Food company’s strong retail network propels growth

LUSAKA, ZAMBIA – Food company Zambeef Products Plc has been named as the second fastest growing retailer in Africa by the influential African Powers of Retailing report issued by Deloitte Africa.

According to the report by the leading accountancy firm, Zambeef’s revenue grew by 23 percent in 2013, only surpassed by Botswana’s Choppies Enterprise Ltd, and out-stripping the trajectories of other big-name brands such as Spar, Shoprite, Mr Price, Woolworths and Foschini.

The home-grown Zambian success story was also ranked as the 20th largest retailer on the continent by revenue.

Zambeef Joint CEO Carl Irwin attributed the growth to its major focus on building a strong retail and distribution network.

“Zambeef’s retail and distribution network has been structured to ensure customers have easy and convenient access to all our products. The retail network is predominately focused on the group’s cold chain food products division which is at the heart of the company’s operations. The division, which includes the production, distribution and retailing of beef, chicken, pork, fish, dairy products and eggs, is expected to drive the growth of Zambeef in 2016,” he said.

The company’s retail drive has seen the upgrade of existing outlets and roll out of new ultra-modern “macro” outlets offering meat, dairy and eggs alongside stockfeed and day-old chicks in strategic locations nationwide in a move that has met with an overwhelming response from customers.

In 2015 alone, Zambeef grew its retail outlet network to 150 stores from the previous 139 with several more stores planned for 2016 by the company directly as well as through its partnership with Shoprite. With this in mind, Zambeef hopes to roll out more of its macro-outlets or ‘one-stop’ outlets across the country so customers can purchase all its products in one place.

In addition to its own branded outlets, Zambeef’s 20-year-old partnership with Shoprite has also helped the company grow; Shopritehas eight new stores planned for 2016 to make a total of 34 Shoprite butcheries throughout Zambia that are operated by Zambeef.

That strategic relationship with Shoprite also extends to Nigeria and Ghana where the supermarket chain is rolling out seven additional stores in the coming year.

Based on year-on-year revenue growth for the Top 10 fastest growing retail companies, Zambeef’s revenue increased by 23 per cent in 2013 with a composite annual growth rate (CAGR) of 27.4 per cent from 2011-2013 representing a retail revenue of US $171.8 million. In the Top 25 African retail companies Zambeef generated US $229.6 million recording a 7 per cent year-on-year growth bringing its year-on-year to 11.7 per cent.

The report mirrors Deloitte’s annual Global Powers of Retailing report with a focus on Africa and features 25 of the continent’s listed retail companies based on revenue. It also will explore some of the emerging retail trends on the continent as well as track progress of the top African retail performers on the continent. Overall, Zambeef emerged as the 20th Top African retailer.

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About Zambeef Products Plc

Zambeef Products Plc is one of the largest integrated food companies in Zambia and the region. The group is principally involved in the production, processing, distribution and retailing of beef, chicken, pork, milk, dairy products, eggs, stockfeed and flour. The group also has large row cropping operations (principally maize, soya beans and wheat), with approximately 8,120 hectares of row crops under irrigation which is planted twice a year and a further 8,480 hectares of rain-fed/dry-land crops planted each year producing 120,000 tons of grain annually. The group is also in the process of rolling out its West Africa expansion in Nigeria and Ghana.

The company slaughters around 58,000 beef cattle, 7.9 million chickens and 53,000 pigs per annum, while also processing 12.3 million litres of milk, producing 130,000 tons of stockfeed, 40 million eggs, 89,000 shoes and processes 99,000 hides in its tannery per year.. It has 150 retail outlets throughout Zambia and West Africa, along with four wholesale depots

Zambeef employs over 6,000 people with a total of ZMW231million paid in remuneration and benefits in the last year. Zambeef generated US$38m in US Dollar income and contributed ZMW128m to Government in taxes and duties.

information is available at www.zambeefplc.com