Ugandans have in the past two decades witnessed the emergency of a number of different paint manufacturing companies which has created stiff competition in the industry as exposed by the various media advertisements and billboards, each company claiming its paint to be the best.
To establish which company’s paint brand is the people’s favorite, dealers’ choice, Eagle Online commissioned an in-house simple market survey whereby it sent out its scouts to interact with individual consumers, wholesalers, contractors and retailers in key towns of Kampala and Wakiso districts which have construction projects going on day in day out.
The team moved in places such as Nakasero market, Natete, Kawempe, Kireka, Makindye, Nansana, Kyengera, Kibuli, Nakawa, Ntinda, Namugongo, Kiira, Bugolobi, Kitintale and Mengo among others as they interacted with people about the paint they have ever used.
The team reached out to over 300 people who were picked randomly, 10 percent of them being wholesalers while 20 percent comprised retailers. The rest 5 percent were contractors. The rest comprised house owners, painters and artists.
Asked which paint they have heard of or bought in the last three years. 80 percent of the house owners, painters and artists mentioned Sadolin, while other paint brands share the 20 percent. Enoch Kagwa, 57, said he had known Sadolin since his childhood. “My father, who was a teacher, built his permanent house in the village in 1986 and the paint he used was Sadolin.
For Tina Zawedde Nakacwa ,when asked which paint comes first in her mind when need arises, she said Sadolin always comes first, though she admitted having used a different paint due to scarcity of Sadolin paint in the nearby shop. “I always buy Sadolin products. I think they are the best on market though other paints exist,” she said.
For Ibrahim, a resident of Nakulabye, Sadolin is the only paint he can think of whenever he wants to give a new look to his 23-year old rentals. He added: “I was disturbed when I had that Sadolin had left the market but then after some time I heard an announcement on radio that Sadolin is still in Uganda,” he said.
An accountant of one of the construction companies based in Kampala’s central business district in a brief phone interview said they mostly buy Sadolin paint for their clients’ houses. “As you know we are not real estate developers but we only construct houses for clients.
However, we always have Sadolin in our inventory for a short time.
For dealers, much as they have other brands of paint, they told our scouts that Sadolin paint remains their number one money maker as it doesn’t stay in stores for a long time. One of the dealers in Kawempe was quoted by our scout as: “Before you arrived here I had loaded a small dyna pick-up with 40 big tins of Sadolin paint for someone finishing up his rentals.
Another dealer in Nakasero market said the quality of Sadolin paint is key in attracting clients. “Sadolin paint is not affected by weather and it is durable. That is why people like Sadolin,” he said. He said he has spent over twenty years dealing in paint but was happy to say that Sadolin is the people’s choice much as he sometimes has to store some other paint in case Sadolin runs out.
The sellers said clients are happy with the packaging of Sadolin paint which ensures convenience and easy transportation. The sellers say they see Sadolin dominating the local paints industry for the years to come as Ugandans colour their houses, schools, churches, hospitals and other facilities.