"The functionality for delivery as well is currently being fine-tuned and refined,and our fully transactional online store will be done in Australia by Christmas. The New Zealand network will be done by 2020,"he said.
New South Wales is the next state in line for the retailers'click and collect expansion,and after that,the company will be informed by customer feedback.
If we encounter any substantial problems we'll have to slow down,but right now we're all on track for a Christmas roll-out
Bunnings CEO Michael Schneider
"If we encounter any substantial problems we'll have to slow down,but right now we're all on track for a Christmas roll-out,"he said.
The click and collect roll-out — where shoppers can purchase goods online and pick them up in-store — has involved minor refits of the company's 300-odd stores.
Mr Schneider said the process has been"fairly simple"and involved an extension of existing in-store facilities,and was not going to add"any particular"costs to the stores'operations.
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The effect of the online roll-out on Bunnings'bottom line has been a particular concern for analysts following the announcement earlier this year,with focus being placed on how the retailer will manage the fulfilment of online orders.
Currently,the plan is for existing Bunnings staff to pick stock for online orders,but Mr Schneider doesn't rule out the possibility of an'Amazon-like'online-only distribution centre.
"I’ve learnt in this role to never say never,so we’ll be informed by what customers need and look for and we’ll continue to monitor what other players do in the market as well,"he said.
"But in the immediate short term,the size and location of our network means we can do a lot at a local level."
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Awareness key for online
On Tuesday,the company is promoting its Victorian click-and-collect launch with a sausage sizzle pop-up in Federation Square,an event Mr Schneider hopes will help raise customer awareness.
After years without a digital store,shoppers may need some prompting to start seeking Bunnings products online,but so far the company has not found that to be the case.
A"few hundred"click-and-collect orders had already come through in Victoria despite the service only being online for a matter of days,leading Mr Schneider to be confident shoppers would"find their way".
After de-merging Coles from its portfolio last year,parent company Wesfarmers is betting on Bunnings being a star performer.
The company now accounts for 60 per cent of the group's earnings,recording an operating profit of $1.5 billion in the 2018 financial year.
Earlier this year Mr Schneider revealed the company planned to open between 10-14 stores each year,and on Monday again recommitted to that number as a"long-term"average,but specified some not all would be brand new stores.
"Some of that network growth is about providing newer,better offers for customers in areas with an existing store,some of it’s about building out network gaps,and some of it’s about adding smaller stores to our network,"he said.
The company recently shut the doors of a smaller site in Albion,Queensland and opened a larger one in the neighbouring suburb of Newstead.
"In that case,there was no net new store,but there’s about 10,000 more square metres of retail space,"he said.