A division of the SPAR Group, Build It is a voluntary group of independent retailers, whose specialities lie in building materials and the related hardware. Among its primary focusses are the building of the basic urban house and rural housing, alongside all manner of home improvements across its ever increasing Southern African footprint.
Build its stores currently span urban and rural areas throughout Southern Africa, in locations in South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho, Swaziland and Mozambique. These are soon to be joined by further sites in Botswana, Mauritius and Zimbabwe, as it looks to continue its rapid expansioninto more and varied African territories.
Through its voluntary trading system, Build It aims to put independent retailers in a position whereby they are able to compete with larger chain stores in the hardware and building materials market, offering a complete home building solution and the best value for money of any of its competitors.The organisation’s staff compliment of approximately 8250 people services its current membership of over 300 stores in Southern Africa, with these serviced by its six regional offices, central office and distribution centre.
This is a long way from its beginnings in 1984, which saw it start life with a membership of only 20, largely rural independent retailers, as part of a business launched in KwaZulu-Natal. Moving inland in the 1990’s afforded steady, albeit slow, expansion, before the decision in 2000 to take the group national provided the growth required to bring it to its current standing. July of last year brought about a significant milestone in the company’s operational history, marking 30 years since the opening of its first trading location. Ray Whitmore, Managing Director, explained: “We (Build it) were born in a time of turmoil and we’ve created a strong brand with a great platform for growth ahead of the market”; this strength is evidenced by the group’s experiencing an average of 27% annual growth since its inception.
In line with such ambitious plans for growth, and following months of steady progress, the completion of Build its new R11 million hardware store at Bothasig Mall was announced in April of last year. Construction began in mid-2014, at the site spanning over 1000 m² with an additional 1000 m2yard area, and it is now well placed to offer the full range of solutions for home improvement or construction projects – be this paint, plumbing, electrical and gardening, everything is easily accessible and located under one roof. John de Smidt, the owner of the former Pick ‘n Fix hardware store at Bothasig Mall, has now taken the reins as General Manager of the Build it store. He heads up an experienced team poised and ready, as at each of its outlets, to welcome customers into this newest addition to the Build it group of independent retailers and provide them with the complete home building package, from foundations to finishings.
While Build it continues to bolster its presence across multiple territories, the SPAR Group was celebrating a notable achievement of its own at the turn of the year, having been awarded the Top Employers South Africa 2016 certification. It was revealed through comprehensive independent research that The SPAR Group provides exceptional employee conditions, nurtures and develops talent throughout all levels of the organisation and has demonstrated its leadership status in the HR environment. As such, it displays a continual commitment to optimising its employment practices and to developing its employees. This is a remarkable boon for the Group, with certification only awarded to the best employers around the world – those companies that demonstrate the highest standards of employee offerings following the Top Employers Institute’s research assessing all critical areas of the Human Resources environment.
The Spar Group’s operational overview of Southern Africa revealed yet more positive news for Build it in recent times. In spite of a general atmosphere of continued pressure on consumer spending, Build it was able to maintain what had been a strong first-half performance last year with retail turnover growth of 14% to R10.4 billion, news matched by a similarly positive summary of its wholesale turnover, where an increase of 12.4% took it to R6.2 billion. This growth on Build it’s part was supported by a 39% increase in neighbouring countries. Such strong performances enabled Build it to enter into the DIY market in the same period, with its first branded TrenDIY store opening toward the close of the year, a brand set to appeal to the middle to upper-LSM interior decorating market.
Build it made the decision over the course of the year to close certain underperforming stores in Botswana, which was mitigated by considerable improvements in same-store growth and increased contributions from, in particular, its Namibian operations. It focussed heavily on improving its available product range, and both expanding and renovating the selling areas of its stores. To this end, it was able to upgrade 48 of its stores, having set out to do so with 35, and will continue to expand store formats and layouts to match the changing need of its customers. This, together with the successful introduction of the TrenDIY arm of its brand, will enable Build it to achieve itseventual ambition of dominating the supply of basic building materials to the southern African, and thus becoming the best known quality brand on the market.