40 years is quite a huge milestone, especially for a company with the humblest of beginnings, having started as a cash and carry concept in Roodepoort in 1983, to now being widely acknowledged as a style icon in the premium home-improvement marketing, with a total of 94 stores in the Southern and East Africa, and counting.
CTM’s illustrious journey to becoming a leading fashion retailer of exclusive international and local ranges of tiles, bathwater and related products is nothing short of phenomenal. In particular, the past three years has been the most turbulent period the retail industry has ever seen. As Wandile Nyundu, CTM Marketing Manager pointed out during our brief chat, no business has been left unscathed by the pandemic. And for CTM to have conquered not only this devastating period, but decades of turbulence beforehand, it speaks of the company’s ability to respond to new market pain points, and in his own words, it’s also about “being more creative and resourceful in terms of how we optimise our supply chain”.
It’s no wonder CTM is observing the 40 year milestone in grand style – with several exciting initiatives planned in the coming months – befitting the proudly South African company that not only puts the customer first, but also the welfare of the country at the centre of its operation.
“I think we’ve had a very exciting time in our journey as we celebrate 40 years,” Sudesh Bhagel, Head of Italtile Group Marketing said, adding: “Obviously what started out as a cash and carry way back in 1983 has evolved over the years into the retail offering that you see in our store right now. I think at the heart of it has been the customer, we’ve taken them on this journey with us all the way. We’ve been consistently providing them with great quality, great fashion at great prices and that has been our promise to the customer. And the fact that we’ve reached this 40th year milestone, it’s a testament to the fact we have customers that have trusted us throughout this journey.”
Touching on a few of CTM’s unique selling points, Bhagelo had this to say: “What’s important for us is that we’re a proudly South African company, we have 70% of all our products produced locally at various factories within the retail space. For us, it’s also about employment and creating opportunities for the communities in which we operate in.”
Then there’s also a great deal of CSI efforts, “that we do and are very proud of as a company,” he added, referring to several philanthropic efforts with, among others, the Stop Rhino Poaching Foundation. Since 2015, the company has, though its Kilimanjaro range, donated millions of rands of funds to contribute to the valuable work carried out by the organisation.
Not only this, Bhagel did also let us in on other important CSI initiatives led by CTM in education and sports, such as the Champions Cup, which sees communities in and around Soweto participate in the annual tournament.
“We also have the Dignity Drive Project, where we provide girls with sanitary pads to ensure that they’re always in class.”
He adds: “We’re also very committed to the environment to ensure that we leave it in a good place for the next generations to come.”
While Bhagel attributes the company’s success to a number of things, notably in the CSI space as he does to exceptional customer service, for many loyal customers, one thing that immediately comes to mind is the company’s impactful sustainable business practices, notably with the introduction of the eco tactiles, which are among CTM’s top sellers. The line forms part of the company’s innovative products that were accelerated by the Coronavirus crisis.
“We do everything in our power to ensure we leave a positive legacy for the future generations,” explained Nyundu. “One way of doing this is through our eco tactiles, which were manufactured with 70% less water and materials from the earth. Because they’re thinner, they were easier to transport to other countries during the pandemic – simply because they emit less CO2 (carbon footprint). For us it became a matter of being a lot more creative and resourceful in terms of how we optimise our supply chain.”
Added Nyundu: “We also have to give credit to our individual stores and production partners. In as much as the lockdown did affect us, the fact that we produce 70% of our products locally did help us a lot.”
40 years of consistency and counting!
Since opening doors in 1983, CTM has done a stellar job of turning multitudes of home renovation dreams into a reality, all the while demystifying the notion that a beautiful home requires millions and millions of cash.
Continuing on this stellar path, CTM is embarking on a number of promotiomal activities as part of the 40th anniversary celebrations throughout the year.
One of the soon to be launched projects is ‘Designers at CTM’, “an exciting initiative merging fashion and our products, which we will unpack very soon as we embark on this journey,” said Bhagel. “We also are elated to share with our customers, our exciting competition where they stand a chance to win a R40 000 CTM voucher every week in until 2023; all they need to do is to spend R4 000 or more in store.
“In terms of our products offering, our teams that travel around the world are excited to bring beautiful products to the local market. At CTM we believe that every South African should get a home they deserve,. and that there’s a tile for everyone. We want to take every customer along the journey with us, and this is one of our ways of doing so.”
