Plumbing Africa Plumblink's first hundred stores | Page 6

Plumblink Express stores have today
become so ubiquitous within the group
brands – Plumblink and Bathrooms by
Design, essentially a showroom business
or division under the Plumblink brand. It
was decided that showrooms were not
its core business. “We trade five and
a half days a week starting at 07:00,
but the showroom business is a retail
space where one would have to be open
seven days a week as a simple example,
“That’s not our business, though it took
us some time to clean up and close all
those separate outlets. We do still have
that type of product available, albeit no
longer in a touch-and-feel type showroom
where it can take two or three hours to
assist Mrs Jones with her requirements,
and in the end she doesn’t spend a cent
with us! – this being said, I still believe the
company in the long term can venture into
the showroom side of the business – but
in a different format; say in the plumbing
division of Bidvest where we can supply
and replenish the showroom from our
regional distribution centres.”
Admin support finalaists and winner (left) 2018 at the annual year end conference and awards.
that the ‘Express’ moniker was dropped.
Today, 99% of all stores are the express
model, with store sizes averaging 250m 2
to 300m 2 .
‘Time is money’ efficiencies
The pilot Express store was opened in
Boksburg and thereafter the model evolved
by trial and error, including increasing the