eBusiness Weekly
Business Writer
As Covid-19 pandemic slowed activity with some companies forced to retrench, Zimbabwe witnessed a boom in small scale clothing retailers in both the central business districts (CBDs) and suburban shopping malls.
Prior to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, large clothing retailers such as Edgars, Topics, Truworths and Jet dominated the market in the CBDs together with some selected boutiques.
TV Sales and Home also dominated the furniture and electric gadgets, while mobile services providers’ retail shops were among the top retailers for mobile phones and accessories.
But this has drastically changed in the past two years as people moved to start their own enterprises, dominated by clothing and electric gadgets.
Resultantly, this has also boosted the property market where demand for space for small retailers has been on the increase with more shopping malls sprouting in the CBD and surrounding areas. Where retail space was usually found on ground floor, except for departmental stores, the number of small scale clothing retailers is constantly growing that they now occupy upper floors and basements.
Competition is rife, with social media marketing skills required to lure the market while other retailers now offer delivery services to incentivise the market.
The sector has also seen the increase in clothing wholesalers popularly known as “runners” bringing in clothing from China, South Africa, Tanzania, Dubai and Zambia. Competition has grown that the same “runners” are now also offering retail services.
A report by property management firm, Knight Frank on market performance for the six months to December 31, 2021 acknowledges the boom in SME retailing business buoyed by informality of the economy.
“Because of the non-availability of formal employment most people want to start a retail business selling various commodities. Some landlords have capitalised on this and created “flea markets” where tenants lease a stall/table on a daily basis.
“In most cases the tenants will be selling the same commodities, so the level of profitability is less certain,” said Knight Frank.
Listed companies like diversified hospitality group, Meikles Africa, Old Mutual and other property owners have repurposed, refurbished and remodelled their buildings to cater for the growing number of SMEs retailers.
In Harare’s Avenues area, a recently opened shopping mall – Fife Avenue Shopping Mall, has since grown in number of occupancies and already expanding dominated by clothing retailers.
Another property management firm, Rawson Properties Zimbabwe concurred.
“The sector is dominated by SMEs and informal businesses, with large retail outlets still maintaining a presence within the sector,” they said in their Neighbourhoods Report –Q4 2021.
