Botswana-born retail behemoth Choppies has pulled the plug on its Zimbabwean venture, offloading its operations to local supermarket player Pintail Trading for a paltry US$260,000 (a shade over P3.75 million). The deal, quietly announced on the Botswana Stock Exchange, signals a sharp strategic pivot for Choppies as it prioritises profitability over its once-ambitious regional expansion.
Pintail Trading, a significant supermarket force in southern Zimbabwe with its fingers in both groceries and hardware, isn’t linked to the Choppies empire, according to the BSE filing. The transaction, deemed a mere blip on Choppies’ radar given its size – less than 5 percent of its total assets – required no major shareholder fanfare, classified simply as a “voluntary announcement.”
Behind the understated announcement lies a clear shift in Choppies’ boardroom strategy. The retail giant is tightening its belt, choosing to focus its energies and investments on markets where the tills are ringing loudest. While Choppies maintains a polite nod to Zimbabwe’s future potential, it candidly admits that the country’s persistent economic headwinds have made further investment an unsustainable drain on resources.
“The sale is a direct consequence of our strategic intent to laser-focus on our profitable territories,” the company stated bluntly in its BSE update. The reality, it seems, is that turning a profit in Zimbabwe would require a significant and prolonged capital injection – a commitment Choppies is no longer willing to make given the current economic climate.
“While we still see long-term viability in Zimbabwe, the truth is that for our operations there to thrive, Choppies as a group would need to sink considerable funds into them for an extended period,” the company conceded. “Frankly, given the present market realities, that kind of long-term commitment simply doesn’t stack up economically.”
The deal is done and dusted, with Choppies confirming it has secured the green light from Zimbabwe’s Competition Authority. For Pintail Trading, this acquisition represents a significant expansion of its footprint. For Choppies, it marks a retreat, a pragmatic decision driven by the bottom line in a challenging regional landscape. The Zimbabwean dream, it appears, has become a casualty of a profit-first strategy.
