BRIGHTS HARDWARE
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BRIGHTS HARDWARE
Save Water
With Brights PRODUCTION: David Napier
Every small water saving that can be made by individuals and businesses is a positive step in aiding South Africa’s fragile water stock. And it can be easier than you think – just take a trip to any of the Brights Hardware stores across the Western Cape and you’ll be able to pick up water saving products that will help the country and save you money.
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INDUSTRY FOCUS: RETAIL
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The infamous but dreaded water crisis being felt across South Africa right now is being fuelled by those who are not adhering to water guidelines and who are refusing to conserve. Often, people and organisations simply don’t have the infrastructure to undertake water conservation activities, but that looks set to change, in the Western Cape, where Brights Hardware, one of the leading hardware retailers, is helping the community as much as possible. Partnering with East Londonbased Eco Tanks, Brights is hoping to encourage businesses and residents to capture rain water and grey water, recycling water as much as possible so that the dams have more muchneeded time to replenish. “We have invested in a wide variety of water saving products to enable us all to save as much water as possible,” Brights CEO Orlando Luis told Enterprise Africa. “We have sourced products that reduce the evaporation of water and items that save water. For example, we’re offering pool covers, units to connect to taps
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to reduce the flow, new shower heads to ensure less water is used, tanks for storing grey water, cleaning products that require no water and garden watering products that control water usage - these are only the tip of the iceberg.” Regarding Eco Tanks, Brights has slashed the prices of these innovative products to encourage community uptake in the Western Cape. “We always want to give back to the community in whatever way we can and there is no better project than this. Eco Tanks has supplied us with a number of 1000l tanks for use with community companies and NGOs – organisations such as churches, schools and clinics. All that we require is for them to apply online or bring a letterhead to any of our stores throughout the Western Cape and we will assist with a voucher of R595 which can be used for a tank to catch rain or grey water,” Luis said during a radio interview with Tygerberg radio. This particular idea was demonstrated by Brights at Ned Doman Secondary School in Athlone,
// WE HAVE INVESTED IN A WIDE VARIETY OF WATER SAVING PRODUCTS TO ENABLE US ALL TO SAVE AS MUCH WATER AS POSSIBLE // Cape Town. The company donated three 5000l tanks after learning of the school’s challenges in saving water. “Brights has always been passionate about helping the community in whichever way possible, and this is no exception. Ned Doman Secondary School has shown great initiative, and our aim is simply to support them in this endeavour,” said Luis. The school’s existing water storage infrastructure is helping to save water by collection rain to help maintain the gardens. Now, with the new tanks, the school will also be able to use recycled water for toilets as well.
BRIGHTS HARDWARE
“We will be forced to adapt to the shortage of our most precious resource, water,” Luis summates. And the company is right to emphasise water saving as much as
possible. In February, Cape Town’s Executive Deputy Mayor Alderman Ian Neilson confirmed that the city’s ‘day zero’ – where the taps run dry – had been moved out to July following big
efforts to reduce consumption. “We cannot afford to slow down when the estimated Day Zero date moves out, simply because we cannot accurately predict the volume of
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INDUSTRY FOCUS: RETAIL
// WE WANT OUR CUSTOMERS TO EXPERIENCE A ‘WOW’ SHOPPING EXPERIENCE BOTH ON THE SALES FLOOR AND ONLINE // rainfall still to come or when it will come. Last year, we had abnormally low winter rainfall, and we cannot assume that this year will be any different,” said the Deputy Mayor. “The only way we can stretch our water supplies is to adhere to the 50 litres per person per day water allocation. Our water saving efforts across the metro have thus far been our greatest defence against Day Zero. Now is definitely not the time to ease up,” he added. Unfortunately, the water shortage is not unique to the Western Cape and efforts to save are ongoing around
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South Africa. In Ekurhuleni, female church leaders gathered at the end of February at the Women in Faith Based Organisation Water Conservation Day where Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) for Energy, Water and Sanitation in Ekurhuleni, Tiisetso Nketle encouraging the church leaders to preach the benefits of water conservation to congregants. The Department of Water and Sanitation has launched a #SaveWater Ambassador Programme which has seen Miss Earth South Africa, Operation SA, Tsogo Sun, South African Rugby Union, and the Muslim Judicial
Council all back the programme. The CSIR displayed water conservation technology at a consumer forum last month, and even President Ramaphosa has weighed in on the situation, saying at a speech delivered in February: “If there was ever a time when we should be working together as a people, this water crisis is the time when we should all join hands and make sure that we address this water challenge that we now face.” And in Brights Hardware’s home, the Western Cape, strict water restrictions remain in place and the company continues to do what it can to encourage water saving. Through its social media channels, the business encourages people to share their water saving techniques, and through its stores Brights will always deliver water related products at reasonable prices.
BRIGHTS HARDWARE
HELPING LADIES DIY A key market segment and business development strategy for Brights has been the female DIY customer. The company has long been interested in bringing more women into its stores, and encouraging women to buy from its extensive choice of products. Having a range of more than 40,000 tools, building materials and hardware needs, Brights has the product for every requirement. To aid the development of female
shopping in its stores, Brights has launched a ‘Sparkle Reward Card’. Much the same as its cash discount card, Brights hopes the new idea will attract women into the industry through a discount and points scheme. “With this card, Brights Hardware is including the same benefits of our existing Cash Discount Card, but adding unique experiences and benefits that will cater more to the female DIY enthusiast,” commented Luis. “We are also changing our stores,
making them cleaner, neater, easier and quicker to shop in; this is mixed with engaging and knowledgeable staff who don’t shy away from their customers. We want our customers to experience a ‘wow’ shopping experience both on the sales floor and online. Visit our stores and experience the difference in care you receive.”
WWW.BRIGHTS.CO.ZA
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March 2018
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