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OK Zimbabwe, the country’s largest supermarket chain, is shutting down stores due to rising operational costs, frequent power cuts, and an increasingly challenging business environment.
OK Zimbabwe’s company secretary, Margaret Munyuru, appeared before Parliament, highlighting the challenges forcing the retailer to downsize. She called for a streamlined licensing process, emphasizing that multiple retail licenses and excessive bureaucracy were making operations difficult.
“Power remains unsustainably costly,” Munyuru said. “We are running supermarkets primarily on generator power due to electricity shortages, and even when power is available, the tariffs are extremely high.”
She also pointed out that the company has to arrange private waste management services since local authorities fail to provide adequate service despite charging high rates. Property rental costs, she added, remain excessively high, making it difficult to maintain or expand their store footprint.
One of the latest closures is the OK supermarket in Entumbane, Bulawayo, which had operated for nearly 35 years. Munyuru noted that the store’s shutdown has disrupted local farmers who relied on it as a marketplace for their produce and left the community with fewer retail options for purchasing goods in local currency.
“We are a business that runs close to 70 supermarkets nationwide, and the communities we serve are pleading for us to stay,” Munyuru said. “However, the high cost of doing business is simply unsustainable.”
As Zimbabwe’s economy continues to struggle, businesses like OK Zimbabwe are finding it increasingly difficult to survive. Munyuru urged authorities to address the high costs of power, property rentals, and service provision to prevent further store closures and economic disruption.
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