Plumbing Africa Plumblink's first hundred stores | Page 20

A day in the life of a
Plumblink branch manager
T
The retail end of the Plumblink value chain
requires passion, because it’s a demanding
12-hour job, at least in the case of Nkosi,
opening the branch doors at 06:00 for a
07:00 customer start, and he shuts those
same doors usually at 18:00 having caught
up on his admin after trading hours cease
at 16:30.
During those 12 hours, Nkosi takes up
position behind the counter precisely at
the entrance/exit zone to keep his eagle
eye on every movement. There are no
offices in a Plumblink – everyone is on
the shop floor and visible. “This helps me
and the staff in terms of engaging with
customers, assisting them and addressing
any customer complaints where necessary
– and for me to check that staff are doing
the right thing and have the right attitude.
Every staff member has to view himself as
a sales rep, as a manager – everything.”
From his vantage point he looks after the
shop, the stock value is just under R1-
million, the staff, the cashing up and admin.
His day commences with a check up on
the store itself, seeing what stock is short
and the state of re-orders. “By the time I sit
down to do my morning reports, I have an
idea of the state of the store.”
The Barra store in Soweto (one of three) is
the smallest in the entire group, he says,
but that doesn’t necessarily make the job
any easier, as crowded conditions make
pilferage his single biggest challenge.
There is a storeroom around the corner
18
he opening of the first branch in
Soweto more than six years ago
shows Plumblink has country-wide
support, says branch manager Arthur
Nkosi. The strategy of Plumblink is not
only to open stores, but to make full use
of a wide stock range and an integrated
system to ensure clients get what they are
looking for.
Branch manager, Arthur Nkosi.
for overflow stock. “The biggest concern
in this store is shrinkage. We have a GA
(general assistant) who discreetly watches
customers, but when they are in a group
of five or six, milling around, it becomes
impossible.” Shrinkage in the vicinity of
2% makes a significant difference in a tight
margin business.
Another daily challenge he faces is the
on-going need to inculcate product
knowledge among staff. When the store
is quiet, he runs staff training sessions
to educate them on each product line,
and its specifications and uses. Suppliers
also lend a hand by organising skills
development sessions both for customers
and staff on the specifications of an item,
say a geyser, and how to install them
(primarily for plumbing customers) and on
maintaining the geyser, which also serves
to increase sales of key products.
“As plumbers get to know more about
our products, it boosts our sales. It also
helps my staff to sell it because they can
Your local plumbing store
explain the product more effectively to
plumbing customers who may not know
how a particular product works.” In this
symbiotic manner, both the plumber and
Plumblink benefit.
Plumblink also maintains an after-sales
unit which sends trained personnel to
each store to train on the Plumline range.
Plumblink offers a warranty on the Plumline
range and so has technicians on call who
deal with warranty issues that may arise.
“We are growing our business steadily, but
it could be faster. Soweto is a hard market
as it is one which does not discriminate
regarding quality – it is a market dictated
primarily by price rather than quality or
SABS approvals. Residents in this area
don’t know the difference, and local
plumbers take advantage of that ignorance
to supply inferior parts. We see plumbers
come to us to get a quotation for a job
quoting genuine quality parts – then they
go down the road and buy inferior products
at a much lower cost (it could be 30% to
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