DIY stores for the sultanate

A year after its foray into Brunei's home improvement market, Good Home has established itself as a one-stop shop for locals' home improvement and DIY needs.
Launched last year, Good Home is an affiliate of Goldmyne Hardware Shop, a 27-year-old company in the sultanate that sells construction materials to contractors.
The DIY store started as a response to a slowdown in the sultanate's economy and now caters to a previously unserved market of retail customers who want to buy all the materials they need for home improvement in just one place. While other DIY shops are present in the sultanate, their stocks are either not as affordable or as comprehensive as Good Home's.
"In Brunei when you buy a new house, if you want to do extensions or renovations, you previously could not find a shop that would allow you to do things in one go. Our concept is to be a one-stop shop for everything you want to do," says David Lau, general manager of Good Home, in an interview.
Lau, who says that the company is being positioned as Brunei's version of Home Pro, the Thai home improvement chain also engaged in neighbouring Malaysia, notes that despite the economic slowdown over the previous years, spending power in Brunei has remained strong for the home improvement sector.
"When we were doing hardware, we were only concerned with building a house. Now we are also concerned with building a home," he says.
The company carries 5 000 products, with plans to add 2 000 more before the end of the year. It sells everything from power tools and building materials to furniture and bathroom fixtures. It also plans to bring in pressure pumps and similar products. It sources its items from Japan, China, Thailand, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore. It also gets building materials from Japan and Korea.
As Good Home serves a small market of 400 000 people, Lau says the company has to cater to Bruneians' preferences as well as maintain good relations with suppliers.
The market is particular about aesthetics and price-sensitive, he says, adding that price considerations even prompt Bruneians to cross borders to go to Miri, a neighbouring Malaysian state, for purchases.
To address this, Good Home wants to make sure that its products not only meet Bruneians' preferred surface, texture and look, but also their desired price points.
"We go to the factory directly, so we can cut the price," Lau says. "When we deal with the suppliers, they all understand our situation with our small market. But they're also…