On Tuesday, 18 November 2025, Italtile hosted a site visit to its various operations in Gauteng, particularly its retail trading node and import business in Boksburg, and supply chain facilities in Vulcania and Vereeniging. The site visit provided insight into the business model for ITE and the strategic direction of particular business units.
The retail node in Boksburg showcased the new store models for CTM and Italtile Retail. While both chains are located on the same site, they have different target markets, with CTM targeting middle-income and Italtile targeting higher-income LSM customers. While there is about a 10% overlap in product between the two chains, the key differentiator is range and price. The site was built to also accommodate ELK (a JV partner) and the U-Light brand, but since ITE exited that business, ITE is leasing the space out to complementary tenants, such as The Bed Centre or Gelmar.
The Vulcania Ezee Tile factory was commissioned two years ago to manufacture various specialised products as well as the mass market adhesives and bonding liquids. While the plant is new, more efficiency could be achieved as truck turnaround time is currently at 30 minutes, compared to the target of 20 minutes. The mothballing of the paint machine could impact sales in TopT, given that paint makes up 7%-8% of the product ranges in stores. However, operating the paint machine limits space for the core business.
The Gryphon and Pegasus factories provided insight into the mechanics of tile production, but also into how sensitive changing demand and fashion trends can be for manufacturing plants. The group has to remain agile to keep up with trends, as it has with the commissioning of the new rectified kiln to produce polished tiles. The group has invested significantly in minimising waste and ensuring plants operate as efficiently as possible, but we are concerned that pressure from rising utility costs and gas prices could erode profitability should volumes and demand pick up.