Newsletter
Shop
Login
Menü
Subscribe now
Deep insights, facts & figures: Premium information for the home improvement industry.
- Retailers and suppliers: exclusive insights
- Market analyses and country reports
- Trends in the DIY and garden market
- Latest news and archive
TRIAL OFFER
Online subscription
Continue reading now
Already a subscriber?
How would you describe the home improvement market in South Africa?
Werner de Jager: The market is quite fragmented and very tough at the moment. There is estimated to be a backlog of at least two million houses that still need to be delivered by the government.
Are there figures available describing the market volume?
The market for building materials is estimated at ZAR 102 billion (EUR 6.5 billion) per annum, with ZAR 52 billion (EUR 3.3 billion) through large-chain builders' merchants, ZAR 30 billion (EUR 1.9 billion) through independent hardware stores, ZAR 10 billion (EUR 0.6 billion) through speciality stores (i.e. Plumblink) and ZAR 10 billion through supermarkets.
Who are your target groups?
The middle to lower LSM market (Living Standards Measure). Strong focus on small businesses in South Africa called "Bakkie builders" - for info a "Bakkie" is the South African term for a Toyota Hilux, Ford Ranger etc. This is typically a very small contractor.
And if you are targeting end consumers as well as pro customers - which group is more important in terms of sales?
As mentioned above there is a strong focus on the "pro" bakkie builders, as they make up around 60 per cent of the group's revenue.
When it comes to end consumers, who are the typical customers in your stores?
DIY customers who are doing jobs in and around the house, as well as individual BIY customers who will build their own houses over an extended period of time.
Do women play an important role as customers and/or decision makers?
Yes, they typically do - especially in markets where the husband is a migrant worker and is not at home for most of the time. For example, a large number of mineworkers in South Africa come from the Eastern Cape, Lesotho and Swaziland. The wife will then make most of the decisions on spending on the house. In the end consumer market, females make up around 40 per cent of the customers.
What about the garden market?
There is a good garden market, but it is not something Cashbuild and P&L focus on. We sell the basics, wheelbarrow, hose, basic garden tools i.e. spade, fork and pick.
Why is Cashbuild closing its DIY stores?
The DIY store was an attempt to do a small 400 m² store inside a shopping centre with about 2 000 SKUs - no structural materials as these would be delivered from a nearby Cashbuild store. We had varied success and when we acquired the P&L stores we decided not to pursue the model and decided to convert the "good" DIY stores into fully-fledged Cashbuild…
Newsletter