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OpenOK Zimbabwe Reverses Closure Of Entumbane Branch In Bulawayo
OK Zimbabwe plans to reopen its Entumbane branch in Bulawayo, one of five branches it closed earlier this year due to a challenging trading environment that led to stock shortages during the third quarter ending December 31, 2024.
At the time, OK Zimbabwe, which operates nearly 70 branches nationwide, reported that product availability had dropped to about 50% of normal stock levels.
Margaret Munyuru, the group’s company secretary, told a Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Industry and Commerce, which recently visited the Entumbane shopping complex, that with the support of the Bulawayo City Council, the company is reversing its decision to close the branch.
Munyuru also said the branch will no longer operate as a retail outlet but will be converted into a wholesale operation. She said:
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.
We have received confirmation that they will support us with the wholesale licence 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.
The Parliamentary Committee on Industry and Commerce, currently touring the country to assess business conditions and engage directly with retailers to understand their challenges, visited OK Zimbabwe’s outlets in Harare on Tuesday. Said Manyuru:
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.
Edington Virimayi from Makhandeni B said that after OK Zimbabwe closed its Entumbane branch, residents were forced to travel to town for shopping and other services that the branch had previously provided. He said:
The closure of OK affected the community, we used to collect money here from our relatives abroad since the shop had World Remi, Mukuru, and other money transfer services, but now we are forced to go to town.
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.
We also used to pay our bills, like buying licenses, electricity, and other things here, it’s now difficult for us, so we appeal to the company to reconsider their decision.
OK Zimbabwe recently closed five branches namely; Robson Manyika (Harare), Glen Norah (Harare), Kuwadzana Express (Harare), Mbare (Harare) and Chitungwiza Town Centre (Chitungwiza).
More: The Herald
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