Business / Companies
Choppies to open four more supermarkets
07 Sep 2014 at 04:19hrs | Views
BOTSWANA Stock Exchange-listed retail chain - Choppies - is set to continue expanding its foothold in Zimbabwe, with four more supermarkets set to be opened in Bulawayo and Harare before the end of the year, group chief executive officer, Mr Ramachandran Ottappath, said yesterday.
Speaking after a board meeting in Bulawayo to review the performance of the stores in the last eight months, Mr Ottappath told Sunday Business that two stores each would be opened in Harare in the next three months and Bulawayo in a month before spreading to the rest of the country.
"We are not confining ourselves to these cities only but in due course we will be expanding into the rest of the country. Our interest is in Zimbabwe as a whole and we have had a reasonably good performance for the period we have been operating here," said Mr Ottappath.
The board meeting was attended by Choppies group chairman Mr Festus Mogae, Zimbabwe chairman Ambassador Phelekezela Mphoko and Zimbabwe director business development Mr Siqokoqela Mphoko.
Group chairman Mr Mogae said they were satisfied with the amount of trade taking place in the country and that they were still on the spending stage as a group.
"We are still developing the number of shops here in Zimbabwe and although we are operating in a competitive market, we have learnt to co-exist with the competition, as you will note, Choppies Botswana and South Africa are still growing as we offer better value for our customers," he said.
Ambassador Mphoko said Choppies had contributed a lot to Bulawayo. The group had renovated buildings that they use, created employment and empowered indigenous companies in the city.
He said Choppies was all about empowerment and development.
"We are concerned about price stabilisaton, we care for our customers and are not out there to milk them but to provide goods at reasonable prices. We are also working on bringing manufacturing plants here to Zimbabwe instead of importing goods," said Ambassador Mphoko.
The Choppies official said in the next two years they would build a distribution centre in Bulawayo and according to reports the chain has invested about $21 million in Zimbabwe.
Speaking after a board meeting in Bulawayo to review the performance of the stores in the last eight months, Mr Ottappath told Sunday Business that two stores each would be opened in Harare in the next three months and Bulawayo in a month before spreading to the rest of the country.
"We are not confining ourselves to these cities only but in due course we will be expanding into the rest of the country. Our interest is in Zimbabwe as a whole and we have had a reasonably good performance for the period we have been operating here," said Mr Ottappath.
The board meeting was attended by Choppies group chairman Mr Festus Mogae, Zimbabwe chairman Ambassador Phelekezela Mphoko and Zimbabwe director business development Mr Siqokoqela Mphoko.
Group chairman Mr Mogae said they were satisfied with the amount of trade taking place in the country and that they were still on the spending stage as a group.
Ambassador Mphoko said Choppies had contributed a lot to Bulawayo. The group had renovated buildings that they use, created employment and empowered indigenous companies in the city.
He said Choppies was all about empowerment and development.
"We are concerned about price stabilisaton, we care for our customers and are not out there to milk them but to provide goods at reasonable prices. We are also working on bringing manufacturing plants here to Zimbabwe instead of importing goods," said Ambassador Mphoko.
The Choppies official said in the next two years they would build a distribution centre in Bulawayo and according to reports the chain has invested about $21 million in Zimbabwe.
Source - Sunday Mail
