Jaggers collapses

The sale, conducted by Ruby’s Auctions, appeared to be the last nail in the coffin for the giant wholesaler whose assets went under the hammer to pay off a US$445 000 debt to Delta Beverages.
The well-attended sale drew a lot of interest from the local business community and

ordinary people who appeared to be hunting for bargains. Among the goods on sale were refrigerators, butchery equipment, shelving equipment, com-puter accessories, office equipment, groce-ries, clothing, kitchen utensils and electrical gadgets.

A sombre atmosphere prevailed around the mammoth warehouse as the auctioneers invited bids for the goods on offer after paying a deposit of US$500.
This was the third and possibly the final auction sale against Jaggers since businessman and farmer Mr Cecil Muderede took over ownership of the firm less than a year ago.
Business came to a halt at the former wholesale giant in Msasa two weeks ago as the Deputy Sheriff moved in and the workers were told to leave.

Repeated efforts to get a comment from Mr Muderede were unsuccessful.
Jaggers and its subsidiary Trador have been buckling under a mountain of liabilities, which also saw the High Court ordering them to pay US$1,4 million plus interest to CBZ Bank for a US$3 million overdraft taken two years ago.

It lawyers, Kantor and Immerman, facilitated the overdraft. However, the firm failed to repay, prompting CBZ to take legal action to recover the funds.
As things stand, all that remains of the once thriving wholesale giant is the name and it would require something close to a miracle for Mr Muderede to salvage the firm.
The successful Chinhoyi farmer had been largely expected to inject fresh capital in the wholesale and retailing operations of Jaggers and Trador, as the firm had for a long time been facing serious viability challenges.

Mr Muderede bought the business from Metcash Africa of South Africa in April last year in what was hailed as a typical example of successful indigenisation.
It is understood Mr Muderede entered into partnership with former Jaggers managing director Mr Nicholas Dube and later bought him out over as yet unclear circumstances.
That the wholesale giant had been feeling the heat of undercapitalisation became self-evident last year when the firm closed 11 branches countrywide in its efforts to downsize.
While Mr Muderede has not been available to shed light on what exactly could have gone wrong at the firm, analysts have been quick to suggest that the businessman had not done enough due diligence before investing in the firm.