Hard Yakka and KingGee parent Workwear Group is set to transition into the Bunnings Group portfolio under Wesfarmers, alongside its sister subsidiary Blackwoods, in a move that is aimed at strengthening customer value propositions.
Industrial supply retailer Blackwoods and uniform retailer Workwear Group have, up until now, formed part of the Industrial and Safety business under Wesfarmers. Following the shift, both retailers will continue to operate standalone businesses.
Wesfarmers chief financial officer Anthony Gianotti said the decision reflected the overarching group’s focus on creating long-term shareholder value. Alongside customer value strengthening, the move is also expected to drive incremental sales and unlock cost efficiencies.
“Blackwoods and Workwear Group hold market-leading positions and have continued to grow share following the successful implementation of Blackwoods enterprise resource planning (ERP) system and the simplification and reset of their operating models last financial year,” Gianotti said.
“With this transition, we see a significant opportunity to leverage greater scale and capabilities to further enhance the customer experience. Working more closely with Bunnings will also unlock growth in the small and medium-sized customer segments.”
The transition comes as both Bunnings and the Industrial and Safety arm have grown or maintained top and bottom-line growth.
Industrial and Safety sales in the first half of FY26 grew by 1.3 per cent to $869 million, driven by both Blackwoods and Workwear Group.
The segment’s earnings also grew, lifting 23.1 per cent to $32 million. But Wesfarmers noted this is broadly in line, excluding restructuring costs.
Blackwoods’ earnings increased, supported by productivity benefits following the reset of the operating model and the cycling of the restructuring costs in 1H25. Workwear Group’s earnings were in line with 1H25. The uniform group made waves, though, securing new strategic customer commitments in the defence sector that are expected to commence in FY27.
Meanwhile, Bunnings – which is Wesfarmers’ largest retail segment in terms of sales, and well-ahead of Kmart Group – saw a 4 per cent lift in total sales in the first half, hitting $10.6 billion. As well as the Bunnings arm, the Bunnings Group also includes Beaumont Tiles and Tool Kit Depot.
Bunnings managing director Mike Schneider said the merging of Industrial and Safety with the hardware group is aligned with Bunnings’ focus on strengthening its commercial capabilities.
“This transition will improve Bunnings’ ability to serve small to medium-sized customers by offering greater access to Blackwoods’ extensive product range and national fulfilment capabilities,” Schneider said.
“Customers will have more choice, better product availability and an enhanced customer experience. Blackwoods and Workwear Group will continue to operate as stand-alone businesses and will retain their customer-facing brands within the Bunnings Group, with Blackwoods continuing to service large enterprise customers.”
This comes as Industrial and Safety sold off its Coregas subsidiary mid-last year. Since then, Industrial’s managing director Tim Bult has worked closely with Bunnings to identify how the businesses could work more closely together.
With that work now complete, Bult has decided to retire in July once the transition is implemented.
Gianotti thanked Bult for his significant contribution working across the Group, including energy, business development and acknowledging the critical role he played in leading the demerger of Coles in 2018.
“Since joining Wesfarmers in 1999, Tim has been instrumental in the growth and success of the Group, helping deliver shareholder returns,” Gianotti said. “Tim has the gratitude and best wishes of the Wesfarmers Board, Leadership Team and the broader Group.”
The Industrial and Safety businesses will transition to Bunnings on July 1, 2026, and their financial contributions will be included in Bunnings’ results for the first half of the 2027 financial year.
Bunnings will continue to disclose key sales metrics excluding Blackwoods and Workwear Group, such as total retail sales and store-on-store sales.
Wesfarmers does not expect to record any material one-off costs associated with the transition and will provide further updates at its full-year results in August 2026.
Together, the combined entity under Bunnings Group is expected to accrue more than double the yearly revenue of Kmart Group when combining FY25 sales. In FY25, Bunnings pulled in $19.5 billion, with Industrial and Safety seeing just shy of $2 billion.
Kmart Group – which includes Kmart and Target – pulled in $11.3 billion in total sales in FY25.