Of the four Windhoek hardware stores surveyed by The Brief in September 2024, Pupkewitz emerged as having the biggest year-on-year decrease in prices.
Pupkewitz demonstrated a notable year-on-year basket decrease of 17.99%, contrasted by a month-on-month increase of 3.08%.
Key contributors to this year-on-year drop included items like the Aluminium Sliding Door (Bronze), which saw a reduction from N$ 2,511.75 in September 2023 to N$ 2,398.99 in 2024. Similarly, the Copper Tube decreased from N$ 645.97 to N$ 569.00, and the Lockset Lever Alternative showed a drastic reduction, dropping from N$ 408.49 to N$ 79.95 over the same period.
Ark Trading followed closely with a substantial year-on-year basket drop of 9.55% and a month-on-month decrease of 6.99%.
Items that played a pivotal role in this decline included paint, which dropped from N$ 1,650.10 in September 2023 to N$ 984.32 in 2024. The Aluminium Sliding Door (Bronze) also saw a reduction, moving from N$ 2,954.82 to N$ 2,779.85, and the Roofing Galvanized IBR changed from N$ 713.12 to N$ 645.87 in 2024.
Built It ranked third in terms of overall year-on-year basket decrease, with a reduction of 4.66% and a month-on-month decline of 1.10%.
Noteworthy decreases came from the Copper Tube, which dropped from N$ 686.98 in 2023 to N$ 604.41 in 2024; the Aluminium Window (Bronze), which decreased from N$ 898.00 to N$ 845.68; and the price of paint, which fell from N$ 1,695.10 in 2023 to N$ 1,057.11 in 2024.
BUCO, with the least significant basket decrease, exhibited a year-on-year reduction of 2.30% and a month-on-month decline of 3.80%.
Notably, the price of paint decreased from N$ 1,148.10 in September 2023 to N$ 1,049.00 in 2024, while the Aluminium Window (Bronze) saw a reduction from N$ 1,007.18 in 2023 to N$ 901.07 in 2024.
Focusing on the commodity spotlight, 32.5 Cement prices varied across the retailers.
BUCO, at N$ 99.15, offered the lowest average price over the survey period, followed by Pupkewitz at N$ 99.89, Build It at N$ 100.58, and Ark Trading with the highest average price of N$ 105.97.
This suggests competitive pricing among the retailers, with BUCO emerging as the most affordable option for cement during this period.
*The Brief’s survey, which is conducted every month, started in June 2023 with the aim of assessing a basket of similar hardware items that customers would likely purchase in a month. The survey is carried out across four hardware stores: Build It, BUCO, Pupkewitz Megabuild, and Ark Trading.
The survey aims to guide shoppers on which hardware wholesaler offers the cheapest basket of building materials for that particular month. Moreover, an analysis of changes in the basket is conducted to provide overall basket and item variations month-on-month.
The following items are included in the basket:
• Roofing Galvanized IBR
• Copper Tube 460 Class 0
• Aluminium Window (Bronze)
• Aluminium Sliding Door (Bronze)
• Brick 7 MPA
• Brickforce 150 MM 15M Roll
• Brickforce 75MM 15M Roll
• Lintel Concrete 1200x110x75MM
• Lintel Concrete 1800x110x75MM
• Lintel Concrete 900x110x75MM
• Ceiling Board 1200x3000x6.4MM
• Door Frame Steel 813x2032x115x1MM
• Lockset 2 Lever
• Door Hardboard Interior 813x2032MM
• 32.5 Cement Ohorongo
• 42.5 Cement Ohorongo
• Paint 20 Litres
