Vusumuzi Dube
Sikhumbuzo Moyo, Senior Reporter
ZIMBABWE Stock Exchange (ZSE) listed giant retailer, OK Zimbabwe Limited is today (Saturday) set to hold it’s OK Grand Challenge carnival in the city where it will also parade the 2023 grand prize vehicle, the US$60 000 Ford Ranger double cab.
The carnival, set to start at 7am and wind up at 10am, is meant to bring awareness to the 35th edition of the promotion.
There are US$1 million worth of prizes to be won during this edition of the promotion that kicked off on April 5 and will run until the grand finale on June 3.
Over 40 Nissan NP200s and a new generation Ford Ranger double cab worth over US$60 000 (the premium prize) are on the table for lucky customers in this year’s edition, courtesy of a diverse network of suppliers.
Included in the vehicle prizes are the Shoppers Choice Loyalty Club NP200 and the Rite brand car prize where customers qualify by buying groceries worth $15 000 and $10 000 for respective brands which are exclusively found in OK stores.
These will be complemented by weekly prizes, whose qualification criterion requires customers to buy general groceries worth $10 000.
Over 200 brands will be participating in the promotion.
“The carnival is mainly to raise awareness to our grand challenge. The program will start in the morning with a march in the city centre where the grand prize vehicle will also be on parade. We will have Khumalo Primary School drum majorettes adding colour to the procession and a few performances too at our destination which is OK Jason Moyo street branch,” said Mr Rueben Nhliziyana, OK Jason Moyo branch manager.
The OK Grand Challenge is the biggest and longest-running retail promotion in Zimbabwe, having been launched in 1988, however, the group skipped the 2020 edition owing to the ravages of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Customers enter the competition by availing their names, mobile and ID numbers to the till operators, while tech savvy individuals can register for the promotion through the chat board, web store so as to give many customers a fair chance to win.
Officially launching the popular promotion at the Marimba branch in Harare early this month, OK Zimbabwe chief executive officer, Mr Maxwell Karombo said the promotion time was the peak trading period for the group hence a very important element to the business every year.
He said the retail group was promising “the biggest savings of the year” where consumers and shoppers enjoy rock bottom prices from across the 52 OK stores nationwide.
Speaking at the same occasion OK Zimbabwe marketing director, Mrs Juliet Ziswa, demystified the myth that only Harare based customers were the only ones who could win, saying anyone from any part of the country was eligible to enter the competition, a position that resonates well with the Second Republic ‘s philosophy of leaving no one and no place behind.
The retail store has also introduced a refreshed logo with a modern and cleaner icon and a payoff line that says “My Happy Place”
OK Zimbabwe continues to grow its branch network under diverse brands like OK Stores, OK Mart, Bon Marche and the recently acquired Food Lovers, as well as specialty stores like pharmacies.
Online Reporter