Mon Nov 02 12:45:00 UTC 2020
It has been 25 years since the Shoprite Group blazed a trail to introduce world-class shopping in Zambia with the opening of its first supermarket on Cairo Road in Lusaka on 26 October 1995.
The retailer was the first to bring the “shopping under one roof” concept to Zambia, while not straying from its core value of offering the most affordable prices on quality goods.
Today Shoprite Zambia runs 39 stores, employs 3 800 people directly and 1 500 indirectly as merchandisers, butchery, cleaning and security staff. More than 50% of its employees are women and 80% of jobs are occupied by youths aged 25 to 35 years.
The retailer procures 88% of its total business (including service providers, plastic bags and security) from local suppliers. All poultry products except turkey are sourced in-country, while 92% of dairy and 64% of frozen dairy are locally procured. No less than 88% of fresh fruit and vegetables available in Shoprite supermarkets are supplied by Zambian farmers, and stores also host a monthly Farmers Day where local farmers sell their produce.
Hunger relief is a top priority for the retailer, who has established no fewer than three food gardens at Zambian Open Community Schools (ZOCS) in and around Lusaka - Linda, Chipata and Chainda Community Schools. The Shoprite Mobile Soup Kitchen serves food to learners of each school for six months, while the garden is being planted. The results of this as well as the investment in these gardens have been better school attendance, improved levels of reading as well as the acquisition of skills in planting in garden maintenance in the community.
- Charles Bota, General Manager of Shoprite Zambia , who started out as branch manager of Shoprite Ndola in 1995.
To mark the occasion of its 25th anniversary, Shoprite Zambia ran a competition in which 25 customers could win pick-up trucks, with the vehicles handover taking place on 6 November 2020.