eBusiness Weekly
Business Writer
Clothing retail giant, Edgars Stores Limited, has appointed Chesternoel Mutevhe as group chief finance officer, in addition to already made new appointments.
The company last year appointed several new senior leaders to its management team, including chief executive officer Sevious Mushosho, who replaced Tjeludo Ndlovu, while Happiness Vundla, the former group chief finance officer, resigned effective October 31, 2023.
In a notice, Edgars said the appointment of Mutevhe is with effect from January 1, 2024.
“He brings with him a wealth of experience in the FMCG sector, having worked for CFI Holdings Limited as Group Finance Director for seven years.
“Prior to that, he held the positions of Group Company Secretary, Group Treasurer and Group Financial Controller,” reads part of the statement.
In addition, Edgars said Mutevhe headed the property development outfit for the CFI Group and his most recent assignment was as head of finance in Zimbabwe for Karo Platinum.
Mutevhe is a qualified realtor and chartered accountant, having trained with Deloitte.
Edgars Stores Limited engages in the retail of clothing, footwear, textiles, and accessories in Zimbabwe, and the company operates through six segments: Edgars Stores Retail, Jet Stores Retail, Manufacturing Carousel, Micro Finance Club Plus, Corporate Head Office, and Financial Services.
In addition, it provides microfinance loans to the lower – to middle-income customer group.
Edgars Stores Limited unit sales for the third quarter to October 2008 jumped 28,5 percent, but cumulative nine-month sales were 2,4 percent below the previous year, with currency instability affecting the purchasing power of civil servants, a significant customer segment.
Civil servants account for 35 percent of the group’s business.
Edgars commended improvements in the economic environment achieved through interventions such as the announcement of the multi-currency regime’s continuation until 2030, which boosted confidence in financial markets.
“The economic environment was relatively stable during the quarter after the interventions of the Central Bank and government aimed at stabilising the ZWL exchange rate and inflation.
“The interventions, among others, included the announcement that the multi-currency regime will continue until 2030, which brought confidence to the financial markets,” reads part of the group’s trading update for the period.
The flagship Edgars chain achieved third-quarter unit sales of 260,043, representing a growth of 39,7 percent on the prior year.
However, cumulatively for the nine months to October 8, the chain unit sales were 2,16 percent down on the prior year to 703,253.
Revenue for the nine months was up 43,99 percent relative to the same period last year in historical terms. Credit sales constituted 63 percent of total sales, compared to 54 percent in the same period last year. The chain closed September with a stock cover of 10.0 weeks (2022: 17.3 weeks).
Jet, another chain under the group, achieved an 18 percent increase to 334,910 in unit sales for the third quarter compared to 283,877 achieved in the comparable period of the prior year. Nevertheless, the cumulative nine-month sales showed a 4,1 percent decrease.
Credit sales constituted a substantial portion of total sales for both chains, with reduced stock covers at the end of the quarter.
In the financial services sector, finance income decreased by 32,8 percent, with the local currency book reducing to $2,67 billion from a December 2022 balance of $2,85 billion, while the US dollar book grew 50 percent on the December 2022 balance to close at US$9,50 million.
Manufacturing experienced a notable 54,6 percent growth in sales units, with plans to acquire new machines for efficiency and capacity improvement.
The microfinance sector reported a 3,6 percent increase in the US dollar loan book but a significant 92,1 percent decrease in the local currency loan book.
