BY KUDZAI KUWAZA ZIMBABWE Stock Exchange-listed retail outlet OK Zimbabwe yesterday reopened its Bon Marche branch in Mount Pleasant after completing a US$1,5 million refurbishment.
The new-look branch, which was renovated over eight weeks, will have a pharmacy, the first time a retail outlet in the country has added the facility in-store. It has also added a liquor store which has a separate entry point and has widened the store’s shopping alleys. The till area was also renovated to efficiently serve customers. OK Zimbabwe group chief executive officer Maxen Karombo told journalists at the launch of the new-look Bon Marche store on Wednesday that this was part of the retail giant’s strategy of strengthening its presence in the market.
“It (the refurbishment) is part and parcel of our growth strategy that everywhere we show up, we have got to come up with a product people love,” he said.
“Our purpose as a business is to make happiness tangible and we want to do that by planting smiles on our employees first as well as our customers, suppliers, shareholders and the community we are operating in. So this is one such small step.”
OK Zimbabwe has embarked on a programme to freshen up its stores countrywide with a target to refurbish 12 stores in a year. Karombo revealed that OK Zimbabwe will further expand its footprint in Zimbabwe, particularly in areas where it does not have a presence.
“In January we opened a new OK Mart in Chivhu and so we are looking at such new spaces to extend our footprint because we think that by footprint expansion we have a good leverage for growth,” he said, adding that the retail outlet spends an average of nearly US$1 million on each refurbishment project.
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