OK Zimbabwe reverses Entumbane branch closure

RETAIL giant OK Zimbabwe, plans to re-open its Entumbane branch, which it closed early this year, and convert it into a wholesale business with lower operating costs.

This comes after the retailer experienced stock-outs during the quarter ending December 31, 2024, which reduced product availability to around 50 percent of normal stocking levels.

Zimbabwe’s largest retail chain, with 67 branches across the country, cited a tough trading environment and debt constraints for the stocking challenges.
Group company secretary Mrs Margaret Munyuru told a Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Industry and Commerce that toured the Entumbane shopping complex recently that with the support of the Bulawayo City Council, the company was reversing the decision to close the branch.

However, it indicated the branch will not continue as a retail business, but will be converted to a wholesale operation.

“The last time we met, we referenced the closure of a supermarket in the Bulawayo Matabeleland region, OK Entumbane”, and “I’m very happy to say that we have reversed that decision with the support of Bulawayo City Council. We are now converting the supermarket into a wholesale facility,” said Mrs Munyuru.

“We have received confirmation that they will support us with the wholesale license so that we can transform our operations from a traditional supermarket into a wholesale facility that operates at a lower cost than the ordinary supermarket that we traditionally do.”

Mrs Munyuru said the retailer will assess the entire estate to find ways to optimise and utilise the premises in a manner that helps revive the business, give it fresh relevance and improve demand from the market.

The Parliamentary Committee on Industry and Commerce, which is conducting nationwide tours to evaluate business conditions across the country and engage directly with retailers to understand their challenges, toured OK Zimbabwe’s outlets in Harare on Tuesday.
Mrs Munyuru told the parliamentary committee led by Zaka South Member of Parliament Clemence Chiduwa that the firm was now recovering.

“We have already started restocking. A few weeks ago, even a month-and-a-half ago, you would have noticed that even Mazoe was missing from the shelves. The shelves are now filling up,” she said.

Last month, OK Zimbabwe rehired former chief executive officer Mr Willard Zireva to lead the retail group to lift it from its operational challenges, which saw the company closing five branches.

The return of Mr Zireva followed the departure of three senior executives.
The Entumbane community expressed joy after hearing that the supermarket will be reopened, albeit only as a wholesale business.

They said the availability of supermarkets in different townships and suburbs assists in bringing services closer to the people, thereby reducing the expenses of travelling to town.
Mr Edington Virimayi from Makhandeni B said following the closure of OK’s Entumbane branch, the residents had to travel to town for shopping and other services, which OK Zimbabwe offered.

“The closure of OK affected the community, we used to collect money here from our relatives abroad since the shop had World Remit, Mukuru and other money transfer services, but now we are forced to go to town,” said Mr Virimayi.

“Even buying groceries, OK used to offer better prices compared to other shops here in the suburbs, the supermarket accepted both US dollars and ZiG, which made it easy for us, so the closure made our lives expensive.-chroncile