Mitre 10 franchisee battles to stop Bunnings opening next door

David Woodman's family has been in the hardware business for 90 years. (ABC Four Corners: Ryan Sheridan)

Bunnings is attempting to open a store in Jimboomba, south of Brisbane, next to a Mitre 10 franchise.

The Mitre 10 franchisee, David Woodman, argues the plan will put him out of business.

Mr Woodman is trying to use the Competition and Consumer Act to block the new store in the Federal Court.

A small town retailer is battling it out with Australia's biggest hardware giant in the Federal Court to stop Bunnings from opening up literally next door to his Mitre 10 franchise.

David Woodman's story was detailed by ABC's Four Corners last year, with the regional Queensland retailer airing concerns about competition in the hardware sector.

Now, Mr Woodman is trying to use the Competition and Consumer Act to stop Bunnings from opening its site in the regional Queensland town of Jimboomba.

"It's certainly not without interest," the presiding Justice Robert Bromwich noted today.

Mr Woodman's family has been in the hardware business for 90 years.

He bought the store in Jimboomba with his brother and father in 2018 under a franchise agreement with Metcash, the second-largest hardware retailer in Australia after Bunnings.

The large site next to David Woodman's hardware store where a Bunnings Warehouse will be built. (ABC Four Corners: Ryan Sheridan)

Bunnings purchased the vacant lot next door one year later in 2019 and was later approved for a warehouse eight times larger than Mitre 10 Jimboomba.

Mr Woodman's case argues this will put him out of business, saying:

As a result of Bunnings's conduct, Woodman abandoned plans to expand the size and product range of Mitre 10 Jimboomba, because once Bunnings Warehouse opens at the Jimboomba Site, it is commercially likely that Mitre 10 Jimboomba will become non-viable within the short to medium term and therefore would have to close.

"Bunnings's conduct has or is likely to have the effect of substantially lessening competition in the local retail hardware market around Jimboomba," it adds.

Mr Woodman is seeking damages for losses and is ultimately seeking an injunction to stop Bunnings from opening its store.

Bunnings has long defended itself against anti-competitive concerns. (AAP: Dan Himbrechts)

In the Federal Court today, Mr Woodman's lawyers sought a rare order that could allow Mr Woodman's family-owned company to take on the retail giant, without the threat of paying the company's legal bill if he loses. The court heard the figure could reach into the millions.

Bunnings is super-profitable, but it'