The Magnet Mart Story

Magnet Mart is family owned home improvement retailer operating seven stores across the ACT and southern NSW. Wholly owned by the Donaghue family, Magnet Mart is renown for friendly, knowledgeable service and competitive pricing.

The beginnings of the Magnet Mart story go back to the opening of Paul's Home Centre in November 1972 in what was then the new commercial area of Phillip, ACT. This store presented an innovative combination of traditional hardware lines together with home décor and houseware products.

In 1976 a second Paul's store was opened in the north Canberra centre of Belconnen, further expansion occurred in 1982 with the takeover of a hardware store in Goulburn, NSW and the development in 1985 of the first Magnet Mart store in Queanbeyan.

The opening of the Queanbeyan Magnet Mart store marked another innovation in hardware retailing as it was the first warehouse store to open in Australia. The new store name, Magnet Mart, was aggressively launched and became known throughout the region for its product range and competitive pricing.

All stores converted to the Magnet Mart name in 1993. A new format store was developed and opened in the industrial estate of Mitchell, ACT in 1995. The design of this store combined warehouse flexibility and low operating costs with the proven product range that has distinguished all Magnet Mart stores since the early days of Paul's Home Centres.

In 2002 Magnet Mart moved into a larger format warehouse retailing arena with the opening of a 13,500 square metre complex in the new Canberra development of Gungahlin. The Gungahlin store has a unique layout and incorporates enhancements and innovations based on Magnet Mart's extensive local and international research.

The end result is unique to home improvement retailing in Australia and has won widespread acclaim with the hardware industry's top awards for two years in a row (2002 and 2003 NSW Hardware Industry Association and TABMA Awards).

Magnet Mart's future development is based on the Gungahlin store model and continues to add new design approaches and new retailing concepts. Continual improvement and innovation will see new stores in other regional NSW centres win industry acclaim and customer praise.