Italtile has other weapons in its armoury
Italtile still holding the floor
In an environment of unprecedented challenges, the tile market leader is showing characteristic resilience
Resilience in tough times has always been Italtile’s hallmark. The R3.7bn annual revenue group is now pulling out the stops to defend its 45% share of SA’s tile market in an environment presenting unprecedented challenges. "Market conditions are even tougher than they were during 2008 and 2009," says Jan Potgieter, Italtile’s CEO since December. Italtile, which serves the market through its high-end Italtile, midmarket CTM and lower-end TopT brands, faces multiple challenges. Not least of these is the financial stress being experienced by middle-income consumers served by its core CTM division. "CTM is our biggest challenge," says Potgieter. "We have made big management changes in the division." Italtile faced another serious challenge in its past year to June. Caught off guard by a slump in demand that set in in its second quarter, the group found itself heavily overstocked. It was a market-wide problem worsened by the rand strengthening, which triggered a flood of imports from its...
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