Simbisa targets underserviced areas

13 Jan, 2023 - 00:01 0 Views
Simbisa targets underserviced areas

eBusiness Weekly

Enacy Mapakame

The Victoria Falls Stock Exchange (VFEX) listed Simbisa Brands says the group will pay attention towards expansion into underserviced areas during the financial year 2023 (FY23).

These include high density areas as well as smaller towns where the group has limited presence.

The group is targeting to open 75 new stores in Zimbabwe and Kenya.

The development also comes as there has been mushrooming of fast food outlets in the country, especially in the high density areas, while others have encroached the city centres.

Simbisa is targeting to service those markets with its household brand – Chicken Inn, which has a more appeal to the middle to lower end market.

Already, the group has experimented with branches in Dzivarasekwa and Machipisa, while another branch is expected to open at Gazaland complex in Highfields.

“Particular attention will be paid to penetrating the market in areas currently underserviced by our brands, particularly in small towns and high-density areas,” said chairman Addington Chinake in an update on the group’s strategic focus.

The group has lined up several delivery channels such as Drive-Thrus for its brands in Zimbabwe and Kenya.

This comes as the Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) firm is on a massive capacity expansion initiative for FY23 in line with its strategies to consolidate market share across the region.

According to Chinake, the drive-throughs concept currently being implemented with Chicken Inn will be explored for other brands like Nandos and Steers.

Zimbabwe and Kenya are the group’s more developed markets, where 75 new store openings are also targeted. In both markets, initiatives in FY2023 will focus on improving order and bike tracking, thereby reducing delivery times and improving the overall customer experience.

“Zimbabwe and Kenya, are focused on increasing revenue streams through delivery channels and growing the market share through new store openings,” said Chinake.

“There are 75 new store openings in the pipeline in Zimbabwe and Kenya alone for FY2023. Several Chicken Inn Drive-Thrus are in the pipeline as this has proved a value accretive brand concept.

“In Zimbabwe, the group is exploring introducing the Drive-through concept for other brands such as Nandos and Steers,” he said.

Mr Chinake said in order for the group to bolster delivery revenue streams in Zimbabwe, the focus is on increasing delivery capacity through scaling operations across the country by acquiring more bikes and increasing the number of call centre agents.

He added a strategic decision was also made to transition Pizza Inn to deliver exclusively on the Dial-a-Delivery platform in Kenya, effective 1 September 2022 which will allow the group to maintain dominance against third-party delivery services and QSR competitors.

As for the other regional markets, the group will focus on consolidating and developing existing shops to generate growth from the existing capacity to increase shareholder returns on current investments.

According to Mr Chinake, new store development will be highly selective, with only the best possible sites being considered. Only eight such sites have been identified and included in the pipeline for the remaining regional markets in FY2023.

“Making improvements to the delivery businesses in these markets remains a key priority.

“We will (also) continue to carefully assess and execute the pricing strategy adopted in the current financial period to hedge against high inflation and exchange rate weakness while remaining sensitive to customer affordability,” he said.

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