Getting construction materials straight to the individual buyer

Shopping around for home fixtures in the local market has always been a laborious process.

One usually has to search through the jumbles of displayed merchandise and then bargain at multitude small outlets, often after having to travel quite a distance to the industrial parts of town.

But not any more.

A one-stop shopping experience is what the promoters of the recently unveiled BuildMart promise. Conceived as an IKEA type outlet for home fixtures and with a similar display and store layout, BuildMart has already opened up in Ras Al Khaimah and Bahrain, with more to follow.

Now, what does a BuildMart outlet have to offer? Does it deliver on all the promises and, more pertinently, the hardware? Imagine ambling down an aisle, shopping trolley in tow and in one go picking up chandeliers, hand showers, door knobs, et al.

Similar to a home depot in the US and elsewhere, BuildMart offers homeowners, interior designers and consultants a contemporary shopping atmosphere to select the fittings of their choice.

If one gets confused by the 15,000 products offered under one roof, the specialist staff at the Design Centre are at hand to solve the design queries and help choose fitting options based on the shopper's budget.

"At BuildMart, we address the building material needs of individual customers - from the most basic to complex - ensuring convenient access to our products," states Rizwan Sajan, chairman of Danube Building Materials. BuildMart has been conceptualised and deployed as the retail arm of the group.

"The launch of BuildMart is only the beginning of the new phase in our strategic expansion."

The Dh50 million BuildMart outlet in Bahrain is expected to complement the still bullish construction industry there. The steady rise in the construction of residential as well as commercial units in Bahrain and the island's proximity to Saudi Arabia, where a real estate boom is in the making, are expected to spur further demand for building materials and home fixtures. So, the timing seems perfect for BuildMart to make a foray.

Back home, Danube intends to test the waters a little longer given the state of the real estate development and construction sectors. If all the right boxes get ticked, the plans are to go full steam ahead with the new BuildMart outlets in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. A BuildMart Express, visualised as a mini version of the parent brand, will come up in the next two months in both the emirates.

With several showrooms and warehouses in each emirate, Danube believes in giving a boost to consumer convenience. "The shopping needs of each area differ," adds Sajan. "Hence, we have a presence in most thriving hubs within each emirate,"

The company recently opened new facilities in Ajman and Al Quoz, in line with this. The Dh55 million venture features a showroom and a warehouse each.

Danube for sure believes that enhanced visibility can only aid reap business benefits down the line.

n Danube takes strategic expansion plans one step further with the launch of BuildMart, one-stop outlets for home fixtures