Harare’s shops on wheels

Tafadzwa Zimoyo
THE car boot vending craze is switching into a new gear with the creative and aggressive sellers using their cars as “shops” for a whole range of cosmetics, clothes, shoes, towels and other wares. The traders are reaping lucrative rewards by avoiding paying rent and by-passing stringent city licensing regimes which require huge amounts of money.

“Selling from the boot of my car is quite convenient as I can easily have my wares accessible to passers-by and when I want to shift to another place where business is brisk, I just close the boot of the car and drive away to greener pastures,” says a boot vending dealer standing close to his BMW on a busy Harare street.

Gone are the days when luxury cars were used for strictly for pleasure.
Now, a new phenomenon has cropped up and it has become the vogue to see dealers who sell groceries, clothes, electrical appliances, household goods and other paraphernalia.

The products range from second-hand clothes, new clothes, shoes, cosmetics, children’s toys and other inexpensive trinkets.
Others sell books, CDs, DVDs, home décor and computer gadgets as well as beauty care items.

Even food is also sold in a similar way and one has to pay a visit at the Registrar-General’s Offices in Harare Street to witness this.
Food is sold from cars to people applying for passports and from offices dotted Downtown.

Shop operators are now feeling the pinch as these aggressive dealers are competing with them for customers.
The dealers enjoy so many advantages. They can speak directly to people as they go about their errands. They are also prepared to lower their prices as they negotiate with customers.

“This business is very viable, my brother. I used to operate a flea market but it is limited to one place and also the industry is now flooded,” says Susan Magunje of Chitungwiza who plies her trade on the streets of Harare.

“When a friend of mine who imports his wares from Dubai advised me to try it, I was impressed by what I reaped and I have never looked back since then.”

Also, in Southerton, such traders have also sprouted especially at the turn-off which heads to Mbare popular known as “Pamabank”.
They sell both new and second-hand clothes to workers in the Southerton industrial area.

“One finds it convenient to buy from us than wasting their time moving from one premise to another. Our wares are affordable. I have been doing this business for a long time and I sustain my family through it,” says one dealer.

“Another big advantage that this business has for us is that we don’t have to lose sleep about paying rent. What you just need is your car and fuel,” she says.

But the boot vending business also has its headaches.
Frequent harassment from the municipal police has seen most of them fighting running battles with authorities resulting in heavy losses as their goods are confiscated.

Frequent blitzes to restore order on the streets have forced some of them to remain vigilant always and hop from one place to the other to evade arrests.

“You see, these people are operating illegally since it is a crime according to council by-laws to operate from a place which is not designated for that purpose,” says a municipal policeman.

“To make matters worse, they are not paying rentals or any other rates which are associated with their business and this is depriving council of much-needed revenue.”

While it has been said the boot operators buy their wares from countries like Dubai and South Africa, others claim that some work in cahoots with shoplifters who sell to them the loot they steal from retail shops.

“Some of these things they sell like cosmetics, lotions, kitchenware and clothes are very cheap and it is clear that these are stolen from the shops and supermarkets,” says one shop owner.

A number of these vendors have been arrested in such cases.
So brisk has this trade become that some are even employing assistants to sell in these “shops on wheels”.

“I have three cars and two of them are being used by my young brother as well as someone else whom I employed.
“One needs to have good business acumen and also have good public relations in order to perform well,” says a boot vendor in Southerton.

Playing loud music also does the trick, while those who sell CDs like popular actor Von Tavaziva have gone the extra mile to install plasma sets on top of their cars advertising their products.

Car boot sales were popular in Europe in the past before they spread to other parts of the world.
Boot vending is also popular n Nigeria and South Africa. In Zimbabwe it started in the northern suburbs of Harare by some homeowners who wanted to get rid of unwanted goods.

One Karl Pinkel organises car boot sales on the first Saturday of each month at Borrowdale Country Club.
It’s quite popular with people who want to buy goods at reasonable prices.

Vending is now a problem for the council and remains to be seen how they will end this car boot vending craze.