Retailer Italtile will pave its way into east Africa when it builds six CTM stores in the next five years, expanding the footprint of its key brand to diversify its operations. Italtile, which also owns the Top T and Italtile chains, will add about six more CTM stores in Kenya to the existing two.story_article_left1The group will also open four more CTM stores in South Africa: in Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and the Western Cape.Speaking on Thursday after the release of the group's annual results, Italtile CEO Nick Booth said the company had achieved good results across all three brands, with CTM being its most profitable brand due to the size of the business, its footprint in South Africa and 77 stores elsewhere in Africa.The company said it planned to growprofits despite the weak rand and slow economic growth in its home market."The economic slowdown is old news, quarterly fluctuations happened in 2011 and this year is more of the same," noted John Loos, a home and property strategist at FNB.Cashbuild, a riva lhardware and home renovations retailer, said it was also equipped for any "disasters" in the economy and would continue with its plans to grow in South Africa and neighbouring countries, having opened a store in Swakopmund, Namibia, on Wednesday.CEO Werner de Jager said Cashbuild planned new stores in Upington and Grahamstown and around Gauteng.Loos said the past few years had been "a relatively good period in terms of levels of home maintenance that got people back into full maintenance after the financial crisis in 2008".mini_story_image_hright1Weak consumer confidence has stunted the development of most businesses in South Africa, and Italtile's small decline in turnover in the final quarter of its financial year was not unique.However, Booth said Italtile had introduced unsecured personal loans to keep consumers in store as affordability was becoming a problem for some.Cashbuild had offered unsecured personal loans for several years. Loos said this enabled customers to renovate now instead of waiting to have cash on hand.Booth was adamant people would always want to improve their homes.The focus was on what "we do to make sure those customers belong to us and not our competitors. That's really the view we're taking."..