DIY Trade News November 2013
COMPANY
PROFILE
OPINION
SPOTLIGHT
NEWS
SPORT
37
lasted this long. Life is about the half full glass
rural areas are a relatively small contributor to our
and there are small signs of improvement. These
business. We have identified the need to balance
changes are gradual and there certainly is no major
between rural, urban and metro.
injection for the building material industry. The
positive is that the stability levels of the industry will
DIY: How does a store become part of the
be good.
BUCO family?
Currently, building plans passed are at an
EB: We are looking at two ways of expanding.
improved level, but building plans completed is still
Purchasing existing stores and building our
slow. Access to finance remains at its most difficult
past with certain acquisitions not performing
with population growth will need houses and our
well, but this has not scared us off acquiring
industry remains a long term growth industry. We
appropriate businesses that fit the Iliad culture. It is
will also have to see what Government decides to
important that there is chemistry between the two
do in the run up to elections, but we are confident
businesses. Lastly, we encourage entrepreneurship
that growth will continue, albeit at a slow pace.
and need traders in our business.
DIY: With regards to BUCO, what have been
DIY: Considering store numbers, where is
some of the more difficult challenges?
BUCO’s sweet spot?
EB: I have to take my hat off to the staff. We had
EB: Currently we are rolling out stores at a rate of
to do our homework before changing to BUCO. It
two per annum. We would like this to increase, but
was important to present a compelling argument
do not expect us to exponentially increase store
for a changing model. Once we had enough buy-in
numbers in the short term. This is a densely traded
on a high level the ownership was great.
environment and still very fragmented. Our focus is
We allowed the regions to take ownership
to take opportunities where we see growth.
MORTICE
MORTICE
LOCKSET
LOCKSET
CONCEPT
CONCEPT
own stores. We have burned our fingers in the
level in years. The upside is that any economy
HARDWARE YOU CAN TRUST
and they had loads of fun with it. There were
many challenges, but the regions tackled it like
DIY: Will we see more stores in the major
a competition with lots of hard work. But the
cities, or will BUCO remain focused on
excitement on launch days cannot be captured in
outlying areas?
words.
EB: We are open-minded to it, an appropriate
Our staff embraced the change and it gave the
staff a strong sense of belonging to the group. We
store format is very important. Metros will continue
to play a part in our future.
truly appreciate our suppliers’ support during the
transition.
• ll products are SABS
A
certified
• omprehensive ranges of
C
KVI’s available in all price
points
• ategory concepts designed
C
for maximum ROI
• ttractive and informative
A
POS
DIY: Where would you like to see BUCO in
five years?
DIY: Why the name BUCO?
EB: We are a significant player in the industry
EB: We started the process by looking for a name
and I’d like to see us adding more stores to our
that was striking and simplistic, however, allowing
portfolio. BUCO wants to be recognised as a
the company to build equity. We looked at the
leading retail brand and we wi