eBusiness Weekly
Ok Zimbabwe Limited is a leading supermarket retailer listed on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange.
The inaugural branch was opened at OK First Street Harare (then Salisbury) in 1942 and the second branch in Bulawayo in 1952.
A further five outlets had been opened across the country by the end of 1960 and in 1977, Delta Corporation acquired the business operations of Springmaster Corporation (now OK Zimbabwe Limited), which they held until the de-merger in October 2001.
OK Zimbabwe Limited was first incorporated as Springmaster Corporation in 1953, and in 1984, its name was changed to Deltrade Limited which then subsequently changed to the current name in July 2001.
OK’s business covers three major categories, comprising groceries, basic clothing and textiles, and houseware products.
The groceries category includes dry groceries, butchery, delicatessen, takeaway, bakery, provisions, the fruit and vegetable sections.
Max Karombo is the current OK Zimbabwe group chief executive officer, he joined the group in April 2021.
He holds a Bachelor of Technology (Honours) degree and a Master of Business Administration degree, both from the University of Zimbabwe, and is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), Max was first certified as a Chartered Marketer in 1999 and is a recipient of the Outstanding Marketing Personality of the Year from the Marketers Association of Zimbabwe.
He has held various senior leadership roles in Marketing and Operations which have enabled him to hone his vast experience in marketing.
Leveraging on his robust training, he grew his business leadership credentials at Unilever where he started off as Marketing Director for the South East Africa cluster, Zimbabwe Customer Development Director, Managing Director at Unilever Uganda, and eventually as Managing Director at Unilever Zimbabwe.
In the recent past, he was at Delta Corporation as Executive Director – Operations and Marketing for 10 years.
