Newborn Excitement: Introducing Bowens Heidelberg

Heidelberg Joins the Bowens Family

Bowens is a family company – great family of people, with a respectable number of ‘family’ stores servicing the building trade.

On the first of July 2025, our newest born facility opened its doors to the trade market in the suburb of Heidelberg, and including the surrounding suburbs of Ivanhoe, Eaglemont, Bulleen, Northcote and beyond.

Adding new facilities and launching innovative products, systems and ideas always bring new energy to an organisation. I know our staff, and particularly our managers, are incentified by the fact that their company is continually investing in the future.

John Bowen commented in the March 2015 opening of our Port Melbourne store: “Growth creates energy and brings with it some good opportunities. Adding to our network is also good fun; it would be a boring place if we’re stuck with a future the same as (today).”

In the 1980’s I went a bit ‘gung-ho’ as I pursued the idea of ‘satellite’ branches – smaller branches in older established areas in Melbourne. It was an idea that did not really work despite one in South Melbourne that only closed because of a 100% rent increase. Another branch at Seaford that we opened with great fanfare eventually closed too due to poor on-site management and poor support office control.

But to make it clear – that was the eighties when this company lacked the ‘tools’ and the ability of the M.D. at the time (me!), to properly execute what was probably a reasonable plan. This new branch in Upper Heidelberg Road is small, but only in comparison to the Croydons, Eppings, Meltons, Hastings etc. It is magnificently set-up with a full range of timber and building materials – plus easy access and smack in the middle of a group of suburbs that would not be familiar with the Bowens name. We have to prove it can work but I am energised by the prospect that it WILL!

“It is magnificently set-up with a full range of timber and building materials”

The main branches that I ‘created’ were Bentleigh East (1976), Croydon (1978), Rowville (1981), Hallam (1988), Taylors Lakes (1994), Laverton North (2002), and Epping (2008). I can at least say these branches have prospered … but not without some big upgrades, pull-downs and rebuilds that finally proved those areas to be the right choices in growing our business.  

On each occasion the commencement of a new branch was greeted with excitement (“creating energy … and good opportunities”). However, unlike today, and using our new Heidelberg store as the perfect example, the Bowens management of 2025 have perfected the planning and execution processes. While this new store has yet to prove its sales and profitability potential, the facility as such is magnificent and (I think) the best presented ‘newborn’ I’ve witnessed! The final test of course will be the acceptance or otherwise from the building industry – that builders will come to us and stay with us, because service, product range and pricing will be to the standards they are looking for and expect.  

The successful launch of Heidelberg follows that of Cheltenham a couple of years ago. Cheltenham was our first ‘green field’ newborn with (in no particular order), Belmont, Brunswick, Melton, Pakenham, Phillip Island, Warragul and Port Melbourne having been created out of existing and relatively OLD buildings and sites. The Heidelberg site had been a car yard/showroom and only required minimal renovations.

Fifteen years ago, John Bowen decided that before we grew our site footprint, we “repair the decaying assets that had enabled our journey (through the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s)”. He correctly believed our systems were not sufficiently good enough at that point to grow our network. “We will reinvest, while simultaneously building our capabilities as an employer and focused provider of materials to building professionals.”

That plan – reinvesting/rebuilding our existing sites as well as investing in staff, new systems and new management happened over the following years of 2008-12. Once this ‘reinvestment’ was completed the stage was set to deliver on building new locations, a new Trussplant and a continuing focus on staff training and better systems. This focus continues today.

“That plan – reinvesting/rebuilding our existing sites as well as investing in staff, new systems and new management happened”

I give credit to my father who took up an offer from Theo Millard in 1966 to buy the timber and hardware business Theo owned in Mount Evelyn. No property was purchased but a block of land owned by the Victorian Railways was leased by Dad. Theo held on to his joinery business (and properties), and both parties went separately and successfully on their way. Theo stuck to his ‘knitting’ which was joinery, and Dad to his main interest which was merchandising.

All this really happened by accident as my father certainly didn’t have plans to build a branch ‘network’ – he just grabbed a ‘one off’ opportunity. Whichever way, I think it did awaken him to the idea of ‘branching out’. North Melbourne’s history was all about machining timber products, re-sawing of Oregon, country wholesaling and joinery – from 1894 to 1966 that was the basis of Bowen & Pomeroy’s growth, and success. But soon after Dad’s Mount Evelyn move, he decided to purchase four hectares (10 acres) of land at Hastings in 1970. This second branch was opened and managed by 26-year-old Jeff Harvey – Sadly, Dad died suddenly in May 1971, but he had started something … with Bowens Heidelberg continuing a journey ‘begun by accident’!

Heidelberg is being managed by Julie Shortt who spent 18 years at our Croydon Branch starting in hardware. Julie follows the well-trodden path taken by 15 of our current Branch Managers, plus other senior managers who started with Bowens either in our timber yards and/or hardware department/sales. The domino effect throughout the company ignites and reignites the hopes of any staff who want to progress within Bowens. Like a newborn baby – we welcome our ‘latest’ branch into the Bowen Family!