Business leaders say Masters Home Improvement, the latest big box retailer to open at Majura Park, will add to Canberra’s huge over-supply of retail space, but competition will be welcomed.
New kitchen suppliers will feel the impact of the super store which will design kitchens, invite customers to price materials elsewhere and return to have them made to measure.
Housing Industry Association ACT and Southern NSW executive director Neil Evans said Masters would help with affordable housing, but would impact on trades people.
‘‘We do have members who are custom-built joiners, in some respects they will be affected, but we have competition and a market out there where every product and system is welcomed.
‘‘As long as it is fit-for-purpose - that’s our concern.
‘‘Not everything that is imported is great. There are some fantastic imported products, but we have seen over the years, particularly in the building industry a lot of product that state compliance with the Building Code of Australia or Australian Standards and in fact it doesn’t.’’
Masters has been quietly trading all week before a grand opening this weekend which could overwhelm Majura Road and 396 parking spaces with traffic.
A joint venture between Woolworths and United States home improvement retailer Lowe’s, Masters has 15 stores across Australia, 11 under construction and 36,000 products under the roof at the Majura Park store.
Canberra Business Council chief executive Chris Faulks said the Canberra Airport was developing a critical mass to attract customers across a broad range of retail.
‘‘From that point of view the council does not come out with a strong position one way or the other, other than there is a finite amount of money people have got to spend and so when you get more and more retail that often means the smaller retailers struggle to survive.
‘‘The flip side is that you’ve got Costco and Big W and Woollies, now Masters offering customers very good bargains and pricing for their groceries and a broader selection of goods - that’s good for Canberra.’’
Cabinet makers, builders, horticulturalists, kitchen designers with 30 years experience, carpenters and flooring specialists are among 150 staff patrolling polished-concrete aisles.
Store manager Phil Seddon, a butcher by trade with 39 years in retailing said they were not inducted, they were indoctrinated, beginning each day in huddle which culminated with the "Masters cheer - give me an M, give me an A ..."
They spent eight weeks stocking the store to learn where everything from pansies to wallpaper to high-end barbecues with $2000 off the price sat.
Mr Seddon said daylight separated Masters home improvements concept from traditional hardware stores, with a "white-glove" service for people who bought ride-on mowers which were assembled by staff at the customer’s home.
"It’s all about inspiring the customer," he said. "It’s about the female customer as well - 80 per cent of decisions in the home are made by the female."
Purpose-built windows and receding flyscreens, hard-to-source timber in a huge drive-in trade section, encouraging price comparisons and longer warranties were among differentiating features.