Displaying items by tag: retail

Colombia: Cemex has opened its 300th store of its Construrama retail network. The network is present in 190 municipalities and it plans to reach 500 stores by 2020, according to the El Financiero newspaper. In 2016 the brand opened 130 branches in Mexico and 60 in Colombia. The network is also growing in other Latin American countries.

Middle East/Africa: LafargeHolcim is expanding its specialised Binastore retail network for construction materials in Middle East and Africa. The construction materials producer already operates 500 stores in the region that serves end-consumers, self-builders, masons and smaller contractors. The newly-branded network will sell a broad range of LafargeHolcim’s own products and solutions as well as a variety of other construction materials from partner suppliers.

The first stores operating under the Binastore brand have begun to serve customers in Algeria, Cameroon, Iraq and Lebanon. The format of the stores will vary with sizes from 50m² to 2000m² and it will also include mobile stores in some rural locations. Existing stores in the region will gradually be rebranded as Binastore, while new stores will also open under this brand.

“Our vision is to build the largest retail network for construction materials in the Middle East Africa region so the Binastore brand becomes a household name for small and medium-size builders. Building on our success in Algeria, our goal is to deliver a range of building products, including our own, through multiple channels to meet the needs and lifestyle of our customers who are becoming more and more sophisticated,” said Saâd Sebbar, Region Head Middle East Africa.

The Binastore network is part of LafargeHolcim’s long-term strategy of expanding its retail business in emerging markets. In April 2017, the group announced the rollout of Disensa, a similar concept, in Latin America, where the goal is to have a network of around 1000 stores operating by the end of 2017.

Ukraine: Ukrcement, the Ukranian association of cement producers, has urged government agencies to be more effective in preventing sales of packaged cement. A study by Ukrcement with the NGO Union of Ukrainian Consumers has reportedly shown a rise in volumes of counterfeit product at large DIY retail chains.

"Ten samples [of packaged cement] were bought in several DIY supermarkets in Kyiv during the third phase of the project in early 2016. The conclusion is that the situation with counterfeit cement has been worsening. Violations have been revealed in all the chains," said Ukrcement CEO Roman Skylsky. "We insist on toughening oversight over the quality of cement programs and punishment for the sale of counterfeit products."