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The Future of Retail Construction Business: A Journey of Adaptation and Reinvention
The Brazilian construction materials sector, with its 140 retailers and approximately XNUMX wholesalers of various sizes and offerings, faces a panorama full of challenges. The concentration of sales, the advance of e-commerce, disintermediation, the so-called “fulfillment” movement and logistical issues were at the center of discussions during the panel “The Challenges of Contemporary Retail”. The event is part of the Successors Project, an initiative by Atlas, a Rio Grande do Sul leader in solutions for painting, construction and the home.
The Complex Situation of Retailing Construction Materials
Political and economic influences impact the situation in this sector. However, the focus of the discussions promoted by Atlas is on the significant transformations that change the functioning of the retail market. “The challenges are variable, the technologies available are multiple and external factors are unstable. Retail needs to adapt and change over time”, declares Márcio Atz, general director of Atlas and mediator of discussions with experts and executives from the largest wholesale and retail chains in Brazil.
The Future of Sales Concentration in Construction Retail
In the United States and Europe, the construction materials retailer has been concentrating its sales in the physical and digital environment for years. In Brazil, the sector is more fragmented, but this reality tends to change. The concentration of sales is a natural and already perceived movement, especially in supermarkets and large appliance retailers. However, in the building materials sector, the process can be slower due to barriers such as logistical limitations, tax issues and the need for skilled labor.
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Electronic Commerce and Disintermediation: New Paradigms
The growing popularity of large e-commerce portals, such as Mercado Livre, Magazine Luiza and Shopee, worries the construction materials retailer, as the physical store can become merely a showroom. The disintermediation of the chain is also a threat: digital platforms have allowed industries to directly serve the final consumer, such as MadeiraMadeira, which operates on a stock-free sales model, delivering products directly to the customer without necessarily going through a distributor or retailer.
