One-stop shopping draws the Maputo crowds

Transcription

1 STOREWATCH One-stop shopping draws the Maputo crowds By Hippo Zourides How one African-born entrepreneur has developed a retail formula that services the local Mozambican market like no other As one sits in the Unico Café coffee shop at the Premier Superspar in Maputo, Mozambique, enjoying your prego roll and what is widely regarded as the best cappucino in the country, one cannot help but marvel at the wide and impressive range of merchandise on display: fresh produce, children s furniture, stationery, luggage, floor tiles, water coolers, cement mixers, tool boxes, beach sandals, umbrellas, electronics, toys, homeware and so much more, by anyone s standards. Indeed, there is no other similar offering under one roof anywhere else in Mozambique, and in fact, very few equals in Southern Africa. Hussein is already planning his future expansions. The business is also serviced and supported by over m 2 of off-site warehousing holding imported products across multiple categories imported from over 17 countries world wide. But let us start at the beginning... Hussein Ali Ahmad, of Lebanese parentage, is proudly African. Born in Sierra Leone, and now a Mozambican national, he has honed his trading skills in a variety of industries ranging from retail to textiles to mining in various countries such as Liberia, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Angola, before settling in Mozambique in His intention when he opened Premier in 2003 in a prime spot on Maputo s main road on the way to the airport (Acordos de Lusaka) was to satisfy the needs of the True to the Premier SuperSpar pay off line Você quer, nós temos! (You want it, we have it!), Hussein Ali Ahmad, the sole owner of Premier SuperSpar, instructs his buyers to Search the world for more ranges. Not satisfied with a range of over active SKUs already on display in a building of over m 2, manned by over 756 employees and served by 32 till points, A well-appointed coffee shop is located near the store entrance. 28

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3 The 32 till checkout area is serviced by two snake queues loaded with impulse buys. Award-winning! On a visit to Hussein s office, one is confronted by an array of awards and certificates awarded to the group over the years. Taking pride amongst the many awards ( Too many to fit in this wall, says Hussein) are Four PMR Africa awards ranging from Bronze to Silver to Gold to Diamond, awarded for the last four years both as the best building material and hardware store and the best supermarket in Mozambique A KPMG award as the largest volume growth business in the Top 100 businesses in Mozambique in 2013 A certificate of recognition from the country s first lady for the community work done by Hussein, the group and its staff. The first rows of merchandise are in low profile and laid out herring bone style, displaying items such as stationery and other profitable items. A large area is dedicated to fresh produce, both pre-packed and loose sell. STOREWATCH housewife and homeowner (kitchenware, plasticware, glassware and the other household requirements), the child (toys and school accessories) and the man of the house and his hobbies (sportsware, hardware, equipment and the like). The original store covered an area of 2 500m 2. The Maputo community took to the store like ducks to water, especially when Premier joined the South African Mica Hardware franchise brand and expanded its hardware ranges. Hussein soon realised that, not only would he use the Mica buying power, but that he would also have to scour the world for better and wider ranges of merchandise. Continual Customer surveys indicated the missing ranges and products needed to underpin the total range strategy. I suddenly realised that I should have a Mica, a Game, a Woolworths and a supermarket selling groceries as well, to be true to my slogan and my customers needs, says Hussein. His dream was fulfilled two years ago when Spar Lowveld DC in Nelspruit and Hussein agreed on the terms of a SuperSpar franchise for the store, and the inclusion of a total supermarket offering. 30

4 Service counters are used for high risk items. The hardware section is a stand-alone area (indicated by the red arrow). On any given day, there s an average of more than customer visits, and on busy month-end days the number can increase to between and customers per day. The customer count and foot traffic has expanded exponentially over the last two years. What is on offer? Typical of an African market outside of South Africa, the customer mix of Premier SuperSpar ranges from an international expatriate community to the local upper and growing middle class as well as the local lower end Customer, so the store has developed a huge product range and selection that satisfies the needs of such a varied customer mix. The trading area allocated to each department is generous. The coffee shop, for example, seats up to 36 people, the HMR counter is 20m long and serves a wide range of hot and cold meals to cater for the customer base from the surrounding businesses and residential areas. The bakery produces a wide range of breads, including the local pão, as well as a wide range of confectionery. The Deli and cheese bar offer some of the widest choices available to Maputo residents, but there is one restriction the whole store is Halaal in keeping with Hussein s religious beliefs and the buyers are vigilant of all purchases and new product ranges to avoid any non Halaal certified products from entering the store. Naturally, only Halaal beef, chicken and lamb are sold in the extensive butchery and deli departments and no liquor is available for sale. These aspects do not detract from the store s slogan, as the customers respect his decision and can truly find virtually everything they require, ranging from 31

5 STOREWATCH a pin to a tuk-tuk motor cycle, to some of the most advanced electronics products and brands, and a large range of products that are not available anywhere else in the country. Hussein is happy to be working with Spar South Africa, specifically for their added expertise in all fresh departments. He sources some products from Nelspruit, but also buys directly from many suppliers who gladly supply container loads of merchandise at very good prices both locally and from South Africa, as well as from suppliers in many international markets. The huge and very popular fresh produce selection is mainly supplied from South Africa. However, when in season, I will support local growers of mangoes or pineapples or any other product of quality, says Hussein. The deep freeze runs cover half the store depth, and the spacious aisles allow ease of movement. The bakery ambient and refrigerated display is an island in the middle of the floor. The cheese bar is enormous and the variety must be the widest in all of Mozambique. The local pão is not only a staple diet for low-income customers, but a must to accompany any meal. The Halaal butchery display is inviting and, naturally, no pork products are available in the store. Bulk diplays are evident throughout the store. 32

6 The grocery department, complemented by a wide selection of HaBA products is very comprehensive with the largest range under one roof in Mozambique, and Premier has no fear in constructing huge displays of local and imported products from South Africa, Brazil, Portugal, Spain, Europe, USA and the East. Please help me find more suppliers! says Hussein, eternally optimistic that his shelves will cope with an ever-expanding range. The right refrigeration and air-conditioning for extreme climates Premier Superspar in Maputo, Mozambique, featured here, is a prime example of what we do and how we do it Working with world class equipment and suppliers, we installed all the aircon and refrigeration in the 12,500 m 2 Superspar, one of the biggest Spar s in the world Premier has 300 metres of Colcab multi-deck, glass door and serve-over cabinets. HMR is displayed in a 20m counter, and is popular for both lunch and dinnertime. Giant store the compact refrigeration plant room saves space and is easy to service. The gondola ends are well stocked with value-for-money offers indicating the nearby product category. Solo Air installed the complete heavy duty aircon plant a must in hot, humid Maputo summers including all the ducting. Rugged reliability, economy, efficiency and ease of maintenance has been our guiding principle in over 52 new store installations and revamps Refrigeration (Phoenix Racks) Airconditioning (Dunham-Bush) The power wall runs next to the deep freeze space, and displays a range of basic household items at low prices. 33 For the right design, the right equipment, the right installation and service contact Pieter Enslin Cell: Switchboard Fax piet@soloair.za.net PO Box 3775, Nelspruit a Samora Machell Street, Nelspruit

7 STOREWATCH Você quer nós temos! You want silk flowers? We have! You want sports equipment? We have! You want it, we have it! You want flip-flops? We have! You want baby products? We have! You want frying pans? We have! 34 You want hand tools? We have!

8 Special bulk display areas ( power walls ) stock large quantities of fast moving goods piled up high with deep cut prices. On entering the store, the shopper is confronted by a huge mural of the Premier workforce. And a reminder that they also sell cement mixers. HaBA runs have adopted the Spar look and feel, and customers can easily find the various sub-categories. Tailor made IT solution for Premier The thought occurs How do they manage the detail of this vast business? What about shrinkage? How do they choose ranges? The answer lies in a very sophisticated IT solution developed by CAD Retail System, Durban, which has partnered Premier since 2003 and has grown in sophistication as the store increased its product range and complexity. The fully-integrated system not only talks to the SPAR DC for the ordering process, but also has impressive features from the back office to the front line, including very sophisticated reporting. Every user is assigned a smart card instore issued by Dallas Semiconductor in the USA and the business owner knows exactly who has done what within the system, says Mohammed Parak, CAD director. Installations range from South Africa (MICA, Checkout super markets) to Mozambique to Lesotho to Guinea and they have developed a novel support mechanism based on the WhatsApp application. A pack shot image is displayed on the till point screen which allows the supervisors to manage sweet-heartening between cashiers and favoured customers. The system is capable of managing imports, warehousing, picking products or deal management. The service level agreement guarantees that every transaction will be completed in 1,5 seconds. Automated replenishment or perpetual cyclical stock-taking are run of the mill applications by the CAD system and the retailer has at his disposal a plethora of reports to manage the business minute by minute right up to the end of year results. GMD a unique selling proposition The general merchandise range is impressive and unique in the Mozambique market. These ranges occupy more than half the floor space as Hussein insists on huge displays of every conceivable product required for the household. As an example Hussein proudly announced that he had recently successfully negotiated a direct supply deal with LG Electronics of Korea and will not be working through any agents for the full LG product range, and in fact, a full LG in-store concept will be developed in the store to international standards in the next few months. He already has huge displays of Samsung products as well as a special store-instore concept for the local cellular service provider company, Mcel. With a consistent supply of over SKUs, and a continually increasing range strategy, a shopper is sure to find something in Premier SuperSpar that will suit their particular requirements and budget. The future Hussein is already planning his next expansion. Over the next two years, there are already plans underway for a new store to be built to cover an additional m 2 of trading area with 60 checkouts, which will also incorporate the existing standalone textile and bathroom shops and introduce clothing ranges as well. Next door to the current mega store, neighbouring land has been purchased and earmarked to take the significant parking pressure off the project, as well as an additional 20 to 30 line shops and an additional 500 parking bays in the adjacent property, which has already been cleared for this project. Plans are already underway and in an advanced stage for further stores to be added to the group in the coming months and years. At present, an additional square meters of wholesale and warehousing is being built to satisfy the enormous growth currently being experienced and still to come in the next year. Indeed, the store s pay off line is well deserved and a reality Você quer, nós temos! You want it, we have it! 35