Hardware & Building Traders

What Hardware & Building Traders does

Hardware & Building Traders (HBT) is an Australian buying group that aggregates independent hardware, building supplies, industrial, paint, rural, garden and timber retailers into a single purchasing bloc of over 1,000 member stores across all states and territories. Founded in 1997 with 13 stores and headquartered in Rowville, Victoria, the company negotiates supply terms and rebates with 500+ national and local suppliers on behalf of its members, distributing rebates on a quarterly basis tied to purchasing volume. HBT complements the buying-group core with in-house developed software — including a member information portal, mapping and demographic insight tools, and a catalogue builder program producing over 200 supplier-branded catalogue pages per month — as well as an annual national conference with 150+ exhibitors, state-level meetings, and an on-road member support team.

HBT operates a two-sided go-to-market: it recruits independent SMB retailers as members through direct outreach, website applications, and industry networking, while onboarding suppliers via an application process with ABN verification. Members retain full ownership and independence, gaining access to pricing, rebates, software, and community events; suppliers gain distribution into a national footprint of independents that would be costly to assemble independently. Revenue is generated on a recurring basis through the buying-group membership model, with rebates flowing back to members quarterly and the company retaining a margin on aggregated purchasing and member services.

In 2025, HBT was acquired by Stealth Group Holdings, a diversified conglomerate, marking a strategic inflection that the company describes as opening a new chapter for its members and suppliers. Leadership rests with CEO Greg Benstead. The organization runs leanly with 11–50 employees, leveraging technology and community infrastructure rather than large corporate overhead to serve its national member and supplier networks.

Name

Hardware & Building Traders

Legal name

Hardware and Building Traders

Website

https://hbt.com.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Hardware & Building Traders is an Australian buying group that aggregates over 1,000 independent hardware, building, industrial, paint, rural, garden and timber retailers to negotiate collective pricing and quarterly rebates with 500+ suppliers, complemented by in-house software and member services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Hardware Retail Buying Group

NAICS

Hardware Merchant Wholesalers (423710), Hardware, and Plumbing and Heating Equipment and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers (4237), Hardware Merchant Wholesalers (42371), Building Material and Supplies Dealers (4441)

SIC

Wholesale-Hardware (5072), Wholesale-Hardware & Plumbing & Heating Equipment & Supplies (5070), Wholesale-Lumber & Other Construction Materials (5030)

akta.pro primary industry

Hybrid Retail-Wholesale Membership Clubs (B2B2C) (CRAEADAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Construction, Hardware & MRO Supply Clubs (Trades/Contractors) (CRAEAEAG)

Keywords

• Hardware buying group
• Collective purchasing power
• Supplier rebate programs
• Independent retail support
• Building supplies network

Headquarters

HQ city

Roseville

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Buying Group Membership: HBT operates as a buying group generating revenue through collective purchasing power. Members pay for access to competitive pricing, exclusive rebates from 500+ suppliers, tailored software solutions, and networking opportunities. Rebates are paid quarterly to members based on purchasing volume.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Hardware & Building Traders (HBT) is a buying group that aggregates more than 1,000 independently owned Australian hardware, building supplies, industrial, paint, rural, garden, and timber retailers to negotiate collective purchasing terms, exclusive supplier rebates, and pricing with over 500 national and local suppliers. Members receive access to an in-house developed software portal containing supplier catalogues, rebate details, market insights, mapping tools, and a customizable catalogue program, plus participation in an annual national conference, regional state meetings, and year-round on-site support from a dedicated Member Support Team.

Product overview

HBT (Hardware and Building Traders) is a buying group platform for independent hardware, building supplies, industrial, paint, rural, garden and timber retailers across Australia. The core offering is the HBT National Buying Group, which provides collective buying power through partnerships with 500+ suppliers, enabling members to access competitive pricing and exclusive rebates. The platform is built around tailored software solutions and a technology portal that members use to access supplier catalogues, rebate information, and market insights. Additional services include mapping tools for demographic insights, a free catalogue program (200+ pages monthly), store locator functionality, annual national conferences with trade shows, state meetings, and an on-road member support team. The architecture is a unified platform with integrated modules rather than separate standalone products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• HBT National Buying Group Membership Australia's leading buying group for independently owned hardware, building supplies, industrial, paint, rural, garden, and timber retailers. Members pay to access collective buying power negotiated with 500+ national and local suppliers, exclusive quarterly rebates, in-house software tools, annual conference participation, state meetings, and year-round on-site support from the HBT Member Support Team.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 1000 member stores operating across Australia as of 2024
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Stealth Group HoldingsflagshipOthersHBT joined Stealth Group Holdings in 2025, marking a new chapter in the company's history. This acquisition reinforces HBT's commitment to delivering greater benefits and opportunities for members and suppliers.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Bunnings Warehouse: Bunnings is Australia's dominant big-box hardware and home improvement chain owned by Wesfarmers. It is the principal competitor that HBT's independent members must defend against, sharing the same hardware/building/garden product categories.
• True Value Company: True Value is a US hardware cooperative supplying independent retailers worldwide. It is comparable as a wholesale-supplier-to-independents model, but is much larger and includes branded retail and full-line distribution.
• Ace Hardware: Ace Hardware is one of the largest US hardware cooperatives, with thousands of independently owned stores operating under a shared banner. It is a broader incumbent that delivers collective buying power and member services similar to HBT, but at significantly larger scale.
• Mitre 10 Australia: Mitre 10 is an Australian and New Zealand home improvement chain structured around independent store operators with shared branding and buying arrangements. Comparable as an aggregated independent-store model in the same hardware/building categories as HBT members.
• Metcash: Metcash is an Australian wholesale distribution and marketing company supplying independent retailers across hardware, grocery and automotive. Comparable as a wholesale/buying-group model supporting independent retailers in Australia, though at significantly larger scale and across multiple verticals.
• Do it Best: Do it Best is a US-based hardware, lumber and building materials cooperative serving thousands of independent retailers. Comparable as a buying group/cooperative model aggregating independents across hardware and building categories, but operates at much larger scale and with broader product range.

Direct peers

• Home Hardware: Home Hardware is Canada's largest hardware cooperative/buying group serving ~1,000 independent dealer-owners. Closely comparable to HBT as a membership-based buying group aggregating independent hardware retailers to negotiate with suppliers.
• Orgill: Orgill is a US-based hardware distributor serving thousands of independent dealers worldwide. Directly comparable to HBT as a wholesale-distribution-plus-buying-group model supplying independent hardware retailers.
• Independent Hardware Group (IHG): Independent Hardware Group is an Australian buying group aggregating independent hardware retailers. Directly comparable to HBT in business model (collective buying power for independents in the hardware and building supplies categories), though smaller in scale.

Regional players

• Reece Group: Reece is Australia's largest plumbing and bathroom supplies distributor serving trade and retail customers. Comparable as an Australian building-trades distributor that supplies through independent channel partners, though it is much larger and vertically specialized.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/hbtnationalbuyinggroup
• Facebookfacebook.com/hardwareandbuildingtraders

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hardware & Building Traders