Botswana's Choppies heading to Namibia

Botswana's Choppies Enterprises, a budget retailer with operations in seven African countries, plans to enter Namibia before December, its chief executive Ramachandran Ottapathu says.

The move is part of Choppies’ plan to open 40 more stores in the region by mid-2018 at a cost of about 300 million pula (US$29 million). Besides Namibia, Choppies will expand its presence in South Africa, Kenya, Zambia and Tanzania, Ottapathu said on Monday.

The retailer has 217 stores in the region, including operations in Mozambique and Zimbabwe.

"We will enter Namibia for the first time before the year ends," said Ottapathu, who holds a 20% stake in the retailer.

"After a few years of losses, we are now making profits in South Africa," he said, adding that he plans to expand in the eastern part of the country with 13 more stores.

The company is still operating below break-even in new markets such as Tanzania, Kenya, Zambia and Mozambique, he said.

Choppies is listed on the Botswana Stock Exchange and the JSE. The company has a market capitalisation of 4.9 billion pula or R6.06 billion, according to its website. – Nampa/Reuters and own report