FOR those old enough to remember, past companies have all but gone. Walgreens, Truworths, Topman, Greatermans, Edgars and Revenue House were among the lengthy list of home brands for the well- to- accomplish. The atmosphere in those stores was different.
BERNARD MPOFU
Many users were drawn to purchasing the extensive selection of products on display thanks to air-con cooled, friendly customer service groups and a sense of” I have made it.” Years later, everything has changed, making the much younger generation who is obsessed with trend believe these models were from antiquity.
They are more knowledgeable about the street merchandisers known for their hailers, who yell along Harare’s First Street and the rest of the city’s main business districts to grab potential customers ‘ attention.
Most of these market counterfeit brands of distinguished world fashion labels for incredibly low prices.
On the street, producers will also be humming due to power connection, as audio blares out violently from speakers.
Enter the “runners,” or “runners,” who are currently using the majority of the real estate that department stores like HM Barbours and other well-known companies have formerly used.
If not in the CBD, shoe sales and online shopping have recently become significant sources of opposition for well-known retailers. Little stores taking on well-known brands head-on have a new name in the form of runners.
They import inexpensive clothes both from the southern African place and worldwide. Tanzania, South and Zambia have become the cause of cheaper clothes, as the native cotton market tears.
A trip to Turkey or the United Arab Emirates is all that is needed for a closet makeover for those with more money to spend.
The state of politics at vintage clothing stores like Truworths Limited has brought into sharp focus the drawbacks of Zimbabwe’s economic environment as the economy deviates into informalization.
The growth of small-scale retailers, employing thousands, and evidently increasing the density of the CBD, has been paid for by the big boys, who have naturally paid the price for this. Edgars is on the cords, and the list goes on.
After it became clear that 70 % of micro, small, and medium enterprises ( MSMEs ) do not keep an accounting record, Zimbabwe could be losing millions of dollars in tax revenue, according to the Finscope Survey. With effect from March 7th, 2024, the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange Limited announced a deliberate suspension of Truworths Limited buying.
The ZSE lists the following as the suspension is for a period of three months to allow Truworths to handle the going concern aspects of the business and ensure adherence with ZSE Listing needs regarding the release of audited financial statements for the period ending 9 July 2023.
” This momentary suspension aims to give Truworths the needed time to address any issues and fulfill the ZSE’s regulatory responsibility. The ZSE requested and received permission to halt trading in its shares from Truworths ‘ request under Section 64 ( 1 ) ( a ) ( ii ) of the Securities and Exchange Act [ Chapter 24: 25]; a request was made by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Zimbabwe.
Before the suspension, Truworths had indicated that it would level down its tree system. In its just published unaudited finances, the team played out the effects of Zimbabwe’s growing casual industry on its doorstep.
” Units sold were severely impacted by informalization of the market, which has resulted in low and fraudulent goods selling at prices that are lower than local and international manufacturing costs. The business was not viably contend against these exports”, Truworths said in its finances.
The World Bank just pointed out that Zimbabwe’s instabile macroeconomic environment is promoting informalization while restricting access to capital for the formal sector.
The World Bank noted in its private sector statement on Zimbabwe that “price and exchange price fluctuation, big export retreat requirements, and big export retreat requirements have pushed some companies into the informal sector, limiting their ability to obtain financing from the banking system and further reducing the tax base.”
Additionally, there are a lot of foreign exchange transactions in the informal sector, which puts a new strain on the horizontal industry exchange rate. The local currency has been weakened rapidly, falling to a record high ( three digits in recent years ), and inflation has consistently been high ( more than 314 percent ).
According to researchers, the state of the economy is reflected in the decline of large companies. Zimbabwe’s economy experienced rapid de-industrialization over the past 30 years, which severely undermined any chance of putting the nation in the region’s competitiveness as a result of the country’s huge closure of major manufacturing companies, which has caused the country to become an industrial wasteland.
Studies indicate that many businesses have shut down operations in the nation since 1992, despite the fact that the some remaining manufacturing companies ‘ capacity utilization appears to be on a growth trajectory.
Greatermans ‘ credit conditions across affiliate businesses Barbours and Meikles allowed many Harare residents to enjoy the hallmarks of an affluent life from 35 departmental products including furniture, clothing, makeup, and electronics. After self-rule in 1980, the store offered upmarket searching for both black and white clients.
Fast forward to the day when several cities around the world lost prestigious businesses to online competitors, but Greatermans ‘ shutdown was seen as a sign of Zimbabwe’s economic collapse as millions of people were impoverished by inconsistent government policies. – News Hawk