CASHBUILD
CASHBUILD
Building On
Strong Foundations PRODUCTION: Timonthy Reeder
Committed to personally servicing its customers throughout South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho, Botswana, Swaziland, Malawi and now Zambia, Cashbuild is the largest retailer of building materials and associated products through its ever-increasing number of uniquely cash-only stores.
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Having been established in 1978 and with its shares listed on the JSE since 1986, Cashbuild today employs in excess of 6000 people, and has come to be known as the first choice retailer in its chosen field in each region in which it currently operates. It achieves this by maintaining a carefully focused, in-depth and quality product range at the most competitive prices, designed to meet the needs of the local market for everyone from homebuilders, home improvers, contractors, farmers and traders; essentially, anyone who is wishing to purchase quality building
materials for cash. These ranges are no-frills and comprehensive, meaning that everything needed to facilitate the construction of a house can be found under its many roofs across the continent, each ideally adapted to the market served. Cashbuild’s already large operational footprint is always increasing, and has recently been bolstered by the opening of a new store in Zambia to mark its presence in six African countries. There are also plans in place to conquer many of the more rural areas of South Africa, which present huge pockets of opportunity
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BUSINESS PROFILE
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CASHBUILD
for Cashbuild and its unique service offering. One need only point to the huge leap in the number of Cashbuild stores in existence to get an impression of the further potential on which to capitalise: from a figure of 244 in 2016, the current total now stands in excess of 300, and helps make Cashbuild the largest retailer of building materials in Southern Africa. Another aspect of Cashbuild’s expansion plans clearly lies within the acquisition of established companies in order to not only secure, but also to grow, its share of the market. This has also fed in to the astonishing growth Cashbuild has seen in both its employee numbers and its holding of stores over the past year.
// WE HAVE THE ASPIRATION TO ACHIEVE 30% MARKET SHARE // Most recently this has taken the form of takeovers of P&L Hardware and Buffalo Timbers. The former is a family business that focuses on the supply of hardware and building materials into mainly rural markets, which has grown from its single store at the outset in 1982 to operate out of 45 at the present time. Buffalo Timbers, on the other hand, is one-stop hardware shop with branches in Peddie, Queenstown, Butterworth and four in Mthatha. A move in 1991 away from supplying building contractors on credit and instead opting to drive for a more cash-orientated style of business
helps to make it the ideal proposition for Cashbuild, also true of its hardware ranges tailor-made for each area and a clear understanding of targeted customer needs. Cashbuild CEO Werne de Jager laid out the reasoning behind the company’s chosen methods of expansion. “In the past three or four years we have been much more open to the possibility of acquisitions, and we are looking to acquire all the time. We have the aspiration to achieve 30% market share, and at present we are sitting at half of that. We know that it will be impossible
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INDUSTRY FOCUS: CONSTRUCTION
to do this via pure organic growth, and therefore we have to take on these businesses in order to bridge the gap.” As the preferred retailer and integrated supplier of building materials, associated products and services across all market segments in selected countries, Cashbuild possesses the unique ability to understand both its customers and its markets, which in turn enables the company to offer a focused range of products and services suited to the specific needs of each of these markets. A mutually beneficial relationship with suppliers, substantial buying power, and ability to control costs then enables Cashbuild to offer quality, best value products and services at convenient locations, to all
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// WE STRIVE TO MAKE CUSTOMERS’ LIVES EASIER AT EVERY TURN // customers. “We have managed to differentiate ourselves by being present in the townships, we are where our customers need us to be, and ease of access to our shops is crucial to our strategy,” expands de Jager. “Another of our key success factors is the fact that all products are always in stock - our ordering processes ensure this. We strive to make customers’ lives easier at every turn, and therefore take great pride in the ease of shopping we can offer.” There is another side to the
Cashbuild story, however, arguably as important as the peerless experience its customers enjoy. Eight schools in Diepsloot, a densely populated township in the north of Johannesburg, have been beneficiaries of the Cashbuild Art-at-Heart competition, each receiving a R15,000 Cashbuild building material voucher at its Diepsloot Store Opening Ceremony. Since the Art-at-Heart campaign was launched 16 years ago, Cashbuild has helped more than 2700 schools in southern Africa via the provision of over R33 million worth of building
CASHBUILD
materials. The schools will use the vouchers for painting, paving, new window handles, fencing and a new classroom, while the children’s artwork submitted to the competition is displayed at the ceremony and remains on display in the Cashbuild store for the next six years. Diepsloot Primary Schools No 4’s principal Johannes Makhafola said, “We are thrilled to have been chosen and so proud of our learners. The vouchers would be used for much-needed paving as the school was originally built on a dump site and is always covered in dust and mud so the paving will make so much difference to the learners.” Sthiwe Jeke, principal of Akani Metmar School added: “We are
delighted and very grateful to Cashbuild to have been chosen for this. Our main priority is to erect fencing around the school grounds to keep learners safe. We would also look at painting the outside of the school to make it as beautiful as our learners which is just another one of the muchneeded upgrades we would love to do.” Even more recently, children at Sunnyside Children’s Orphanage in Gauteng were furnished with toys, sweets, stationery and groceries on Friday, with the orphanage also receiving a new fridge and some brand new tiles. All of these were the result of donations from several local businesses, with CashBuild Centurion at the heart of the project, the total
cost of which amounted to around R25,000. “We are very happy, the donation came at the right time,” said Managing Director Reagan Mashego. “It is Christmas time and the children need presents. We are also thankful for the fridge as it will help a lot.”
CASHBUILD 011 248 1500 www.cashbuild.co.za
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AFRICA
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR AFRICA’S INDUSTRY LEADERS
Published by CMB Multimedia Chris Bolderstone – General Manager E. chris@cmb-multimedia.com Sackville Place, 44-48 Magdalen Street, Norwich, NR3 1JU T. +44 (0) 20 8123 7859 E. info@cmb-multimedia.com www.cmb-multimedia.com
Issue No.65
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ALEXANDER FORBES
CMB Multimedia does not accept responsibility for omissions or errors. The points of view expressed in articles by attributing writers and/ or in advertisements included in this magazine do not necessarily represent those of the publisher. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is purely coincidental. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained within this magazine, no legal responsibility will be accepted by the publishers for loss arising from use of information published. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or stored in a retrievable system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the publisher. © CMB Multimedia Ltd 2017
Journey of a
Lifetime
Exclusive interview with CEO Andrew Darfoor ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
Buffalo Coal / Nautic Africa / Grindrod / SAOTA
AS FEAT UR ED IN
ENTERPRISE AFRICA
DECEMBER 2017