When purchasing any product, customers seek a number of factors including the quality of the goods and the price, while sourcing different materials in the one location and being offered expert advise where you are unsure of what best suits your needs are also beneficial to the purchaser.
One hardware store in Kilmallock, Co Limerick has been offering this type of service to its long standing customers for over 45 years is Cahill’s Homevalue Hardware.
The Homevalue Hardware and DIY are 100% Irish owned with a network of over 65 independently owned stores nationwide. Their reputation in the hardware industry has been built on providing the best product at the lowest price. Professional tradesmen and DIY enthusiasts alike know that Homevalue means real value and real expertise.
One of the first independent stores to launch the Homevalue brand was the Cahill family as Tim had been involved in the industry before launching his own business along with his wife Helen in Newcastlewest in 1972. Two years later, the business was moved to Kilmallock where it has been located ever since, although they moved to a purpose-built three-acre 36,000sq ft facility in 2002.
Their customer base covers a broad range from the DIY and home decor enthusiast who are are repairing or improving their household, Homevalue has got them covered. Drop in today and check out their huge range of tools, paint, tiles, flooring and more.
They also stock a wide range of gardening products and have everything needed to transform your garden into an outdoor living room. Homevalue have a huge range of garden furniture, gardening tools, horticulture materials and gardening machinery.
For the professionals and tradesmen, Cahill’s Homevalue has been serving Irish tradesman and the Irish construction industry for over five decades now. Over the years they have built up a well-respected reputation for stocking the best brands and providing top level service in all our stores nationwide.
“We provide general hardware and are builder providers as well,” stated Tim. “You could describe us as a one-stop shop for the construction industry and our customer base would cover Limerick, North Cork, North Kerry and South Tipperary.
“There have been a lot of changes to the industry over the years, but we are fortunate to have a loyal customer base that have stuck by us over the years, and our range of products has increased considerably during that time also.”
Tim’s son Timothy is involved in the day to day running of the business and he told us about some of the newer products available at the store.
“We stock a wide range of building materials including sand, gravel, concrete blocks. There is also a new range of Connemara walling available. Other departments include timber, roofing and sheet materials, heating, plumbing, bathrooms, cookers and stoves; hardware DIY & electrical; homewares, paint and household; garden maintenance and landscaping.
“We have also a new range of bathroom suites in the showroom, which have proven to be popular amongst our customers. We can cater for everyone. Our paint department is well stocked and Breda and Phil who look after this area have many years experience behind them and are qualified to deal with any query that you may have.
“This is one area of the business that has grown considerably and this was even the case during the recession. They say ‘paint is recession proof’ and that that was certainly the case as our paint department grew during that period and our customer base would comprise of 80% household and 20% trade.”
A wide range of timber products is stocked in their yard and Cahill’s have an edge over their competitors in this area as all timber is under cover.
“Any timber that is here is under cover, which is something that you wouldn’t see in many timber yards. We import and source our timber locally.”
Of course, any successful business would not have achieved their goals were it not for an efficient and reliable workforce as Timothy revealed that they were very fortunate on that front.
“There are 18 working here including ourselves, many of who would be with us years. The likes of Brigid in accounts has been here since 1982, while our sales manager Pat O’Byrne started 23 years ago, while many more would have ten years plus service. Everyone here knows their job inside out and when a customer comes in, they can be guaranteed an excellent service.”
Cahill’s Homevalue Hardware are always looking at ways of improving their service and Timothy added that they regularly do surveys on customer age profile.
“It is important to know as much about your customer base as possible and we can tell you that 30% of our customer base is aged between 40 and 50, while 30% is aged between 50 and 60 and 30% between 60 and 70.
“Business is good at the moment and we have witnessed growth year on year in the last few years. It is now our focus to continue that growth and enhance our customer base, while continuing to supply a top quality service at reasonable prices.”
Contact Details:
Cahill’s Homevalue Hardware
Kilmallock Business Park,
Kilmallock,
Co. Limerick
Tel: 063 98367
Email: [email protected]
Taken from Building Ireland Magazine, November 2017, Vol 3 No 10
