Patricia Barreiro, GMM, Home Décor and Garden, Sodimac
Sodimac, founded in 1952, has stores in seven countries: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay. It has been on a steep growth track since 2012, when the company served a market of 137 million residents with 134 locations for sales of nearly US$46 billion. In 2020, Sodimac has served about 480 million residents at 254 locations for a market of nearly US$151 billion.
Sodimac’s key categories include Décor and Garden, Finishes, Hardware and Construction. Within these categories, Sodimac stocks a mix of private label, national and global brands. A larger percentage of products in Sodimac’s assortment are sourced in Latin America than are imported.
Sodimac’s sourcing strategy relies on a limited number of suppliers who provide a small number of high-volume SKUs, which also benefits the vendors who can consolidate their portfolios and see high volumes in sales in all the countries in Sodimac’s network. The headquarters office in Chile chooses suppliers, coordinates product selection, packaging requirements, payments and distribution for the various countries.
Sodimac requires import suppliers to meet its standards for:
- On time delivery: penalties are applied for delayed shipments
- Ethics: SEDEX compliance for working conditions and health/safety of workers
- Quality: vendors sign quality control requirements agreement
- Speed to Market: fulfill Sodimac requirements for packaging and internet photos, etc.
- 100% cost competitiveness: optimize costs to be competitive in local markets
- Innovation: products, packaging, web content, business model
Patricia Barreiro was asked about Covid effects on stores in the different countries in their chain and impacts on product category sales. She reported that Latin American consumers are adjusting to working from home, as this practice has not been as common as in the U.S. and Europe. As people spent more time at home, remodeling projects propelled sales of décor, paint and garden items. Kitchen and household products also increased, as the use of paid domestic help has decreased.
For more information on the Global Forum presenters, contact Lori Szudarek, IHA senior manager, member, and international buyer relations, at +1.847.692.016 or email Lszudarek@housewares.org.
