Red Star introduces loyalty cards

On 30 September last year, Bulawayo hosted the official launch of a branch in the city.
The owners and management of Red Star are part of a larger group that includes West Foods and Augur Investments and despite the difficulties in the last decade they have never stopped investing in the country.

The group identified an opportunity to enter the wholesale channel due to the demise of the structured formal wholesalers and as such they believe it is time to bring structure, good corporate governance and convenience, consistent supply and value addition to customers and consumers alike.
Lao-tzu, a Chinese philosopher said that a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step and Red Star has taken the first step.

The opening of the Harare shop, they believe, is a symbolic statement of their faith in the country and as such they have introduced Gold and Silver customer loyalty cards which will:

• Act as a banking facility that will enable holders to send money to anyone with a cellphone or bank account, as well as allow holders to withdraw cash from the card at any Red Star outlet.

• Be a Zimswitch enabled debit card, which can be used to pay for goods in the shop.

• Be a volume and value based loyalty card. The facility is open to both individuals and corporate customers. Customers who buy goods worth $50 or more will qualify to receive a Silver Card and those with any once-off purchases above $1 000 will qualify to receive a Gold Card.

The programme is more than a loyalty card initiative because through this innovative idea, they will be issuing Red Star Holdings shares to their customers.
If customers spend money in any Red Star outlet, Red Star will in turn show their appreciation by giving them a value of $1 on the loyalty card for every $100 they spend.

After a certain period of time, the company will issue Red Star share certificates to the respective customers, thus empowering them to become significant shareholders in the company.
Red Star believes it is a win-win situation because the more goods one buys, the bigger and more successful the company grows and the bigger and more value stake one owns in the company as a shareholder.

This initiative ensures that over time, Red Star Holdings will be owned almost in its entirety by indigenous Zimbabweans, most of whom rely on the continued success of the business for reliable supplies at affordable prices while at the same time providing a heritage for future generations.
The share scheme is quite simple because it means for every dollar one spends, they get one percent back in shares.

Red Star believes that if one were to spend money elsewhere they would only get the goods but when one spends their money at any Red Star outlet, they will be rewarded for their loyalty and get shares in the company.
This innovative concept of broad-based economic empowerment, which they believe subscribes well to the indigenisation thrust, reaches out to their customers across the entire spectrum of demographics and locality giving their urban and rural customers an equal chance to participate in taking ownership of Red Star Holdings.

Their strategic intent is to roll out 31 shops countrywide within the next 24 to 36 months across all key urban cities and towns as well as most rural areas hence reaching most of the country’s population.
Red Star has tried to create a “One Stop Shop” concept at the main branches such as a stock feeds outlet with an unlimited supply of all animal feeds, soft drinks outlet with all beverages to satisfy every customer’s needs, agri-inputs outlet for every farmer’s peace of mind and hardware outlet for all building implements.

The company launched its Opening Specials Promotion which ran from 16 September to 8 October last year.
The promotion saw 33 lines of merchandise selling at hugely discounted prices as well as many exciting road shows and media communications.
It was the first of many discount offers that they will be offering their customers with the belief that they will in turn pay it forward and pass on the discount to the end customer thus helping reduce inflation on basic goods.

Red Star’s focus is to be a high volume, low cost, low margin wholesaler hence their product range.
Red Star endeavours to make their goods affordable to their customers hoping that they would do the same for the end customer.
The company would like to express its gratitude to everyone who will embark on this special journey with them.

Red Star encourages customers to visit any of their shops and sign up for a loyalty card.
West Star wholesalers which commenced business in September last year is registered with the Ministry of Finance and their business is open to retailers, Government departments, hospitals, corporates, schools, non-governmental organisations and individuals.

They have competitive prices on offer this Easter.