Change the mindset

Brunei's home improvement market has weathered a prolonged economic slump and weak prices as more stringent requirements for home purchase financing compel homeowners to renovate and improve on existing properties.
"In the past two to three years, we have realised that more homeowners are rebuilding or renovating their homes because it is much harder to get loans approved for new houses now," confirms David Lau, general manager of Townview Sdn Bhd, the company that runs local home improvement retail chain Good Home. "When the economy picks up, and it becomes easier to get loans, these people might no longer be interested because they have already renovated their homes."
Good Home's assortment policy is described by Lau as: "Right now the economy is not as good, so we are taking the prices of the products into account. When the economy is better we will look for products that may cost a bit more."
Brunei's home improvement market is highly fragmented, with more than 30 players identified in a public listing to be catering to the home and housewares needs of a general population of 421 000. Most of these companies sell to both the residential and professional clientele. Two - Good Home and Mr. DIY, a franchise from Malaysia - specifically target end-users.
For Good Home, the move to focus on just home owners was a result of the weaker economy. The company, which started operations only in 2017, was established by parent Goldmyne Hardware Shop as a means of tapping into the niche segment when construction projects started slowing down.
"In the past, our parent company only focused on contractors and construction projects. We never focused on the end users. But for Good Home we are targeting home users as well because we want to break out of our traditional mould. Also, the economy is struggling. Projects are becoming less, so we are now shifting our focus to the end user market," Lau says.
The majority of the stores are located in shops, although box type venues like The Tool Box - owned by Low San Hardware, one of Brunei's oldest hardware establishments, and a dealer affiliate of American Do It Best cooperative - also exist. At least two retailers operate exclusively from malls - Good Home, which currently has two mall-based outlets and a third one opening this year, and Mr. DIY, which operates three branches.
Some home improvement stores in the country, the neighbouring Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak, and Singapore look to consumer fairs for exposure. "We…