Meikles revenue up 15pc

Pick ‘n Pay invested about US$13 million into TM Supermarkets and opened its first branded store in Zimbabwe in June. The investment raised its stake in TM Supermarkets to 49 percent while Meikles retained a majority stake of 51 percent.
“Growth in turnover was registered in TM Supermarkets and Tanganda. The new (Pick ‘n Pay) branch has been well received by customers and has done exceptionally well to date,” Meikles said in an interim management report last Thursday.
The company said three more Pick ‘n Pay branded supermarkets would be opened in Zimbabwe before the end of this year.
The uplift in turnover for the supermarkets chain was expected to “continue” as refurbishment and rebranding of more branches was undertaken.
The growth registered by Zimbabwe’s first Pick ‘n Pay branded store will help TM Supermarkets solidify its leading retailer status, analyst Mr Johannes Kwangwari said.
“Pick ‘n Pay is a bigger retailer and has the capacity to understand the needs of consumers. The growth in turnover may also have been spurred by positive sentiment from the market, which drove volumes‚” he said.
Another economist, Mr Takunda Mugaga, said more new retailers would enter sector.
“An economy on a recovery (path) spends more on consumption than on investment‚” Mr Mugaga said.
Besides running the TM Supermarkets chain‚ Meikles has other interests in beverages‚ tea growing and processing‚ hospitality and leisure sectors ,where it is a major player.
Although Meikles disposed of the Cape Grace Hotel in South Africa for US$30 million last year‚ it said the outlook for its hotels division was positive with increased traffic likely to be seen in the period after the elections, expected this year.
The flagship Meikles Hotel in Harare is currently undergoing refurbishment and this has forced the hotel to close a wing comprising 135 rooms.
This has had an impact “on revenue growth as expected” from hotels. The diversified group’s other flagship, Victoria Falls Hotel, is also set to undergo renovations, starting in November.
Players in the Zimbabwean hospitality and tourism sector are gearing up for bumper tourist arrivals on the back of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation General Assembly to be jointly hosted by Zimbabwe and Zambia in August next year.