The Sunday News
Business Reporter
OFTEN the thinking is that the only way to revive Bulawayo is through investments from outside the city moreso, from outside the country. In addition the investments are always viewed as huge capital projects measured in many thousands or millions of dollars.
But it is the small figure investment that the local businesspeople can afford than can be nurtured to become huge business that can drive the re-birth of Bulawayo.
This seems to be the thinking of local businessman Mr Bhekimpilo Sithole who has invested $10 000 in setting up a hardware retail shop in the city.
This he did after realising some profit from his motor spares business which he started humbly with a capital of just $300 six years ago.
Mr Sithole has been in the business of motor spares in the last six years but said it was time to diversify and grow, opening Max Hardware at the beginning of the year.
He said interactions with a number of people, both business and personal, had made him realise the gap within the hardware retail sector and after conducting some research he was convinced he could operate a viable shop.
“During my travels to South Africa on business, I would meet business associates and old friends from here and they would ask me if I run a hardware shop as they wanted to build their homes and after constant inquiries, I tossed the idea to diversify my portfolio and it stuck until I was convinced it was the best thing to do.
“I invested $10 000 in the hardware as I felt it was the right amount and I believe we will be able to grow from there. Homes are important to people and there will always be new people seeking homes but there are also institutions and other companies that are our clients,” he said.
Mr Sithole said the first two months in new business had shown a lot of promise.
He said having his two businesses situated next to each other had proven beneficial as those seeking car parts had customers for the hardware shop and vice versa.
“There was a hair salon here where the hardware is now located but they were struggling with the rentals and I did not hesitate to grab the space when it became vacant and this has come with so many advantages,” said the Filabusi-born businessman.
The hardware shop stocks various building material including doors, doorframes, roofing sheets, barbed wire, cisterns, toilet seats, electrical wiring and tubing, paints, switches, sockets and other related products.
Max Hardware relies on local industries for the products they stock. The products are bought from companies such as Monarch, Pump and Steel and Scandia among others.
Mr Sithole, who worked as a stock controller at Tedco Group between 1995 and 2000, opened SparesMax, one of the trading names for Masiye Industries, in 2009 after being involved in cross-border trading for several years.
The Bulawayo Polytechnic marketing diploma-graduate felt his time was up in the cross border trade and decided to invest $300 in the motor spares business which has experienced phenomenal growth in the six years since opening.
“When I started the business, I realised the need to start small and not aim for quick profits and I am glad that formula worked for me as I managed to push a lot of volumes and I am proud that at the moment we are holding stock valued at $40 000 on our shelves and warehouse,” he said.
“We have a wide range of parts for a broad range of vehicles but we do not have spares for second hand vehicles imported from Japan although we are making efforts to bring in a container from Japan to cater for those with ex-Japanese cars. We know they are having a hard time getting the spares whose prices are sometimes inflated because of their scarcity.”
The company’s co-director, Mrs Theresa Sibanda said they were now making plans to expand to areas outside Bulawayo but would initially consider towns within Matabeleland such as Gwanda, Victoria Falls and Filabusi.
Mrs Sibanda said they had not been dampened by the economic climate affecting the country as they believed with the right marketing techniques they could reach out to a wider market.
“We take the marketing mix seriously and look at how we can entice customers through providing good services and also ensuring that our pricing is competitive.
“The market is price sensitive at the moment and I believe we do not have to run for profits but rather ensure our products are affordable and look at the future and establishing our business. We value our customers and want to give them value for money,” she said.
“Although we started with two employees, we have now grown to six and I believe as we expand our businesses we are going to recruit more workers. It has always been my dream to provide employment and we will certainly create more jobs going forward.”
Maybe this is the model Bulawayo needs. Start small and grow with time.
