On A Date with OK Zimbabwe Ltd

Dating is a critical stage to any investor considering to take a position on any asset class even shares.

#1. History,

1927, Michael Miller and Sam Cohen open their first store on Eloff and President Street in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The entrepreneurs pioneer a concept known as self service in retailing into the new store OK Bazaars

1929, listed on the JSE

1942, The first OK Bazaars is opened in the then Salisbury now Harare, Zimbabwe.

10 years later a second branch is opened in Bulawayo with subsequent branches in major Gweru, Mutare and Masvingo

1953, OK Bazaars is incorporated as Spring Master Corporation

1977, Spring Master Corporation is acquired by Delta Corporation (DC) bringing a name change 7 years later to Deltrade Limited.

1997, OK Bazaars in South Africa is bought for R1 by Shoprite. However the brand still exists as a furniture chain store.

2001, Deltrade is de-merged from DC and becomes OK Zimbabwe.

#2. Operations,

OK is supermarket chain retailer which sells groceries, basic clothing and general household wares.

It operates within 3 business units which are highly visible and are geared to serve a distinct customer.

67 stores are operated.

#3. Stores

OK

51 stores are run across Zimbabwe. Designed to appeal to a shopper on a budget.

Annually runs the biggest promotional event the OK Grand Challenge.

It has its in-store brand the Shopperschoice which directly competes with manufacturers.

Bon Marche

8 stores are operated around the affluent suburbs of Harare namely Avondale, Belgravia,

The promotional campaigns appeal to health and wellness of the customer.

Premier Choice is the in-store brand which emphasis vitality than price.

OK Mart

Born out of the two premises which were once operated by Makro a Massmart business.

Massmart is the company behind Game stores in South Africa.

OK Mart offers one stop shop convenience with an appeal to bulk buyer shoppers.

8 stores operated.

#4. Competitors,

Though OK is a leading retailer it is in a competitive market.

TM PicknPay

Choppies

Foodmart

N Richards

Metro Peach

Gain

Foodlovers

Simrac

Mohammed Mussa

Greens

Fazak

* Individual stores in the local residential shopping centres

#5. Share Price,

ZWL 28.69 per share as at March 8.

ZWL 27.45 /share at the beginning of 2022.

ZWL 36,896,908,362.03

2% ZSE Market weight

4.5% YTD gain vs All Share Index at 38.5%

8th most traded stock on the ZSE in the past 3 months to March 3.

1,285,884,350 issued shares

#6. Shareholding,

Datvest Nominees Foreign

Datvest is an asset management company which is 100% owned subsidiary of CBZ Holdings.

It holds OK shares for its foreign clients who might be individuals or companies domiciled offshore.

#7. Management,

Maxen Phillip Karombo

Joined OK Zimbabwe on the 5th of April 2021. He is an experienced executive.

His career before OK was with Delta Corporation as a senior executive

Worked for Unilever and Zimnat in senior roles. Holds an MBA from UZ.

#8. Pitch,

A market leader in the grocery retail space with store footprint across the country

80 cents per share dividend in the last financial year a good precedent for more

Comparing to Miekles which is now more of TM PicknPay might present future value

Each week will be on a DATE with a company listed on the ZSE with Martin Mataga Twitter @MartinMataga.

The purpose of this thread is to assist investors to have a minimum appreciation of listed firms.

Disclaimer: Do not misconstrue this thread as investment advice. DATE companies before you buy their shares.