K-Ban Hardware expands to Kingston
Published:Friday 12:07 AM
Three decades into its operation, retailer K-Ban Hardware Limited is venturing into Kingston for the first time, with the addition of a fifth store at Village Plaza. Its other four branches comprise two in Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland, and two in…
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Three decades into its operation, retailer K-Ban Hardware Limited is venturing into Kingston for the first time, with the addition of a fifth store at Village Plaza.
Its other four branches comprise two in Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland, and two in Linstead, St Catherine, where it’s also headquartered.
K-Ban also operates an online store. And the new store, scheduled to launch on July 21, will serve both in-store and online customers. The investment made in the expansion was not disclosed.
“This showroom is a concept of ‘click and mortar’ that ties back into enhancing our e-commerce platform,” said company co-founder Kiran Banhan. The term ‘click and mortar’ is a variation of the brick- and-mortar description of physical branch networks and retail chains.
K-Ban is seeking to grow in an expanding DIY, or do-it-yourself, and hardware store market that, according to Statistica.com, is forecast to hit US$717.7 million in Jamaica in five years, that is by year 2028.
The company, which faces many rivals, such as H&L Rapid True Value, Phil’s Hardware, Tools & Hardware, Home & Things, and Budget Supplies Company, says it “blends e-commerce and physical contact points for broad coverage” of the market.
Founders Kiran and Maxine Banhan say they have transformed the mom-and-pop shop which K-Ban once was. He began by selling thread tape from the back of his Ford Escort motor car, he said.
Today, the company trades in agricultural and gardening supplies plus construction products, from foundation to finishes. The business is run by son Tej Banhan as CEO and daughter Nalini Banhan-Nembhard as chief financial officer.
Describing K-Ban’s size, Tej Banhan said that the company employs 150 full-time workers and 50 more persons on contract. However, he declined to comment on the level of sales, but said the operation is a designated large taxpayer, or LTO.
“We are continuously on an aggressive growth agenda, and typically maintain our growth rate at a base of 15 per cent year-over-year,” said Tej. “We experienced a higher growth rate in 2022 than our base case,” he added.