theceomagazine.com | 77Frustrated by his experiences when
shopping for hardware, Ferdinand Co
started his own successful one-stop
shop alternative.WORDS DANIEL HERBORN • IMAGES JASPER SALCEDAB
ack in 2003, Ferdinand Co, now Managing Director of CW Home Depot, was
building his own house and found himself annoyed by the fragmented nature
of the home supplies retail scene at the time. He had to go to one store to buy a
doorknob, then another to purchase a faucet, before trudging across town to yet
another location to procure some door hinges. He knew there had to be a better
way, and the concept of a one-stop shop for homeowners and builders was born.
“It used to consume so much of your day,” Ferdinand recalls of shopping prior to the
advent of CW Home Depot. “Sometimes you would go to one place and if you didn’t find
what you were looking for, you had to go to another place. At that time, the idea of
construction materials being sold all under one roof, like a supermarket, was a very new
concept. The idea came about out of my own frustration.” »
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