Supermarkets Run Out of Mineral Water and Soft Drinks
A number of supermarkets around the capital city of Harare have run out of mineral water and soft drinks with suppliers blaming shortages on the current foreign currency crisis facing Zimbabwe since the introduction of bond notes in 2016.
The situation has been worsened by the outbreak of cholera and the summer season which has resulted in a sharp rise in demand for bottled water.
Shop operators blame suppliers for failing to cope with the increase in demand saying most of their orders have not been delivered.
“It’s not our problem if you do not get mineral water and soft drinks in our outlets, Delta beverages is not delivering our orders in time.
“We once ordered for some soft drinks and beer sometime back but up to now they have not delivered anything and we are having a problem with our clients they think it’s our ignorance,” said one staff member at a Choppies Supermarket in Sunningdale.
“The demand for mineral water is very high especially for the 500 milliliters and 1.5 liters.
“There is high demand for water yet the supply is low, we have been trying to convince our suppliers to meet the target especially during this period where there is a cholera outbreak, people need purified water but there seem to be no action at all,” said Brian Chaparadza a business man.
N. Richards opens new branch in Harare
Diversified retail and wholesale giant N. Richards Group yesterday opened a new branch in Msasa, Harare, bringing the group’s total operating stores throughout Zimbabwe to 34. The retail and wholesale giant, which has been in business for over eight decades, has two branches in Tynwald and another in Graniteside.
According to N. Richards Group director Archie Dongo, the Msasa branch opening day was arguably the busiest the retail and wholesale concern has experienced in recent years.
By 4.30am there was already a big crowd of customers waiting for us to open and by 6.30am our car park was already full. The only opening day that was equally busy was when we opened the Kwekwe branch recently,” Dongo told the Daily News.
The N. Richards Group director attributed the retail and wholesale’s growth to their policy of selling mainly local products. The new Msasa branch is the fourth N. Richards Group branch in the capital city.
We will be opening our 35th branch in Nyika, Masvingo Province next week. We believe our growth is down to our philosophy. Most of our shelf space is covered by local products. We deliberately support local…90 percent of the over 5 000 different product lines we stock is local
N. Richards has been in business for over 80 years. We found that when we support local manufacturers; those manufacturers provide jobs for our brothers and sisters. And when those brothers and sisters have jobs they get paid. When they get paid, they buy from our customers and our customers buy from us.