Bunnings' 'monopoly' over the gardening sector has prompted calls for the retail giant to face the same scrutiny as Australia's large supermarket chains.
Members of Australia's plant and greenlife industry are concerned that Bunnings' immense market power is negatively impacting suppliers and reducing options for consumers. About 25,000 people are employed by Australia's greenlife sector, which covers businesses and organisations that cultivate seeds, plants, shrubs and trees to be sold on to gardeners.
Paul de Jong owns a small greenlife business, Canberra Colour, which grows 100,000 seedlings of hundreds of different plant varieties at a time. He says the market has changed a lot in the past 30 years, and that's limiting options for consumers. "A lot of small retailers have disappeared, and a lot of the product is just going to big retailers now they sort of own most of the market," he said.