A lot of it has come off the back of a plethora of reality television shows.

If you want to do some paving, install your own kitchen or spruce-up the house with a lick of paint, the mantra is all about “DIY”.

That has been to the huge advantage of some sections of the hardware industry.

While many of the traditional, small family-owned hardware stores are now long gone, for the giants of the industry such as Bunnings it has been a windfall.

The company has been smart in the positioning of its brand – its approach is all about showing people that they can do many simple jobs around the home.

They back that up with in-house “how-to” sessions, pamphlets and brochures and an advertising campaign where its staff are front and centre.

Being big doesn’t necessary mean doing it best, as the difficulties of the Masters home improvement stores have showed.

But for Albury, big has meant Bunnings has been able to capture such a lucrative market that it has now announced a major way forward for the chain on the Border.

And “major” is almost an understatement. Bunnings has decided it will spend more than $27 million on developing a new site, subject to approval.

It would mean a move from the old warehouse at the corner of Young and Wilson streets to land the company has already bought on the corner of the Riverina Highway and Drome Street.

What makes this especially exciting for Albury is the news that about 50 new jobs – in addition to the current team – will be created.

And that is on top of an estimated 230 positions during the construction process.

The current store is rarely anything but busy and so on face value it would seem to be an obvious course for the company to take.

The site has certainly had its limitations. Access can be difficult at times given traffic is so busy, and there is literally no room to expand.

The move also throws up the question about the maintenance of some sort of presence along that stretch of Young Street, especially given the old flour mill site has been vacant for several years.

Bunnings though should be congratulated for showing such confidence in the Border economy.