SECTION B
[SOmarks]
Question 2
[25 Marks]
Readthe case below and answer the questions that follows:
Cashbuild
Cashbuild is the largest retailer of building materials and associated products, selling directly to cash-
paying customers through its 251 (and still growing) stores in South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho,
Botswana, Swaziland, Malawi and Zambia. Cashbuild, which employs more than 4 700 people,
comprises Cashbuild Limited and the operating subsidiaries registered in the abovementioned
countries.
Cashbuild's meteoric rise since 2009 came just as stock exchanges around the world imploded into
the global financial crisis in 2017. Despite the crisis, Cashbuild held a steady course northwards. It has
had a few tricks up its sleeve, not least being that it has raised the wages of workers when other firms
were shedding employees. It also charges the lowest prices possible, but is firm on margins. Since its
listing in 1986, Cashbuild's share price has risen from Rl,10 to about R340 in 2016. Since January 2009
the share has risen about six times from R56,that is, 607%. From 182 stores in January 2009, the group
has added 57 Cashbuild stores, 10 Cashbuild do-it-yourself stores, and most recently 44 P&L hardware
stores.
Cashbuild focuses on contractors, farmers, traders and people doing home improvement who buy its
products for cash. It is focusing on a very specific market sector - the middle to lower LSM [Living
Standards Measure] segments where a lot of housing delivery and housing improvement has
happened over the years. Cashbuild is the first choice retailer in its chosen field in all the regions in
which it operates. It achieves this by carrying a focused in-depth quality product range at the most
competitive prices, to meet the needs of the local market for home builders, home improvers,
contractors, farmers, traders and any persons wanting to purchase quality building materials for cash.
Cashbuild positions its stores to bring quality building materials at lowest prices to local communities,
and strives to enhance each community in which it trades. Store locations are selected on the basis of
in-depth feasibility studies and extensive stakeholder engagement.
The group believes in the Cashbuild Way of doing business. It believes that its business is simple; it
buys and sells according to a set of policies and procedures that guides it on how to do things
throughout the organisation and its relationships with external stakeholders. The Cashbuild Way
refers not only to its documented policies but also to all its dealings with various stakeholders. It buys
quality building materials and associated products, supporting local suppliers as far as possible. It aims
to support local growth and development, positively influence the upstream value chain and build
mutually beneficial long-term relationships. Ethical sourcing is an imperative, quality is its priority, but
keeping costs low is its strategy. It then sells quality building materials and associated products on to
its customers at the lowest prices. It aims to ensure a pleasant shopping experience for all its
customers. Cashbuild also provides its customers with in-store expertise, advice and assistance, as
well as various loyalty programmes, credit services, online shopping and a free delivery service.
Cashbuild believes in the concept of sustainability. That, it believes, is not only limited to the Group's
impact on investors, society and the environment, but it also includes the impact of social and
environmental considerations on its ability to continue sustaining itself and supporting those
individuals and organisations that depend on Cashbuild's success. It believes that the value it creates
is not limited to financial returns, but includes the less tangible value that it adds through its
operations in the communities in which its stores are located. It also believes that value is created
through the mitigation of its environmental impacts, for example through emissions reduction
initiatives. The broader external environment in which Cashbuild operates, including the various
macro-economic factors, will of course influence its attempts to create value for its stakeholders. That
is why it proactively and consistently monitors these factors, and takes the action required. One of
Cashbuild's main competitors, Build it, a franchise division of the Spar Group, is a full-service builders
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