Newsletter
Shop
Login
Menü
Subscribe now
Portugal's number two is pursuing ambitious expansionary goals, and not only in its home country: a first store is to be launched in Spain in 2006
The end of October saw the opening of Mestre Maco’s latest new store at Aveiro, around 200 km north of Lisbon. The store is located in a retail park, where the building regulations prevented the addition of a garden centre, as is the case with 14 of the company's 21 DIY stores. The solution for this kind of store without any outdoor area is to integrate the garden products into the DIY concept. In the case of this new store, approximately 20 per cent of the overall 4 000 m² of floorspace is taken up by the green segment, which also stocks a small range of live plants.
The new DIY store in Aveiro was launched at the end of October.
Mestre Maco offers its full range of products in the new store: decoration and soft furnishings, wood (including kit furniture), garden products, electrical/lighting, hand and power tools, machinery, hardware, plumbing, bathroom accessories and seasonal articles (e.g. Christmas decorations).
About 75 per cent of the products are sourced from suppliers whose companies are based in Portugal. However, chief executive António Cruz estimates that only around 25 per cent are actually manufactured in Portugal. What is more, Mestre Maco is the biggest member of the Spanish buying cooperative, Brico Group, which now numbers 68 affiliated DIY stores.
Mestro Maco offers its full range of products on 4 000 m².
Especially good sales are achieved by the categories of decorating, soft furnishings, kit furniture and gardening. António Cruz is convinced that décor and garden lines are ideal categories to complement the core DIY products.
So far there are not any private labels on the Portuguese DIY retailer’s shelves, though the company is currently working on its market approach and the appropriate strategy. Brico Group does offer some “BG” private label products, which are as a rule sourced from Spanish manufacturers or are direct imports from Asia.
With regard to the company’s plans for expansion, their aim is not to be limited to Portugal but to regard the whole of the Iberian peninsula as a potential market. As António Cruz explains, where the Portuguese market is concerned, the company has plans for seven new stores in the next two years – 2006 and 2007 – and eight more are under negotiation. “We want to be represented by 40 stores in Portugal by the end of 2010,” he says.
About 20 per cent of the floorspace is given over to garden products.
The Mestre Maco DIY retail concept, which is based on stores of 2 000 m² to 4 000 m², is to be implemented in Spain as well in the future. A first approach to the Spanish DIY market was made in 2003 through membership of Brico Group. “Last year we began to look for locations for our DIY concept in Spain. We want to open the first store there in 2006. We are following an extremely ambitious expansion plan – with 25 new outlets scheduled for opening by the end of 2011.”
The company has 21 DIY stores and a combined retail area of more than 60 000 m² in Portugal, making it number two in the DIY market after the French Leroy Merlin group (with Leroy Merlin and Aki). Its sales were up by 35 per cent in the third quarter of 2005, or 9.5 per cent like-for-like, in spite of the difficult economic situation in Portugal at present.
Bathroom fittings and accessories are displayed on two levels.
Mestre Maco was established by Group A. Silva & Silva in 1994 as a builders’ merchant chain. By 2000 eight stores had been opened, catering to consumers and trade on the same space but “without either a clear store concept or a clear marketing vision”, according to António Cruz.
After Group A. Silva & Silva had acquired a majority interest (51 per cent) in 2001, the marketing approach was redefined and the DIY store concept was outlined.
The years from 2001 to 2003 were “years of challenge and change”. There were significant changes at all levels of the company, changes to IT systems, internal procedures and the personnel policy. During this period twelve new stores were opened and three closed down.
Furniture kits and soft furnishings are among the best-selling mainstays.
In 2003 Group A. Silva & Silva took over the remaining minority holdings, thereby gaining 100 per cent control of the shares.
2004 was a year of consolidation with just one new opening. But then the expansion programme was continued in 2005, “against the background of a clear business vision and a well defined marketing approach,” in the words of António Cruz. Following four new openings and one closure, and a total of 21 outlets as a result, Mestre Maco now regards itself as the market leader in Portugal by number of stores, and as a challenger to Aki in terms of sales. As António Cruz summed up the company's position, “Mestro Maco is the most important independent DIY chain in the Iberian peninsula.”
Mestre Maco
Headquarters: P-2840-999 SeixalNo. of stores (11/05): 21Total sales area (11/05): 62 000 m²Net turnover 2004: € 44 mio
The new DIY store in Aveiro was launched at the end of October.
Mestre Maco offers its full range of products in the new store: decoration and soft furnishings, wood (including kit furniture), garden products, electrical/lighting, hand and power tools, machinery, hardware, plumbing, bathroom accessories and seasonal articles (e.g. Christmas decorations).
About 75 per cent of the products are sourced from suppliers whose companies are based in Portugal. However, chief executive António Cruz estimates that only around 25 per cent are actually manufactured in Portugal. What is more, Mestre Maco is the biggest member of the Spanish buying cooperative, Brico Group, which now numbers 68 affiliated DIY stores.
Mestro Maco offers its full range of products on 4 000 m².
Especially good sales are achieved by the categories of decorating, soft furnishings, kit furniture and gardening. António Cruz is convinced that décor and garden lines are ideal categories to complement the core DIY products.
So far there are not any private labels on the Portuguese DIY retailer’s shelves, though the company is currently working on its market approach and the appropriate strategy. Brico Group does offer some “BG” private label products, which are as a rule sourced from Spanish manufacturers or are direct imports from Asia.
With regard to the company’s plans for expansion, their aim is not to be limited to Portugal but to regard the whole of the Iberian peninsula as a potential market. As António Cruz explains, where the Portuguese market is concerned, the company has plans for seven new stores in the next two years – 2006 and 2007 – and eight more are under negotiation. “We want to be represented by 40 stores in Portugal by the end of 2010,” he says.
About 20 per cent of the floorspace is given over to garden products.
The Mestre Maco DIY retail concept, which is based on stores of 2 000 m² to 4 000 m², is to be implemented in Spain as well in the future. A first approach to the Spanish DIY market was made in 2003 through membership of Brico Group. “Last year we began to look for locations for our DIY concept in Spain. We want to open the first store there in 2006. We are following an extremely ambitious expansion plan – with 25 new outlets scheduled for opening by the end of 2011.”
The company has 21 DIY stores and a combined retail area of more than 60 000 m² in Portugal, making it number two in the DIY market after the French Leroy Merlin group (with Leroy Merlin and Aki). Its sales were up by 35 per cent in the third quarter of 2005, or 9.5 per cent like-for-like, in spite of the difficult economic situation in Portugal at present.
Bathroom fittings and accessories are displayed on two levels.
Mestre Maco was established by Group A. Silva & Silva in 1994 as a builders’ merchant chain. By 2000 eight stores had been opened, catering to consumers and trade on the same space but “without either a clear store concept or a clear marketing vision”, according to António Cruz.
After Group A. Silva & Silva had acquired a majority interest (51 per cent) in 2001, the marketing approach was redefined and the DIY store concept was outlined.
The years from 2001 to 2003 were “years of challenge and change”. There were significant changes at all levels of the company, changes to IT systems, internal procedures and the personnel policy. During this period twelve new stores were opened and three closed down.
Furniture kits and soft furnishings are among the best-selling mainstays.
In 2003 Group A. Silva & Silva took over the remaining minority holdings, thereby gaining 100 per cent control of the shares.
2004 was a year of consolidation with just one new opening. But then the expansion programme was continued in 2005, “against the background of a clear business vision and a well defined marketing approach,” in the words of António Cruz. Following four new openings and one closure, and a total of 21 outlets as a result, Mestre Maco now regards itself as the market leader in Portugal by number of stores, and as a challenger to Aki in terms of sales. As António Cruz summed up the company's position, “Mestro Maco is the most important independent DIY chain in the Iberian peninsula.”
Mestre Maco
Headquarters: P-2840-999 SeixalNo. of stores (11/05): 21Total sales area (11/05): 62 000 m²Net turnover 2004: € 44 mio
