduct to Woolworths.

“Competition law exists to protect small, medium and large businesses and obviously the suppliers have come to us with their concerns and we felt that we needed to bring it to the attention of the regulator,” she said.

While it is being active in reporting the complaint, Buchanan said it is the ACCC’s decision to whether to act on the complaint.

Woolworths is currently in the process of securing150 large-format hardware stores in a joint venture with US-based hardware retailer Lowes.