Choppies wraps up purchase in KZN

BOTSWANA-based retailer Choppies has completed the acquisition of KwaZulu-Natal’s Arizona Wholesalers and Butcheries, adding to its 71-strong retail footprint in South Africa.

On Friday the company said it had closed a R100m deal for eight stores belonging to Arizona after obtaining approval from the Competition Commission on Wednesday.

The purchase price excludes business inventory. Choppies already has 21 stores, a distribution centre and a production plant in KwaZulu-Natal. Arizona’s “footprint in KwaZulu-Natal complements our existing presence in the area”, said Choppies CEO Ramachandran Ottapathu. “This transaction and the subsequent synergies it will unlock should … result in our South African operations reaching profitability over the medium term.”

Arizona began life in 1998 as a family-owned business, which has expanded to eight retail outlets covering 13 000m² of operating space. The retail group has more than 30 outlets in Zimbabwe. It also has operations in, Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia. Choppies has been on a regional expansion drive recently, which has seen its footprint spreading into Mozambique this year.

Last year the Botswana Stock Exchange listed giant, which is also listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange recorded an after tax profit of P 104,9 million ($10 million). — BDlive