Despite the fact that the hardware sector, like the rest of the trade, was affected due to the pandemic, the general interest in home repairs, remodeling and adjustments for teleworking, generated an important dynamic in the hardware market. Construction materials.
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This is how Tul explains it, a platform for the sale of supplies for construction, indicating that this growth “se reflected positively for the hardware segment, which according to the Economic Monitoring Index published by Dane at the beginning of 2022, was one of the activities with the best performance and that contributed the most to the performance of retail sales”, the company said in a statement.
According to the most recent Monthly Trade Survey presented by Dane, hardware, glass and paint showed a growth of 28.7% between January and December 2021 compared to the same period of the previous year.
“This reflects a dynamic of constant recovery, if you also take into account that compared to the same months of 2019, growth was 18%,” said Carolina Álvarez, director of growth at Tul.
In this way, for the construction materials platform, for this year, the projection is of a growth similar to or even greater than that seen in 2021.
Now, Álvarez also points out the importance of businessmen being prudent and responsible with their action plans, because after the situation generated by the pandemic, new issues may come to take into account, for example, the shortage of products or raw materialsthe ups and downs of the peso against the dollar, and inflation.
And it is that in the construction sector, although the wounds of the pandemic are healing, these factors can impact when building. For example, a constant that has occurred in practically all raw materials is the increase in pricesproduct of bottlenecks in supply chains that have been overwhelmed by high demand.
Regarding construction materials, according to Dane, between January and December 2021, there were increases of 9.2%, in products such as wires, mesh, iron and steel.
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According to company experts, by the beginning of 2022 they will reveal 20% increases in the value of glass, 15% in PVC, and increases in carpentry and materials such as chipboard.
In this way, the company invites to have “a responsible action plan in which liquidity and the intelligent and correct purchase of inventory are prioritized”.
Key to this is the inclusion of technological tools to monitor market prices and make informed strategic decisions.
On the other hand, it is important that the hardware store is aware of the opportunities offered by the context, since without a doubt the great leverage that is moving the building sector, which according to Camacol will have a GDP growth of 17.7% by 2022, and may increase the demand for construction materials on a macro and micro scale.
In this way, Álvarez considers it important that hardware stores align themselves with the demand and look for participation options within this market, even with resources such as bidding on different types of works.
Likewise, if you add the interest that has been seen since the beginning of not only buying your own home, but of remodel with the great movement of the purchase of housing VISwhich was the main preference for investments in new housing during 2021, the hardware store has the opportunity to boost the market for finishes and meet significant demand.
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The company’s growth director also thinks that “both in order to respond correctly to business opportunities and to the ups and downs of the economy, the essential thing is that the hardware store finds the mechanisms that allow it to move at the same speed as the market.”
Steel price stabilizes
Although the value of some supplies continues to rise when it comes to building or remodeling, Juliana Ospina, director of Andi’s steel producers’ committee, assures that the passage of the pandemic is already being left behind, “our production of steel for concrete increased 35% in 2021 thanks to new investments in installed capacity that represented 33% of the sector”. Likewise, the director indicated that Colombia has the capacity to supply the demand, “the available supply in the country grew by 40% and supported the 30% growth in housing starts.”
Paula Galeano
