Choppies Enterprises Limited is a multinational grocery company and general merchandise retailer based in Gaborone, Botswana. At first they only sell foodstuffs (both fresh groceries and wholesale long-life foods) and other FMCG. The group has an in-house central distribution network in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Kenya.
Choppies became a company listed on the Botswana Stock Exchange on January 26, and is a component of the company’s BSE domestic index with an approximate market capitalization of pesos 2.4 billion on December 20, 2012.
The company also completed its secondary listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange on May 27, 2015
Choppies was founded in 1986 with one supermarket called Wayside Supermarket (Proprietary) Limited in Lobatse by the Chopdat family, with a second store opening in 1993.
Since 1999, when the company only had two stores, the management team, which included the founding members of Choppies Mr. Farooq Ismail (current Vice Chairman) and Mr. Ramachandaran Ottapathu (current CEO) (both of which are also major shareholders each owning 34.2% out of stock), the company has carried out explosive growth, and the group has merged into a single structure in 2003 (previously the franchise under various names) to become the dominant leader in the FMCG industry in Botswana.
Due to the exponential growth of the company since 1999, the demand for the company to be listed on the country’s stock market eventually took its toll on the management team and the company became listed on January 26, 2012. The company hired Grant Thornton to run the management front in the company’s initial public offering. , where 1.2 billion shares were listed at an offer price of 1.15 BWP per share, with 25% reaching the public. The IPO was the largest on the Botswana Stock Exchange raising £350m in both an IPO and a private placement, with shares oversubscribed by up to 400%.
Distribution and supply
Choppies distribution centers act as a central source for Choppies stores. The company’s top 200 products are delivered in bulk to distribution centers and then distributed from there to stores. Other products are delivered directly from the source to the stores. Chubiz operates two distribution centers in Botswana; One is in the International Trade Park in Gaborone, and the other is in Lupatsi. A new South African distribution center of 10,000 square meters was opened in September 2012 in Rustenburg to service stores in South Africa.
Welldone (Proprietary) Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Choppies Group, is a logistics company that supports the day-to-day operations of stores. The company owns a fleet of 245 commercial vehicles that distributes products to all the group’s stores. The Choppies logo was affixed to the fleet of vehicles.
In 2008, the first Zeerust store in South Africa was opened there by expanding in the Northwest region. 2014 was the year the group opened its first distribution center in Zimbabwe and in 2016 the secondary listing took place on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. By the end of 2015, operations began in Zambia and saw in early 2016 the acquisition of the Jwayelani Group in Durban, South Africa. The Kenyan acquisition of Ulkwala Group also took place in early 2016. As part of its long-term growth plan, the group opened its first stores in Tanzania and Mozambique in 2017.
Store types and product ranges
Choppies Group operates hypermarkets, department stores, and value stores as per their respective sizes, and sells more than 45,000 different products. Choppies sells both branded and private label products, primarily packaged and long-life foods. All of our stores are located in urban, semi-urban and rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa, close to residential areas and transport nodes.
The group has 286 of its own brands ranging from food and beverage to cosmetics, clothing and cleaning products.
competitors
The company’s main competitors include retailers SPAR, Pick N Pay, Woolworths Foods, Shoprite and small local general dealers. The group has a current market share in Botswana of 30%, according to an independent survey by Briggs and Associates. Although there are many competitors, Choppies has managed to expand into some African countries starting with South Africa where it is in tight competition with its competitors, it is still the preferred retailer which gives it the upper hand and that is why it is able to explore overseas markets.
Corporate Social Responsibility
Botswana
• In partnership with Virgin Active Gaborone, Choppies organized an employee wellness day to promote health and wellness in the workplace. • In cooperation with the Lady Khama Charitable Fund, Chubbies has donated 1.2 million BWP in groceries to Border Patrol soldiers and nurses working over the Christmas holidays. • Donate food commodities to Gamodubu Children’s House in Gaborone, which looks after over 100 children under the age of 17. • Participate in lunch for Gabane House of Hope, a home for the elderly located in Gabane. The Choppies also donated blankets and towels. • Organized a lunch for orphans in Childline Botswana on Mother’s Day.
South Africa
• Donating strains to the “Women Against Rape” organization. • Donate groceries to a children’s community center. • Donate snack baskets to a children’s center in Boychock, Northwest.
Zambia
• Support the Ngovo Community Center in Sibulia County, which provides educational and care activities for more than 200 troubled youth.
Zimbabwe
• Donate groceries to Ingutsheni Central Hospital in Bulawayo.
CONTACT DETAILS
Botswana
Choppies Distribution Center
Plot 169, GICP
Gaborone Botswana
Tel: + 267 3186657/8
Fax: +267 3186656
Email: info@choppies.co.bw
South Africa
Office Address: Block B
1st Floor
Crownwood Office Park 100 Northern Parkway
Ormonde| Johannesburg
Tel: +27 (0)14 538 3181
Email: info@choppies.co.za
Zimbabwe
12273A Falcon Street, Cnr Phoenix Road
Belmont, Bulawayo
Tel: +263 9 470240/+263 9 471083
Mobile: +263 0782 745 199
Email: info@choppies.co.zw
Tanzania
Harbour View Towers 5th Floor
Samora Avenue
P.O.BOX 10295
Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania
Tel: +255 689 680 197
Email: info@choppies.co.tz
Kenya
Central Business Park
Road C, Off Enterprise Road
Nairobi,Kenya
Tel: +254 791334455/6 / +254 774454553/4/ +254 738556674/5
Email: info@choppies.co.ke
Zambia
Choppies distribution Center
Warehouse #4, Plot 29389, Makeni
Lusaka, Lusaka Province,Zambia
Tel: +260 (0)950 551720
Email: info@choppies.co.zm
Mozambique
Mall de Tete
Corner of EN7 & Avinada Da Visao Mundial
Bairro Matema, Tete, Mozambique
Tel: +258 25 220 170/6
Email: info@choppies.co.mz
Namibia
ERF 499, Silver street, Prosperita
Windhoek P.O Box 21491, Windhoek
Tel: +264 (0)61246301
Email: info@choppies.co.na