APPAREL retailer Edgars Zimbabwe has embarked on an aggressive drive to grow its branch network as the group seeks to boost its revenues after the government eased Covid-19 measures.
According to the company, the outbreak of the pandemic curtailed foot traffic into stores as well as the bottomline.
On Friday, Edgars relocated its Borrowdale branch to a bigger and more accommodating location at Sam Levy Village. This, the company said, is in line with the retail giant’s strategy ofnopening new stores.
“The new location has quadrupled the trading space from its previous trading location and the branch is set to open its doors on Saturday 12 February 2022,” Rumbi Dzimba, the company’s spokesperson, said in a statement.
“With some key retailers being housed at the shopping centre, the location is strategic as the area has high traffic. This move is set to bring convenience to the customers as there is parking right in front of the store.
“Aiming to expand our local presence through brick-and-mortar stores,
the Edgars chain will continue to explore additional store locations to ensure our customers have easy accessibility to the brands they love.”
Dzimba said to augment the customer’s shopping experience, the store also has a thriving WhatsApp shopping platform complementing the e-commerce site that has served the brand well during the last 12 months.
The Edgars Chain is a division of Edgars Stores Limited and has 26 branches nationwide, with the most recent new location being Avondale in Harare.
Edgars Stores Limited has been in operating in Zimbabwe for more than 75 years. The group is constituted of two retail chains, Edgars and Jet, as well as a manufacturing arm, Carousel and ClubPlus microfinance.
In its trading update for the 13 weeks ending October, Edgars said during the period under review the company opened Jet Mutoko and Jet Hwange.
Tjeludo Ndlovu, the group CEO, said Edgars would continue to grow its branch network.
“The business is alive to opportunities presented to expand both our brick-and-mortar and online footprint and develop a resilient business model that will withstand the impact of future shocks and disruptions,” she said in a trading update.—Staff Writer
