Mattias Ankarberg: “We are still a hard discounter”

Mattias Ankarberg, CEO of the Swedish Byggmax group since the end of 2016, clearly showed his support for the discount principle in an interview with John Herbert. "We are still a hard discounter," he said on the Global DIY-Network platform when the Edra/Ghin managing director asked him in a further "Meet the CEO" interview. At the same time, Ankarberg was able to refer to the high share of online sales of, most recently, around 20 per cent: "We are big on e-commerce". This share, according to his forecast, will increase to a third by 2025.
Yet Byggmax continues to open new locations and is gradually converting the existing branch network to the new store concept 3.0 which follows the idea of the specialist store. One effect of the new opening is also that there are more online orders in these regions. "It's a really nice combo," Ankarberg describes the model.
The Byggmax concept is based on a small assortment, limited range, low price, self-service and low cost - and the promise to the customers. "Everybody has the right to a fantastic home." Around 4 000 SKUs are kept in the stores, around 50 000 are available online.
The company operates with three store formats. In addition to a covered retail space of an average of 2 000 m², every location also has a timber yard with drive-through. The opening hours are from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. as standard.  The smaller locations are only manned by one employee sometimes during the day in off-season periods. Ankarberg makes it clear that the store is "still the core" of the business model. That's why, for example, they are also working on a format to move even closer to the customers' home, he explains. In addition, more product categories are expected to be offered in future and, for example, the garden assortment is to be developed.